Lords of the Fallen Previews

In case you’re interested in reading a few more previews for Lords of the Fallen, you might want to check the ones we’ve rounded up today, starting from this IGN’s piece that focuses on the differences between Lords of the Fallen and Dark Souls, which Tomasz Gop openly cites as an inspiration. Quite a few interesting information snippets in there:

At the end of the dungeon lies the Champion Lord, a gargantuan monstrosity with hands morphed into two massive blades, ominously adopting a boxer’s stance. The battle against him is a test of your wits as much as your strength as, should he take too much damage too swiftly or land one too many blows on you, he’ll enter an empowered state where a single blow spells the end for you. For the record, this section once again saw Gop’s character sent back to his last save point. This is not an easy game.

As previously mentioned, death sees you drop all the XP earned so far. As with Dark Souls, it can be recovered should you reach it without dying again, but you’ll want to be swift, as the longer you take the more disappears into the abyss. Thankfully, regular checkpoints allow you to bank your XP to ensure its safety following your inevitable demise, though there are incentives to avoid doing this. The longer you go without banking or dying the larger the multiplier that determines how much XP you receive upon exiting a battle victorious becomes. Once again, it’s all about balancing obvious risks against potential rewards.

Character development focuses on three pillars: Spells, Attributes and Gear, with only the first being linked to your class. This means the vast variety of the game’s weapons and armour can be mixed to suit your playstyle, whether you prefer wielding a fearsome polearm or badass three-fingered claws like a certain Marvel superhero.

Though Gop can complete the game in around 15 hours, he reckons most people will be clocking in at double that. The story is the main focus, though re-exploring old locations to unlock new areas is an option, along with the existence of portals to demonic planes where you can grind loot and XP ad infinitum. The biggest draw for many, however, will surely be New Game Plus, which allows you to pick another class and add a second spell tree to your repertoire.

IGN also has a piece on the console versions, which will no doubt rekindle the fires of forum discussions on places like NeoGAF:

“We’re working very hard right now to deliver PS4 and Xbox One in 1080p but I can’t confirm whether it’s possible. It’s probably easier for me to confirm it’ll happen for PlayStation 4, because it appears on this one we’re almost nailing it and pretty much there. For Xbox One though, it’s slightly tougher and we’re still working on it, so I can’t confirm that yet.”

Finally, GamesRadar also has a short preview, written in their peculiar format:

In my demo, the developers played through an early section of the game that had the hero navigating the narrow corridors of monster-infested catacombs. As the player was walking through the torch-lit hallways, you get the feeling that something is going to jump out and beat the crap out of you. Thing is, if you’re not careful, that’s exactly what happens. Enemies generally attack one at a time or in small groups, leaving you to discover which of your magic skills and weapon abilities will penetrate each enemy’s tough defenses.

The combat is fast and intricate. Blocking, dodging, and timing your attacks is critical to coming out of a fight alive. Players can choose the typical warrior, rogue, and mage classes that come with the standard class-based weapon sets like sword and shield, dual blades, and magic staffs. But the predefined hero Harken can also launch various magic attacks through his mystical gauntlet. Lords of the Fallen is an intriguing new action RPG. With a story-centric, single-player campaign and flashy, arcade-y combo heavy combat, the game may just stand out despite the obvious Dark Souls influences.