Lords of the Fallen - action-RPG reboot from Hexworks

[SpoonFULL]

I have spent more than 100 hours in the game and nearing the end. This is an exceptionally made soul-like game in my opinion, and the incredible game design, huge interconnected world, combat, mechanics, atmosphere and game loop easily match and in many ways exceed Dark Souls. This is my game of the year without a doubt.

My only criticism is the performance on AMD cards which causes many crashes in my case (even when I set everything on low).

 

[cvv]

My only criticism is the performance on AMD cards which causes many crashes in my case (even when I set everything on low).

I've played the first 15 hours without a single hitch but then they started patching the game and it started crashing .

I mean a patch every single day was nice and all but there's no way they could've shovelled them out so fast without fucking something up. Game kept crashing for me till the end (got about 85 hours so far).

 

[Skinwalker]

The first half of the game was a solid 7, maybe even 7.5 out of 10.

The second half (where copy-paste became king) was 1.5/10. That includes the embarrassingly terrible final boss and "ending".

In summary, this is a 3.5/10 game that's trying really hard to fool people into thinking it's the next Dark Souls with a polished and impressive intro, that hides a rotten and nauseating endgame that's starved for original assets and any effort put into level design.

 

[Doktor Best]

How is the game compared to Surge 2? Playing that one currently and i kinda like it despite the jank.

 

[cruel]

I liked Surge 2 more than this. Less stupid design decisions that annoy you, and combat felt better.

 

[Zlaja]

Yeah, I avoid internet when playing souls first time and check after. The complaints were something else about Amana, Bastille and iirc even Wharf.

I remember the Lost Sinner boss being more cool and challenging, before they nerfed her after all the whining from retards.

 

[cvv]

Yeah, I avoid internet when playing souls first time and check after. The complaints were something else about Amana, Bastille and iirc even Wharf.

I remember the Lost Sinner boss being more cool and challenging, before they nerfed her after all the whining from retards.

One day whining retards are gonna kill this genre.

 

[toro]

Yeah, I avoid internet when playing souls first time and check after. The complaints were something else about Amana, Bastille and iirc even Wharf.

I remember the Lost Sinner boss being more cool and challenging, before they nerfed her after all the whining from retards.

One day whining retards are gonna kill this genre.

I agree.

One day whining fanbois are gonna kill this genre.

 

[Spike]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

If you like to play games that suck, it should be right up your alley.

 

[cvv]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

You either listen to retards like poet or toro who troll this thread despite never playing the game or to me and Jinn who have dozens of hours clocked in and loved it.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

You either listen to retards like poet or toro who troll this thread despite never playing the game or to me and Jinn who have dozens of hours clocked in and loved it.

I played it. It's ass. Sorry that rustles your jimmies, may I suggest trying a good game for comparison?

Actually, where I agree is you may as well try it and see what you think Spike. Just watch the refund window. You'll probably know before then if it's for you.

 

[mediocrepoet]

cvv

 

[cvv]

How long did it take you to realize it's "shitty"? An hour? Gtfo bro

 

[mediocrepoet]

How long did it take you to realize it's "shitty"? An hour? Gtfo bro

Something like that. Because it was long enough to know there was no way in hell I was going to be happy paying that much for it and didn't even want to spend more time on it either.

Hurray for Steam refunds!

 

[mediocrepoet]

Actually, I'll have you know it was 1.1 hours. I played it for an additional 0.9 hours after I realized it was shit just in case, so I could become an expert on the game. Most of us don't need to keep huffing farts to realize they stink.

 

[jaekl]

I had a lot more than 2 hours in it and I can assure you that the start of the game is as good as the game is ever going to be. It only gets worse as time goes on because there is no creativity to be found, it might as well be the first level played in a loop with the palette swapping like a cheap NES game.

 

[cvv]

there is no creativity to be found

You're the one who said it's also ugly right?

Yeah

Anyway boys, maaaarry Christmas.

 

[jaekl]

there is no creativity to be found

You're the one who said it's also ugly right?

Yeah

Anyway boys, maaaarry Christmas.

No. Is your boyfriend working on this game or what?

 

[Spike]

Thanks lads. I am skeptical of someone who thinks Dark Messiah sucks, though. In general our tastes seem similar but that raises an eyebrow. Maybe I'll wait for a deeper sale any way.

 

[toro]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

You either listen to retards like poet or toro who troll this thread despite never playing the game or to me and Jinn who have dozens of hours clocked in and loved it.

Maybe you have coprophiliac tendencies?

Also Jinn's opinion is irrelevant. The dude likes everything. Literally.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Thanks lads. I am skeptical of someone who thinks Dark Messiah sucks, though. In general our tastes seem similar but that raises an eyebrow. Maybe I'll wait for a deeper sale any way.

Haha DMoMM is so overrated here. Anyway, I finished DMoMM back in the day... there are strengths to the game but the lack of enemy variety, way too many gimmicky environmental things all over the place, and fact that 90% of your encounters can be resolved by mashing kick... yeah. Kind of a dog shit game.

Back in the day, I summarized my thoughts by calling it "The Adventures of Sir Kicksley Kicksalot" or something along those lines. Anyway just trying to give context.

FWIW, I'd replay DMoMM again in its entirety before I spent another minute on either Lords of the Fallen game.

 

[cruel]

Thinking about picking this up on the sale...Yet the dex seems divided.

I hated the game in the beginning, but after playing for 30h (level 75), I hate it less. It's a flawed and unfinished product, but there is some enjoyment to be had here and there. Not worth it for a full price, but for $39, maybe. If I were to judge buy vs no buy, it would go like this:

Buy the game if:
- level design is one of the most important things for you (definitely great work here)
- you appreciate a variety of weapons, armor, shields and character builds
- you value exploration
- you don't mind a slower / not refined combat system
- few bugs here and there are acceptable
- you don't need an extreme challenge from bosses
- ... but are happy with bigger challenge from the levels themselves
- enemy spam in Umbral world doesn't looks like something that will bother you

Don't buy the game if:
- you expect a fully finished, polished product
- you want an amazing 10/10 combat system with tight timings etc.
- boss design & difficulty is one of the most important factor
- tons of range enemies sound like something that will be annoying
- stupid / illogical game design decisions annoy you
- enemy variety is an important factor for enjoying a game
- you want a creative / carefully crafted encounter design
- expect a skill-based difficulty, not 'difficulty by numbers'

Important notes: this is based on on 30h of playing (finished Revelation Depths). Not sure how it is later (I heard it's not so great).

 

[mediocrepoet]

Oh it's like a JRPG then. At the beginning it seems like it sucks, but after 30+ hours, it starts to seem like it sucks a bit less. Or Stockholm Syndrome.

Thanks for the review thoughts cruel.

 

[cvv]

snip

- "not refined combat" with "not tight timings", not sure what you mean here. I think what you wanted to say is the combat is not snappy and quick like BB or Sekiro, but more tactical like DeS/DS1/DS2, which is definitely true
- stupid design decisions sound like the broadest and most subjective issue imaginable
- I think the encounter design is very handcrafted and careful but whatever rocks your boat
- the "mob number" issue was comically overblown even in the release version and now that they've hastily pruned the game to placate people who dropped it anyways the issue is nonexistent (unless you find groups of trash Umbral zombies who die with two hits and can't really hurt you an insurmountable challenge)
- skill-based difficulty vs. "difficulty by numbers" sounds awfully like "artificial difficulty", which is usually a cope by people who got their ass beat but insist it wasn't their fault; obviously there's no such classification, all challenge requires skill and on the whole, this game is far from the hardest soulslike out there if you aren't a complete normie and can build your char half-way properly
- as for polish, I haven't played for a month now but from what I'm reading on the forums it's patched and stable now; some people seem to have problems with invasion and co-op matchmaking but that could be due to the game only having between 1k - 2k concurrent players at any given time

Agreed with the rest of your points.