If the aforementioned boss fights are the jewel in Lords of the Fallen‘s crown then navigating your way to these encounters is the brittle mold, one that must be smashed into submission to reveal the treasures which lie beneath. Smashing through this shell isn’t exactly a fast process either, at least not unless luck is on your side.
During the first twenty to thirty minutes in Lords of the Fallen you might consider me to be a madman for suggesting this is the case and I would be the first here to hold my hands up to that. The opening segment is beautifully designed, and it gives you the sense that you’re progressing without the game’s heavy hand shoving you through. Moments after this initial sequence though you’re left to your own devices and here the problems begin.
You’re sent on the simple mission of finding an injured companion. When last seen, Kaslo -the companion in question – was mortally wounded and mere inches away from you. Actually finding him, however, takes a couple of hours that feel like days as you’re wandering aimlessly through areas with no sense of direction or any sense of a clue. This dislike for giving the player any information is then followed up when you are told to go through to another citadel (which the game kindly forgets to mention is through several other areas).
It also forgets to mention the names of locations. Being sent into the Catacombs was perhaps one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. Not for the difficulty nor for the threat within. Rather it was because I had no idea where these mystical Catacombs were. You see, every location of importance is a labyrinth of visually striking yet characteristically similar corridors where the end result is often obscured from view. Giving players free reign is all well and good, but not backing up with the design to make this in any way a pleasant experience turns Lords of the Fallen into a cavalcade of frustrations.
Things are somewhat improved when you find a cleverly hidden treasure chest or delightful sight to feast your eyes upon. Opening up a chest to find a piece of armor or a weapon which improves your capabilities gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. It would be nice if it happened more often, especially since some weapons available are at the start of your first play-through are still better than those found at the end, but when something good does happen there’s always a sense of achievement.
Hiding the boss battles that constitute Lords of the Fallen‘s greatest quality behind mindless hours (and I’m not joking, you can be wandering around for several hours before you finally stumble upon your goal) and walking through the same tunnels you’ve explored many times before is frankly cheap and smacks of poor design. Games of the Metroid-Vania genus are enjoyable because they always find a way to make your next goal obvious and bring about something new. Lords of the Fallen takes this idea but removes anything joyous within it, leaving a bland hulk of what could have been something great.
This lack of innovation and ingenuity feeds into almost every aspect of the game, except the extremely special combat systems and boss designs. Overused genre trope after overused genre trope is paraded in front of you, shuffling along with the tired legs it has suffered through many years of game design. Right from the betrayal of major characters to the bled-dry idea of unlocking the key to an ancient language find their way into Lords of the Fallen. These could have been something special if they’d been done slightly differently. Instead they only come across as tired clichés.
