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Lords of the Fallen Review Thread

Some of these reviews seem to be knocking it because it's not as hard as Dark Souls. Pretty stupid reason to dock points.

Yeah I'm surprised they haven't knocked it for not being an open world racer.

On topic: is there a general sense of game length and replayability? I think I read 15 hours somewhere but it as wondering if there is a general consensus and what is awaiting after beating it. Thanks!
 

fcobento

Neo Member
Firstly, I doubt anyone on GAF is a 'casual gamer', secondly, no, I almost never play on anything other than normal difficulty, and finally, I'm not sure what 'used to it' means. If you're imagining I've played it over and over, and have just forgotten how hard it was, you're mistaken. I've finished Demons Souls and Dark Souls once each.

They're just not that hard. Yes, there are some challenging bosses (and yes, the ones with multiple enemies are harder for me too, Maneater especially), but there are in lots of games. I would say the amount of bosses I beat first try is inline with any normal game.

I think as well as the series has taken off, this belief that they're extremely hard is actually just damaging to the games, when in reality I have little doubt any competent player could finish them if they cared to do so.

I played DeS, DS, DS2. I loved all of them. I suffered with all of them. I didnt finish a single one of them. I just cant. I am a failure.

Bought Lord of the fallen. Let's see how it turns out.
 

Kezen

Banned
From the PC Gamer review :
The recommended system specs on Steam are a Core i7-3770, 8GB RAM, and a GeForce GTX 560 ti or better. On my older work machine with a Radeon HD 5900, Lords of the Fallen crashed at launch. On my second try, it took several minutes to load the first area, chugged a bit, and crashed again. Admittedly, this is the system I do all my work on, and it's seen better days since I started slowly choking it to death with games and software three years ago. Even so, come prepared with a high-end system. Along with my review code came some some different recommended specs: 3GB DDR5 VRAM (GeForce 760 or better), 3 GHz quad-core Intel CPU, and 8GB RAM, with a note that 4GB VRAM and 12GB of RAM will “make the game really shine.”
 

Ratrat

Member
This seems like how Dark Souls 2 would've reviewed if it didn't have the name attached, so it's probably an alright game.
The lesson here is if your going to shamelessly ape a masterpiece you better bring something new to the table, and be ready to be compared. This game sounds like an uninspired mess and a downgrade when they had the opportunity to improve and evolve the formula.
 
The lesson here is if your going to shamelessly ape a masterpiece you better bring something new to the table, and be ready to be compared. This game sounds like an uninspired mess and a downgrade when they had the opportunity to improve and evolve the formula.

You also have to consider the developer here. These guys haven't made amazing games. So this game is, by a huge margin their best game yet. I don't think you have to always evolve a genre to be considered good.
 

nbthedude

Member
The lesson here is if your going to shamelessly ape a masterpiece you better bring something new to the table, and be ready to be compared. This game sounds like an uninspired mess and a downgrade when they had the opportunity to improve and evolve the formula.
You've got the wrong narrative. This is a scrappy underdog developer overachieved and makes good narrative.

Hope they are rewarded for their hard work and able to build on what they created.
 
PS4 version in my amazon basket and i'm hovering over the confirm button... sod it, i'm ordering.

The mention of an easier but still challenging DS style game that doesn't require 100+ hours is really appealing to me as i love the idea of the DS gamestyle but i'm terribad so this looks like it's made for me! Yay!

... but my wallet weeps
... but it's payday soon so Yay again!
 

BumRush

Member
The GI review has me excited:

A surprisingly solid title that wasn’t even on my radar. While it borrows heavily from the Souls franchise, it’s done well and with its own signature flair. I highly recommend this game to anyone that enjoys that series, and if you haven’t gone down that road before, it might be a more forgiving entry point into the action RPG.

Around the holidays, I could use a slightly more forgiving game :)
 

Ratrat

Member
They copied another game. That's just downright commendable! I guess being more accessible with lowered difficulty and without online and other customization and having a terrible story are easily overlooked.

Okay, that's a bit harsh. Scoring in 7-8 is actually good for this kind of game. Hopefully they'll continue with a sequel as I do enjoy the core gameplay of the Souls series and there are different ways to use it.
 
While it feels big at first, Lords’ world isn’t. You can run back from the furthest point in the game to the very first room pretty quickly, and there’s a lot of going back and forth as the plot progresses and sidequests are unlocked. The underground mazes are complex enough, though, that if I wasn’t brainlessly plodding through known territory, I was getting frustratingly lost. The crypt and enemy fortress are made of samey hallways and chambers, and there’s no map to help. At one point I scrambled around for an hour, fighting the same enemies over and over, because the boss I was meant to face was tucked away somewhere I never thought I needed to return.

The most damning thing I've seen said about the game. That sounds... awful.

I was hoping the world would be intriguing. And backtracking through maze-like territory with no map and no CLUE where to go.... sounds like torture.

So why isn't this thread 200 pages considering it has the same score as of this post as Destiny?

Since when have review scores meant jack monkey squat?

This is a new IP. It's an action RPG, which isn't the most popular genre. There was very little hype and marketing leading up to release. There are probably a ton of people out there that still have no idea that this game exists.

Destiny is a new IP, but it's made by fucking BUNGIE. It's also a shooter. The marketing budget and hype was through the roof. I've never seen a game so hyped up before (maybe GTA5). Even I was strongly considering getting a PS4 just for this game.
 
The Outerhaven 7.9/10 - http://www.theouterhaven.net/2014/10/review-lords-fallen-pc-aint-dark-souls/

I've enjoy this take on the elements that made games such as Dark Souls so appealing to me and while this title will draw a ton of comparisons form the Soul series it definitely has a good amount of gameplay and differences to allow the game to stand out on it's own. That said I was a bit disappointed with the controls, the camera (which I bitched about everytime I played this game prior to release) and the crashing that I've experienced with the final copy. Seriously they need to patch that crap.

Hopefully this doens't get overshadow by the upcoming Bloodborne and even gets a sequel. I don't want to call it a "next-gen" Dark Souls but it's damned well close enough.
 

Mecha

Member
Only thing I'll disagree with is IGN's negative of story lacking. It is clear Lords is being compared to the Souls series, but in comparison Lords definitely comes out on top in regards to story elements. Yes the Souls series does have lore/story hidden in the game's environments, but Lords does a better job in my opinion of giving the player that story.

Otherwise, definitely agree with most reviewers. It may not be for everyone, but so far from playing I've been enjoying my time, bugs and all.

Lords of the Fallen does a better job of handing the player the games story, but that method is what the Soul's games avoid. The straightforwardness of the story in Lords of the Fallen doesn't necessarily make it any better than the Soul's stories.
 
The Metacritic reviews cite Dark Souls in the majority of quotes posted for the review. The reviewers sound like a Dark Souls advertisement. I fear this game will suffer the same fate as Dante's Inferno.
 
The Metacritic reviews cite Dark Souls in the majority of quotes posted for the review. The reviewers sound like a Dark Souls advertisement. I fear this game will suffer the same fate as Dante's Inferno.

That's.... because the game is a LOT like Dark Souls.

Funny how the Souls-esqueness is what made this game noticeable to people in the first place and now it's an albatross or something? That association will only help the sales of LOTF.
 
So if I've never played any Dark Souls game before (closest is all the Zelda games, I guess?), should I buy Lords of the Fallen or Dark Souls II?
 

Ferr986

Member
So if I've never played any Dark Souls game before (closest is all the Zelda games, I guess?), should I buy Lords of the Fallen or Dark Souls II?

Didnt play Lords yet but you cant go wrong with DS2. Incredible game. Also slightly easier than DS1 for newcomers (overall I like DS1 more but both are incredible).
 
Kind of what I was expecting after impressions and streams, I'll be picking it up soon.

Edit: The comparisons to the Souls games don't sway me. I finished Demon's, started DS1 but got sidetracked and never tried DS2.
 
Can anyone speak to the hit detection in the game?

I was told that swinging your weapon causes the weapon to pass through walls and pillars and such?
 
That's one thing I noticed while watching a few videos of the game. It really turned me off.

Same...although I haven't actually seen it happen. I'm not going to compare it to Dark Souls like other people are doing.

But I do like the job that the Dark Souls games have done regarding hit detection and weapons bouncing off walls. Having to think about what weapon I'm using and how I'm swinging it is a challenge I enjoy.

Weapons passing through architecture will probably be a deal breaker for me.
 

MisterTom

Neo Member
I've been playing the game for the last couple day's, but obviously without the big 5gb day one patch. Have any of the reviewers mentioned if they were somehow able to access this patch when reviewing the game? There are quite a few glaring problems including sound tracks randomly falling out, noticeably bad frame-rate at times, character 'stuttering' when up against an obstacle, etc. I guess its possible that people who don't play the game early will not have to deal with any of those problems (we shall see if that patch is worth it), but I have to say it is disappointing to see such problems at all.
 

Finalow

Member
So if I've never played any Dark Souls game before (closest is all the Zelda games, I guess?), should I buy Lords of the Fallen or Dark Souls II?
you should buy and play demon's souls, dark souls and then, if you feel like it, dark souls 2.

7.5 on polygon? does that mean the game is incredible but the main character doesn't wear enough cloth?
yeah, in gies case though it might also be because this game isn't M$ exclusive.

in any case gies didn't write the review so it's probably a legit 7.
 

Jonm1010

Banned
Why is dark souls esque now a criticism all of the sudden?

It's like thinking less of the Witcher 3 because it is too much like elder scrolls. Or knocking shadow of Mordor because it borrows it's gameplay mechanics from Arkham.

then what is more amazing is that people are knocking the game because it's not enough like dark souls.... Too linear, not as hard etc.

It's like lose/lose with some people. It's like some people are just walling off the action RPG genre to only games developed by From.
 
That's one thing I noticed while watching a few videos of the game. It really turned me off.

I've been playing for several hours and I've only really noticed this during the wind-up and tail end of a couple of greatsword animations. Combat generally gives you enough space for it to only be a minor issue, at least as far as I've seen.
 

Karak

Member
My favorate reviewer atm, the first I look for tbh, vast amounts of detail with well structured opinions and humorous wit! - Atleast you say it how it is.

I am glad you enjoy them!
As for hit detection for those asking. ya it has some issues.
 
Yeah I'm surprised they haven't knocked it for not being an open world racer.

On topic: is there a general sense of game length and replayability? I think I read 15 hours somewhere but it as wondering if there is a general consensus and what is awaiting after beating it. Thanks!
Ganespot says 20hrs.

And I agree that it's unfortunate reviewers are knocking down the scores for not being hard as Dark Souls.

Gamespot's review is done right. The reviewer loves the Souls series yet he reviewed LotF fairly as its own game.
 
Honestly i think its okay to criticize the game in regards to souls as soon as they started to embrace and market it towards the dark souls fanbase. If its easy, i dont know why people would want them to not "knock points off" weighty combat is not fun if your not afraid of being hit.
 

elfinke

Member
Watched the GB QL, thought it looked real great, the PC part anyway. Once Vinny returned to the console (XB! I think), yeesh, what a bummer that was.

Similar to Mordor, this appears to be a game I knew nothing of two weeks ago that I now really want to play!
 
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