Morbid: The Lords of Ire

About

Morbid: The Lords of Ire is a single player hack and slash game with fantasy, dark fantasy and violence themes. It was developed by Still Running and was released on May 17, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

From the makers of Morbid: The Seven Acolytes... experience another bloody disgusting take on the souls-like genre with unnerving aesthetics, abysmal monsters and gore galore as you set out to defeat the Lords of Ire.

Skip User Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

gameplay19 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

Strong atmospheric and morbid dark fantasy world with impressive level and enemy design, especially later areas.
Visceral and satisfying combat focused on parry and posture mechanics, with a unique gun reload feature that adds tactical depth.
Good variety of weapons and upgrade systems (runes and blessings) that offer customization, despite some limitations.

Technical issues including crashes, bugs (e.g., getting stuck in geometry), janky animations, clunky controls, and poor camera behavior.
Enemy placement and design lead to frustrating encounters with excessive enemy clustering, causing drawn-out fights and difficulty spikes late game.
Progression system feels slow and unrewarding, with expensive skill upgrades and low impact weapon/rune enhancements; repetitive combat loop and lack of weapon moveset variety.

gameplay
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The gameplay offers a distinctive soulslike experience with satisfying combat, diverse weapons, and interesting mechanics like parrying, a stagger/poise system, and a sanity feature that mostly adds thematic tension rather than impactful gameplay changes. While combat feels rewarding with elements like slow-motion kills and upgrade options, it is often hampered by repetitive movesets, overemphasis on parrying, underdeveloped systems (such as the sanity and posture mechanics), and occasional technical issues. Overall, it provides enjoyable action for fans of the genre but lacks polish and depth in several areas, making progression and challenge sometimes feel uneven or frustrating.
- “Most of the monsters from the first game make a return with some new ones and they all look good visually, some even having great mechanics (like laying and birthing mobs, grabbing you / you got a chance to escape with a gunshot, etc.).”
- “Other than that, the combat is actually fairly satisfying and there are plenty of options in terms of weapons, upgrade cards, runes, stealth mechanics, etc. to have different builds.”
- “A nice take on the souls genre, with great new mechanics, satisfying combat feel, decent level design, and interesting art design.”
- “The sanity mechanic, intended to add psychological tension, doesn’t meaningfully affect gameplay for most of the adventure and comes across more as a thematic flourish than a functional system.”
- “The poise/ragebreaker mechanic is really badly designed and it spoils the combat for me.”
- “Unpolished gameplay, untested areas and balance is non-existent with arbitrary choices made throughout the game.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
50%
11%
The game features a distinctive dark fantasy and horror aesthetic with mostly solid 3D visuals that successfully transition from the charming pixel art of its predecessor. While the graphics show some inconsistency and reflect its indie budget, the art design and atmosphere are generally praised for enhancing the overall experience. Despite some rough animations and uneven visuals, the game's unique style and detailed environments create an engaging and visually appealing world.
- “The aesthetic and art design were top tier!”
- “Really fun combat, loved the aesthetic of the world, to see the enemies from the first game remade in 3D beautifully.”
- “Yes, the graphics are not from AAA, but it's a 25€ game from a small studio and the care they put in all the zones is amazing.”
- “It seems that the developers could have invested more effort into enhancing the graphics.”
- “Graphics: the visuals for this game are kind of all over the place.”
- “The art style is really inconsistent.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The story is minimalistic and mainly serves as a backdrop for gameplay, unfolding through environmental cues and fragmented lore rather than heavy exposition. While some appreciate the subtle, atmospheric approach, many find the narrative lacking depth, character development, and engaging plot elements. Overall, the story is considered weak and insufficient to carry the game on its own.
- “Rather than relying on heavy exposition, the story unfolds through implication—fragmented lore, nightmarish sights, and the desolate remains of a world swallowed by corruption.”
- “The story is vague, but is supplemented by the lore unlocked from fighting enemies.”
- “Linear, great main and quest bosses.”
- “So much so that I'm surprised the game doesn't have character creation since the protagonist has no personality, backstory, or dialogue.”
- “The game costing $25 might be fine if it had gear, armor, skills, or attributes like Dark Souls or Elden Ring, but without any of those features, it leaves a very bland and frankly pointless gameplay loop, because the only reason to play then is for the story—and the story is very mediocre.”
- “"Story": there... technically is a plot for this game, I think.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
18%
19%
The atmosphere of Morbid: The Lords of Ire is widely praised for its grim, gothic art style, oppressive dark fantasy setting, and effective use of music and sound to enhance immersion. Despite some graphical shortcomings, the game's visuals and distinct enemy designs successfully convey a bleak, intense world that complements its brutal combat. Overall, the atmospheric experience stands out as a strong point, making it a compelling entry in the souls-like genre.
- “The gothic art and sound direction fits well with the game's themes and creates an excellent atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere often does the heavy lifting where narrative detail is sparse, using imagery to convey the scale of the corruption rather than relying on long dialogues or dense lore texts.”
- “Taken as a whole, Morbid: The Lords of Ire is a rough but earnest entry in the indie souls-like space—one that succeeds through its visceral combat, oppressive atmosphere, and grotesque visual style.”
- “The atmosphere is still there.”
- “The atmosphere and monster design hits just right.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is inconsistent, with frequent animation and camera bugs, occasional visual glitches, and buggy mechanics that disrupt immersion. While no game-breaking crashes were reported, performance issues, especially on the Steam Deck, and softlocks related to map artifacts negatively impact the experience. Some technical problems can be temporarily resolved by restarting, but overall the game feels unpolished and unstable.
- “Technical issues surface often enough to break immersion: awkward camera angles during close-quarters combat, occasional animation glitches, stiff character movement, and inconsistent visual polish across different areas.”
- “Steam Deck: I assumed it would work fine since the game doesn't seem very demanding, but the performance on the Deck is awful and there are numerous visual glitches.”
- “Map artifacts causing softlocks are not uncommon; there are plenty of visual glitches too.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The music in the game is well-crafted, effectively enhancing the atmosphere and character distinction with strong boss tracks and ambient level tunes. While not all players find the soundtrack memorable enough to revisit, standout tracks like "Redemption" receive particular praise for their quality. Overall, the music complements the grim art direction and distinct voice acting, contributing positively to the game's immersive experience.
- “Its grim art direction, alongside distinct voice acting, helps the characters stand apart, and the music adds atmosphere in the right places.”
- “All of the boss tracks are great and the levels have decent ambiance.”
- “The aesthetic and music are quite good and similar to the first game.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game generally offers solid performance and good optimization, especially on high-end PCs, with well-designed levels and smooth combat. However, optimization is inconsistent in some areas, and the Steam Deck version suffers from poor performance and visual glitches. Overall, it remains playable but could use improvements for less powerful hardware.
- “The game is technically well done: level design and environments are nice, performances are more than decent, the combat is very good.”
- “Graphics are good and performance is solid on my rig (3080, 7800x3d, 1440p).”
- “They have their own unique spin on the combat and so far the game seems pretty well optimized.”
- “I assumed it would work just fine on the Steam Deck since the game doesn't seem very demanding, but the performance on the Deck is awful and there are a bunch of visual glitches.”
- “Some areas are better optimized than others, and at certain spots there are power drain spikes, but overall it is playable.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is criticized for being tedious and frustrating, involving excessive running around to locate NPCs rather than offering a convenient preparation space. It reflects common negative traits of indie soulslikes, focusing on unnecessary difficulty that hinders enjoyment.
- “Rather than being a convenient space to prepare between excursions, it’s a tedious maze that requires constant running around just to find each NPC for their specific function.”
- “It displays the worst 'indie soulslike' tendencies of being frustratingly tedious for the sake of being 'hard' to appeal to the self-flagellants of the cult of souls.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is praised for its solid design and smooth animations, providing a visually appealing and well-executed presentation.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect is minimal, with the protagonist serving mainly as a combat vessel rather than a character with a developed emotional journey, and the world’s collapse functioning mainly as a backdrop for action.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is primarily tied to the new game plus (NG+) mode, which may appeal to dedicated players, but most users are unlikely to experience it, limiting its overall impact on replay value.

Skip Game Offers

Buy Morbid: The Lords of Ire

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Morbid: The Lords of Ire

70%571reviews

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes

2020

Role Playing

85%3.7kreviews

AI LIMIT

2025

Hack and Slash

69%4.3kreviews

Mortal Shell

2021

Open World Hack and Slash

67%966reviews

Enotria: The Last Song

2024

Role Playing

73%1.5kreviews

Ashen

2018

Open World Hack and Slash

+11

More games like Morbid: The Lords of Ire

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Morbid: The Lords of Ire is a hack and slash game with fantasy, dark fantasy and violence themes.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire was released on May 17, 2024.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire was developed by Still Running.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire is a single player game.

Similar games include Morbid: The Seven Acolytes, AI LIMIT, Mortal Shell, Enotria: The Last Song, Ashen and others.

Morbid: The Lords of Ire

Platforms

Buy Morbid: The Lords of Ire