Disclosure: A review key was provided by the publisher through Lurkit.
When I first booted up Lords of the Fallen (2023), I was curious to see how it would stack up against the giants of the Soulslike genre. With a dark fantasy setting, towering enemies, and punishing combat, it wears its influences on its sleeve. But after spending hours diving into this twisted world as the Dark Crusader, what I found was a game that balances homage with innovation—and offers an experience that’s both punishing and refreshingly accessible.
A Soulslike With a Twist
Let’s start with the obvious: Lords of the Fallen is a Soulslike through and through. From the stamina-based combat to the deliberate pace of battles, the echoes of Dark Souls are impossible to ignore. But where Lords of the Fallen truly shines is in how it makes that formula its own.
Combat feels weighty, but not clunky. Movement is fluid—noticeably more so than in any of FromSoftware’s earlier titles. As the Dark Crusader, you feel powerful yet vulnerable, capable of devastating combos but always a few wrong moves away from death. The developers have nailed that fine line between empowerment and dread that defines this genre.
Interestingly, I found the game easier than Dark Souls. That’s not to say it’s easy—far from it. But enemy patterns are more readable, the bosses less punishing, and death doesn’t feel quite as punishing. For newcomers to the genre, Lords of the Fallen might just be the perfect starting point.
Dual Worlds, Dual Challenges
The most unique feature in Lords of the Fallen is its realm-shifting mechanic. You’re not just exploring one world, but two—Axiom (the world of the living) and Umbral (the world of the dead). At any point, you can shift between these realms, and it’s not just a visual gimmick. It’s core to how you explore, solve puzzles, and progress.
There were multiple times I found myself staring at what seemed like a dead end—no ladder, no door, no way forward. But shifting into Umbral suddenly revealed a path, a bridge, or a platform that didn’t exist in Axiom. It’s a mechanic that feels natural, not forced, and it encourages a level of environmental awareness I haven’t felt in a while.
But beware: Umbral is a dangerous place. Enemies are more aggressive, and staying there too long without returning to the safety of Axiom can end in disaster. It’s a risk-reward system that keeps exploration tense and exciting. You’re always questioning whether you’ve overstayed your welcome.
Deep Customization and Progression
From the outset, character creation offers a wealth of options. Like Dark Souls, you can fine-tune your character’s appearance, background, and starting class. Whether you want to be a heavily armored knight or a nimble spellcaster, the options are there.
The stat system will feel immediately familiar to Souls veterans. Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, and other core attributes determine everything from weapon effectiveness to stamina regeneration. I appreciated how straightforward everything felt—complex enough to allow build diversity, but not so convoluted that it becomes overwhelming.
Loot is plentiful, but not mindless. Defeating enemies often rewards you with new gear, from weapons and armor to runes and consumables. Inventory management is important, and some of the better items are hidden off the beaten path, encouraging you to explore every shadowy corner.
Bosses: Intimidating But Accessible
Let’s talk about the bosses. They’re certainly epic in design—grotesque, towering nightmares that will challenge your timing and resource management. But again, compared to Dark Souls, they feel more accessible. The window for dodging attacks is a bit more forgiving, and while they hit hard, their patterns are readable after a few attempts.
This isn’t a knock on the game’s difficulty. Instead, it feels like the developers made a conscious decision to reduce some of the genre’s more frustrating elements. Less trial-and-error, more strategy and learning. I didn’t find myself banging my head against a wall for hours on a single fight, but I still felt a rush of accomplishment after each victory.
Atmosphere That Pulls You In
If there’s one area where Lords of the Fallen absolutely excels, it’s atmosphere. The environments are dark, haunting, and layered with detail. Gothic cathedrals loom overhead, crumbling ruins whisper of ancient civilizations, and grotesque creatures lurk around every corner. It’s undeniably grim, but beautifully so.
Cutscenes are cinematic and visually impressive. They don’t overstay their welcome, and they effectively flesh out the world’s lore without info-dumping. You get just enough to understand the stakes, but much is left to interpretation—a hallmark of the genre.
The real star, though, is the sound design. The voice acting is top-notch, with performances that add depth to even minor characters. The ambient sounds—the whisper of wind, the creak of old wood, the guttural growls in the distance—all combine to create an incredibly immersive experience.
Pop on a decent headset and the game becomes something else entirely. You feel every footstep, every sword swing, every eerie whisper. It’s one of the most atmospheric experiences I’ve had in gaming recently.
Level Design: A Dark Playground
The levels in Lords of the Fallen are complex and interconnected, encouraging exploration and rewarding curiosity. Hidden paths, secret loot, and shortcuts are everywhere. It reminded me of the sense of discovery I felt in the original Demon’s Souls.
That said, the game is undeniably dark—both in tone and lighting. Some areas had me wishing for a torch or a brightness slider that actually made a difference. But in a way, the limited visibility adds to the tension. You never quite feel safe, even in familiar areas.
Final Thoughts
Lords of the Fallen doesn’t reinvent the Soulslike wheel, but it polishes it to a shine and adds just enough innovation to stand on its own. The realm-shifting mechanic is brilliant, the world is rich with atmosphere, and the combat is fluid and satisfying.
It’s also more approachable than its inspirations. That’s not a bad thing. In a genre often defined by its brutal difficulty, accessibility can be a breath of fresh air. This game manages to be challenging without being discouraging, and that’s no small feat.
If you’ve bounced off Dark Souls in the past but love the idea of dark fantasy, deep customization, and tense exploration, Lords of the Fallen might be exactly what you’re looking for. And for veterans, there’s still plenty of meat on the bone—especially if you’re up for exploring every secret this twisted world has to offer.
This is a game that respects your time, challenges your reflexes, and rewards your curiosity. It may walk in the shadow of giants, but it casts a pretty long one of its own.
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