Lords of the Fallen

About

Lords of the Fallen is a single player hack and slash game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by CI Games and was released on October 28, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Lords of the Fallen is a challenging fantasy action RPG set in a harsh world where humanity has defeated its God. When his army starts to re-emerge from its demonic realm, led by the formidable Lords, humanity turns to an unlikely defender for help. Lords of the Fallen offers a deep and satisfying melee combat system with weapons, armour and skills influencing speed, power and agility. Every figh…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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53%

Audience ScoreBased on 7,474 reviews

story457 positive mentions

optimization129 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a dark, immersive atmosphere.
Combat can be satisfying once players adapt to the slower pace and learn enemy patterns.
The game offers a variety of weapons and armor, allowing for different playstyles.

Combat feels clunky and slow, making it frustrating to engage with enemies.
The camera shake during gameplay can cause motion sickness and is unchangeable.
The story and character development are weak, leaving players feeling disconnected from the narrative.

story
2,099 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
66%
12%
The story of "Lords of the Fallen" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it generic and forgettable, often comparing it unfavorably to the more intricate narratives of the "Dark Souls" series. While some appreciate the straightforward storytelling and the inclusion of audio logs that provide lore, others criticize the lack of depth, poorly developed characters, and a predictable plot. Overall, the game offers a basic narrative framework that serves primarily to guide players through its combat and exploration, rather than to engage them in a compelling story.
- “The story manages to raise curiosity to an entertaining level where you start to ponder on all the characters' backstories and the world-building itself.”
- “The story is interesting enough and the voice acting is pretty acceptable.”
- “The story may as well not even be there; the only purpose it serves is to send you places like an errand boy.”
- “The story is mostly told through logs you find throughout the game, uncovering what had occurred.”
- “The story is forgettable and fails to create a compelling world or characters.”
gameplay
1,994 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
The gameplay of *Lords of the Fallen* has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its heavy reliance on mechanics reminiscent of the *Dark Souls* series, but often falling short in execution. Combat is described as clunky and slow, with frustrating mechanics such as ineffective dodging and unresponsive controls, leading to a sense of heaviness that detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the game's atmosphere and graphics, they criticize the lack of depth in gameplay mechanics and the repetitive nature of enemy encounters, making it less engaging compared to its inspirations.
- “Both the gameplay and the story are worth playing through at least once for any souls or RPG fan.”
- “The gameplay is solid, not much to say about it other than it's a fun take on the action-RPG formula sprinkled with some surprises here and there to increase the difficulty up to the stereotypical 'souls-like' experience.”
- “The gameplay is unique and cool.”
- “The game also did a terrible job of explaining its basic mechanics as I was quite confused on even how to level up at first.”
- “The story is uninteresting, the progression through the world is awkward at best, gameplay is boring when it works, and frustrating when it doesn't.”
- “The combat mechanics are dollar-store Dark Souls: clunky and slow.”
graphics
1,768 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
37%
3%
The graphics of "Lords of the Fallen" are widely praised for their impressive quality, even years after its release, with many reviewers noting the beautiful art style, detailed environments, and well-designed armor and weapon aesthetics. While the visuals create an immersive atmosphere, some players have experienced performance issues and graphical glitches, particularly on lower-end systems. Overall, the game's graphics are considered one of its standout features, often compared favorably to other titles in the genre, including the "Dark Souls" series.
- “The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is incredibly smooth and enjoyable.”
- “Graphically, this game holds up extremely well; it looks really good, even by the standards of today, 10 years after it released.”
- “The graphics of the game are beautiful, undeniably so.”
- “The graphics, touted in the trailers, didn't quite live up to the hype.”
- “The game definitely looks dated and I'm personally not a fan of the exaggerated WoW-like art style.”
- “The graphics hold up surprisingly well for a game from 2014, but there are a plethora of visual bugs, oddities, and inconsistencies which are easy to notice throughout the world, breaking what little immersion may have existed.”
optimization
348 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
53%
37%
The optimization of "Lords of the Fallen" has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including low frame rates, stuttering, and frequent crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users have noted improvements post-launch patches, the game is still considered poorly optimized overall, leading to a frustrating experience for many. Despite its potential as a solid title, the technical shortcomings significantly detract from its enjoyment.
- “The game runs smoothly right out of the box.”
- “Absolutely disgraceful optimization.”
- “Optimized very well for PC, no crashes and consistent high frame rates.”
- “I think this game has the worst optimization; I can't play this game with 5-10 fps on the lowest settings and minimum specs that do not match.”
- “The game is an unoptimized mess.”
- “I have never seen a more terribly optimized game in my life.”
music
314 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its atmospheric qualities and the ability to enhance the overall experience. While some tracks, particularly the main menu theme and certain boss fight music, are praised for their epic and immersive qualities, others find the soundtrack to be forgettable or repetitive, especially during gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, though it may not leave a lasting impression for all players.
- “The moment the music of winter's kiss played and the game menu opened, it was like I entered a world where darkness wasn't just an enemy, it was a part of me.”
- “From its atmospheric soundtrack to its intricate level design, Lords of the Fallen delivers an unforgettable gaming experience that will keep players engaged for hours on end.”
- “The music is fantastic as well.”
- “The music is generic and lame.”
- “The soundtrack holds its own but doesn't manage to leave any lasting impression, as is a common theme with the game.”
- “The music during boss fights is super repetitive, and the same soundtrack plays for each boss, which feels cheap.”
stability
286 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
1%
95%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, glitches, and bugs that significantly disrupt gameplay. While some users have experienced fewer issues after patches, many still encounter game-breaking problems, such as unresponsive controls, freezing during critical moments, and inconsistent hitboxes. Overall, the game is considered unstable and frustrating, making it difficult to recommend despite its potential as an engaging experience.
- “Had a lot of technical issues on launch due to DRM, but fixed and runs great even on dusty old laptops (I completed this on a laptop running an i5 and GT720).”
- “Runs great on triple-monitor, unlike Soulsborne.”
- “Pros: it looks great, it runs great (I've had no crash issues), the levels and items are nicely detailed and some of the best looking I've found.”
- “Game is extremely buggy, crashes a lot.”
- “The number of frustrating and game-breaking glitches for this game are legion: look on the fextralife page if you want proof, don't for the love of god waste $30 on this steaming pile of turd to find out first hand.”
- “Even after all this time the game is buggy and broken as hell, crashing constantly.”
atmosphere
242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
40%
4%
The atmosphere in "Lords of the Fallen" is widely praised for its dark, immersive quality, characterized by stunning graphics, intricate level design, and a gothic, high-fantasy setting that evokes a sense of medieval decay. Players appreciate the game's ability to create a gripping environment through effective use of lighting, sound design, and detailed textures, making exploration both thrilling and visually captivating. While some critiques mention the gameplay's roughness and narrative shortcomings, the overall atmospheric experience remains a standout feature that draws players into its haunting world.
- “The grim, high-fantasy setting is dripping in medieval decay—ornate cathedrals, crumbling castles, and frost-covered hallways all ooze atmosphere.”
- “Lords of the Fallen excels in creating a dark and immersive atmosphere reminiscent of classic fantasy worlds.”
- “The use of lighting and shadows adds to the game's eerie atmosphere, making exploration both thrilling and visually stunning.”
- “The atmosphere is completely different.”
- “The game is also very boring in terms of atmosphere, again, much like the dark souls games.”
- “The atmosphere is dark and unsettling.”
grinding
201 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
3%
96%
The grinding aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players describing it as tedious and frustrating. Combat is often slow and repetitive, particularly against shielded enemies and bosses, leading to prolonged battles that feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge. While some players found enjoyment in grinding for experience, the general consensus is that the game suffers from poor enemy design and a lack of rewarding progression, making the grinding experience feel excessive and unenjoyable.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “It is beyond tedious and causes a lot of combat to become super annoying and unenjoyable.”
- “The bosses in this game are extremely tedious and boring.”
- “The combat is passable when fighting one normal enemy at a time, but extremely tedious and frustrating when fighting more than one at once, and don't even think about fighting a boss.”
replayability
121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
The replayability of "Lords of the Fallen" is a mixed bag among players. While some appreciate the New Game Plus mode and the variety of classes and builds that encourage multiple playthroughs, many feel that the lack of significant changes in NG+ and limited character customization diminish the overall replay value. Overall, the game offers moderate replayability, with some players finding it enjoyable enough for a few runs, while others see little incentive to return after completing it once.
- “New game plus mode adds to replayability by allowing players to carry over progress while facing tougher challenges.”
- “The fact that you need to be creative and have different approaches to bosses, depending on your build, makes the fights very fun, giving the game a good replayability factor.”
- “Exploration is encouraged as there are plenty of secrets and lore to be found and even more after you complete your first playthrough, which adds to the replayability factor of Lords of the Fallen.”
- “I feel the game doesn't have much replay value, at least for me, as it's just not very fun to play, and I didn't enjoy most weapons and most play styles.”
- “The replay value is rather low if you don't want to complete boss challenges or find gear you missed during the first playthrough. There's not much reason to actually go through it again except for it being a fun game.”
- “The biggest issue is that after finishing, not much changes in new game+ except that enemies have far more health, which really kills the replayability.”
humor
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
4%
The humor in the game is largely unintentional, stemming from clumsy animations, awkward voice acting, and numerous glitches that lead to hilariously absurd moments. Players find amusement in the game's attempts to mimic the Dark Souls formula, often resulting in comically frustrating gameplay experiences, such as poorly executed combat mechanics and exaggerated enemy behaviors. While some moments elicit genuine laughter, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, making the humor feel more like a byproduct of the game's flaws rather than a deliberate design choice.
- “The roll is hilariously slow.”
- “Awful enemy placement, some enemies have stupid looking animations (I nearly cried laughing at the first boss's spinning attack, it looks like a ballerina), generally clunky combat and awful gimmicks for some enemies and bosses.”
- “The voice acting just flat out made me laugh; the characters are stereotypical fantasy tropes with no personality.”
- “In fact, bosses are really unfunny because of that.”
- “The game is not funny at all.”
character development
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
10%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the customization options and rewarding progression, while others criticize it for being limited and lacking depth. The character designs are often described as visually impressive but can feel generic or unoriginal, detracting from the overall experience. Additionally, the interactions with NPCs and the narrative context are seen as insufficient, leading to a sense of disconnection from the characters and their development.
- “Character development in Lords of the Fallen is satisfying, with a variety of customizable options that allow players to tailor their gameplay experience.”
- “Its striking visuals and haunting atmosphere drew me in from the start, while its deep combat system and rich character development kept me engaged throughout.”
- “The character development is slow; you start pretty weak, but when you overcome, it is really rewarding.”
- “Character development is quite limited, and controls are confusing.”
- “The character designs, a laughable attempt at originality, resemble distorted caricatures rather than the awe-inspiring creations we have come to appreciate in the realm of gaming.”
- “No character development or story in the first two hours.”
emotional
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
78%
22%
The emotional responses to the game are mixed, with some players feeling a sense of personal growth and achievement despite the game's challenges, while others express frustration over its lackluster story and technical issues that detract from immersion. Positive moments, such as heart-touching music and emotional stakes during boss encounters, are overshadowed by complaints about a boring narrative and gameplay mechanics that fail to engage. Overall, the game elicits strong reactions, both positive and negative, highlighting a disconnect between its intended emotional impact and players' experiences.
- “Do you want to intimately understand that feeling of your funny little paws touching the ground for safety just to find yourself without a single shred of protection?”
- “Tears welled up in his eyes when he realized what exactly was at stake.”
- “Some good choices along the way that are recapped when you complete the game in a sequence that I found oddly emotional.”
- “A boring story that does not hurt or delight.”
- “Boring storyline you are forced to witness (unlike Dark Souls).”
- “Couple this change of pace with a boring storyline and you're left with the feeling of why am I playing this.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism, with players highlighting intrusive microtransactions and persistent ads that detract from the gameplay experience. Many feel that the game is a cash grab, particularly targeting fans of the Dark Souls series, and express frustration over the game's performance issues exacerbated by excessive advertising. Overall, the monetization approach has left players feeling dissatisfied and misled.
- “Microtransactions for a good cause! ”
- “This will be a series on my channel (same name as my Steam name, totally not advertising or anything, haha) as soon as the patch is available for me, and I will be happy to share my experience of this with others!”
- “On top of that, there were ads that did not stop respawning.”
- “It's just a cash grab targeting the Dark Souls community.”
- “The only reason I can figure for leaving the game in this state is making you sit through the 3 advertisement splash screens (that play twice each) while you reload after the crashes.”

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69%Critics’ scoreBased on 8 critic reviews

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13h Median play time

46h Average play time

5-21h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 92 analyzed playthroughs

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