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Highlights
- Lords of the Fallen falls short of meeting the high expectations of Soulslike games, lacking the same level of excellence as FromSoftware titles.
- The game omits the convenient elevator shortcut manipulation found in Soulslike games where players can normally send them back.
- Despite not having many lifts overall, the absence of the classic elevator manipulation is an unnecessary and detrimental change to the overall experience.
Lords of the Fallen is the latest Soulslike game to imitate a lot of what FromSoftware action-RPGs are popular for and yet fall short of meeting the high expectations that fans have ascribed to such games. Compared most agreeably to Dark Souls 2 due to its prolific mob and ambush encounters, Lords of the Fallen does have a lot of the common trappings of FromSoftware games, though its most distinguished feature is easily the Umbral Lamp mechanic that allows for realm-hopping needed to traverse environments.
Therefore, while there are certainly similarities baked into it, Lords of the Fallen is still unique in its distinct feel as a Soulslike. But even though differences like these are important in a game maintaining its own identity, Soulslikes still need to achieve comparable excellence in what they imitate. Lords of the Fallen does that decently enough, though arguably not to the same degree of quality as Lies of P, and yet it made an odd decision concerning one feature found in FromSoftware Soulslikes that completely omits the fun of shortcuts cutting down on run-back time between areas.
FromSoftware Makes Run-Backs in Soulslikes Convenient with Elevator Shortcuts
Run-backs are rarely pleasant in Soulslikes, nor are they meant to be easy or convenient, at least not initially. Part of what makes FromSoftware’s Soulslike level designs terrific is that an area might be incredibly difficult to navigate when players first begin exploring it. If they can survive the slew of enemies in their path long enough and make it a little further, they will eventually come across a shortcut that leads back around to where their last respawn point was.
Players will likely find locked doors or empty lift shafts with levers that are inoperable, for example, and later on find where that door or lift connects to. Then, even if players are to fall in battle, their way back is far easier than before as a checkpoint reward for managing to make their way as far as they had.
How Soulslike Lifts Help Alleviate Run-Back Stress
However, one other facet of elevator shortcuts has to do with the levers that operate them. These lifts are usually activated by stepping on a pressure plate in their center, and what players can do to manipulate where the elevator goes is step on this plate before hopping quickly off the elevator.
This way, they’ve effectively sent the lift back to the top or bottom, meaning that players will have immediate access to it again if they are slain and will not need to pull a lever and wait for it to slowly arrive.
Lords of the Fallen Doesn’t Let Players Send Lifts Back for Next Time
Lords of the Fallen has lifts that look remarkably similar to those seen in other Soulslikes, but unfortunately players are unable to manipulate them in the same way. Instead, Lords of the Fallen’s elevators have guardrails that prevent players from somersaulting off of them before they can begin ascending or descending, leaving them stuck there for the ride.
This makes lifts a slog during run-backs, such as when trying to get back to the Gentle Gaverus, Mistress of Hounds boss fight, and it’s generally egregious because so many Soulslikes have embedded that mechanic into players’ muscle memories. It’s not as if Lords of the Fallen took away elevator shortcuts entirely, and making the ride tedious in run-backs is only perceivable as a frustrating change as a result.
There may not be that many lifts in the game overall, and if players carve their way through Axiom and Umbral efficiently they may never need to backtrack or run-back via lifts anyhow. Still, it’s an unnecessary change to the classic FromSoftware formula that seems purely detrimental to the experience.
Lords of the Fallen (2023)
The Lords of the Fallen is the second release in the Lords of the Fallen universe. This release promises to take place in a sprawling world that’s approximately 5 times the size of the original release, giving players a deeper look into the lore surrounding this dark and gritty land. Players will once again utilize a variety of weapons, skills, and abilities, as they make their way through the release.
- Platform(s)
- PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PC
- Released
- October 13, 2023
- Developer(s)
- HEXWORKS
- Publisher(s)
- CI Games
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 30 Hours
