Lords of the Fallen Preview

GamesRadar has published a relatively detailed preview of Lords of the Fallen, in which they plead with Dark Souls fans to “embrace” City Interactive’s action RPG and look past any similarities it might have to the aforementioned title. Frankly, I’m getting a bit tired with all the Dark Souls comparisons:

I still remember a time when early, post-Doom FPS were referred to–by default, by press and player alike–as clones of iD’s Mars-based monster-masher. We don’t do that any more. Nor do we complain when shooters use the same control scheme as Call of Duty, or when Destiny transplants the shooting mechanics of Halo into a different scenario. And that’s what’s going on with Lords of the Fallen. It’s just that the first games to iterate on any distinctive idea always seem more brazen.

But there are, of course, many good reasons for Souls fans to get involved beyond the simple fact that it’s okay for Lords to exist. While the core philosophical hook of both games utilises the same points of cerebral, high-risk combat and iterative learning through looped gameplay–and so far Lords does seem to understand the finer points of that model, rather than simply copy the broad strokes–the differences Lords bolts around them give it serious value.

As I’ve mentioned before, the combat, while demanding and precise, has a different feel and flow to that of its inspiration, more fluid and immediate, and with an almost arcade-like sense of satisfying impact. Where Souls’ comboing is more about exploiting hit-stuns to score extra attacks, Lords’ more freely-flowing beatdowns have a more open, accessible, versatile feel, while remaining no-less of a stern discipline.

Similarly, gear and magic are more instinctive to manage, and feel a little bolder in their use. In the case of the latter, there seems to be a more aggressive bent to spell designs, as much akin to that of an action-adventure game or a fighter as that of an RPG. Time-slowing, magical clone distractions. Where Souls’ magic leans towards multiple, intricately different variants of similar effects, Lords favours blunter, more uniquely conceptual, overtly individual attacks and buffs. No less satisfying, but designed with different intent, for immediacy and accessible clarity.