Lords of the Fallen is an action and role-playing video game created by Deck13 and CI Games. It was first released in October 2014 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. A mobile version of the game, which uses swipe controls for combat, was released on February 9, 2017, for iOS and Android devices. This version was a paid game that included in-app purchases. A new version of the game with the same name was released in October 2023.

In the game, players explore large, connected environments filled with mysterious and dangerous settings. They fight twisted enemies, including powerful bosses, using melee weapons such as axes and hammers. Players control a character named Harkyn, who is sent on a mission to stop a powerful god’s demonic forces. These forces are trying to take over the world after being defeated in the past.

Gameplay

Lords of the Fallen is a video game where players control a character named Harkyn in a third-person view. The game focuses on close combat, where players must carefully plan their moves to defeat tough enemies and challenging environments. Players learn from each battle to improve their skills. At the start, players can customize Harkyn’s abilities by choosing from different classes. Each class has unique weapons, armor, spells, and skills. To select a class, players first choose one of three types of magic: brawling, deception, or solace. Then, they pick one of three armor sets: warrior, rogue, or cleric. Combining these choices determines how Harkyn plays. For example, the warrior armor set with brawling magic creates a strong, powerful character, while the same armor set with solace magic makes a character that can use spells early in the game. As players defeat enemies, they earn experience points that can be used to improve Harkyn’s abilities and learn new spells.

The game is divided into acts, with central hubs that allow players to explore areas in any order. New regions become available as players progress, and they can revisit earlier areas to find hidden paths, shortcuts, and secrets. Along the way, players meet non-player characters who provide story details, tasks, and rewards. Players can also make choices during conversations that affect quests. The game includes checkpoints, which players can use to save their progress, restock items like healing potions, and upgrade their character.

The game uses a "risk and reward" system for leveling up. Players earn more experience points by mixing different attack combinations or avoiding checkpoints. However, using a checkpoint resets this bonus. If a player dies during a battle, they return to the last checkpoint they used. Enemies they previously defeated in that area respawn, and any unspent experience points are lost. A timer starts, giving players time to return to the spot where they died to recover lost experience. If the timer ends or the player dies again before reaching that spot, the lost experience is permanently gone.

Plot

The game takes place in a world long after a god named Adyr, who once ruled humanity harshly, was defeated by three heroes: a rogue, cleric, and warrior. These heroes became known as the Judges and were honored as demigods. In this world, all sins, even small ones, are punished. Players control Harkyn, a criminal whose past wrongdoings are shown on his face as runes.

Harkyn is released from prison by a monk named Kaslo to stop an invasion by Adyr’s demonic forces, the Rhogar, near the Hand of God mountains (a mountain range shaped like the hand of the fallen god). He encounters powerful beings called Rhogar Lords, who are attacking from an unknown location. With the help of an explorer named Yetka, Harkyn finds the Pathway, a portal to the Rhogar Realm. This realm was once a temple of Adyr, sealed away by the Judges and hidden in a monastery.

Harkyn travels to the Rhogar Realm, where he meets the Crafter, an immortal being whose Crystal of Travels was stolen by the Rhogar. He fights through the realm to reclaim the crystal and stop the invasion. Returning to the monastery, Harkyn is ordered by Antanas, the leader of human forces, to defeat Adyr, who has returned. However, Harkyn discovers clues that Antanas is acting dishonestly and fights a mysterious monster. He enters the Chamber of Lies in the Rhogar Realm and finds a demon connected to Yetka’s family. Harkyn must choose whether to kill the demon or let Yetka take it with her. He then defeats the final Rhogar Lord and confronts Adyr, who reveals that humanity needs a god to maintain order. Adyr shows Harkyn a scene where Antanas drinks a potion and transforms into a monstrous creature, proving human weakness. Adyr gives Harkyn a special rune that can restore his power.

When Harkyn returns to the monastery, he faces monsters, proving that Antanas had experimented on monks to create mutants capable of fighting the Rhogar. Antanas’ forces believe Harkyn betrayed them for not killing Adyr and attack him. Harkyn fights to Antanas and learns that the mutated Antanas killed Kaslo to stop him from transforming. Harkyn defeats Antanas and must decide how to use the Rune of Adyr: to revive Adyr, kill him, or give the rune to the Crafter, leaving Adyr dormant.

Reception

Lords of the Fallen received mixed or average reviews from critics. Metacritic, a website that collects and averages reviews, gave the Xbox One version a score of 71 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, the Microsoft Windows version a score of 73 out of 100 based on 36 reviews, and the PlayStation 4 version a score of 68 out of 100 based on 45 reviews.

Game Informer’s Daniel Tack gave the game a positive review, calling it a "surprising sleeper" and giving it an 8.5 out of 10. He said the game is a "surprisingly solid title" that borrows ideas from the Dark Souls series but adds its own unique style. He recommended the game to fans of Dark Souls and suggested it might be a good starting point for players new to the series.

GameSpot’s Kevin VanOrd also gave a positive review, scoring the game 8 out of 10. He said the game is not just a copy of Dark Souls but has its own strengths, such as detailed characters, satisfying combat, and creative environments. He described the game’s world as filled with interesting sights, sounds, and challenges.

IGN’s Leif Johnson gave a more mixed review, scoring the game 7.4 out of 10. He praised the combat, which focuses on skillful attacks and magic, but said the game’s reward system felt out of place. He noted that the game’s easy difficulty made some challenges feel less meaningful.

Polygon’s Philip Kollar scored the game 7.5 out of 10. He said the game’s story, characters, and combat were strong, calling the weapons-based fighting style its best feature. However, he criticized technical problems, the game’s easy difficulty, and weaker boss battles.

Ben Griffin of GamesRadar gave the game a 3 out of 5. He praised the game’s visuals, long playtime, and combat but criticized technical issues, weak boss fights, and the lack of cooperative multiplayer. He said the game felt too similar to Dark Souls and failed to stand out on its own.

By May 2015, over 900,000 copies of the game had been sold.

Sequel

In December 2014, the development of a follow-up game, Lords of the Fallen 2, was announced, with a planned release in 2017. CI Games was responsible for creating the sequel. In 2018, CI Games partnered with an independent studio called Defiant Studios. In April 2020, CI Games announced that Defiant Studios would no longer be involved and replaced them with Hexworks, a new company created by CI Games. The game was revealed again at Gamescom 2022 under the title The Lords of the Fallen and was released on October 13, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. At the March 2023 State of Unreal event, the game’s title was changed back to Lords of the Fallen.

At the same time, the original developer, Deck13 Interactive, went on to create The Surge, a game that shares many gameplay similarities with Lords of the Fallen and is considered a spiritual successor to it.