Fans of the Souls genre should be very familiar with the gameplay and mechanics of these games. High difficulty and precision are the name of the game when jumping into any encounter. King of Fallen Impressions introduces some new mechanics that add interest and variety to the traditional game modes. If you think Fallen King sounds familiar, you’d be right. A game of the same name was released back in 2014. the 2023 version takes place in the same universe some 1,000 years later.
In Lords of the Fallen, you’ll play as a dark crusader on a mission to overthrow the demon god Adyr. You will use the Umbral Lamp to travel between the living (Axiom) and the dead (Umbral). You will meet many interesting characters, vendors and enemies along your journey. In order to stand out, you’ll need to continue to adapt your character and gameplay style to meet each new challenge. You never know what will happen around the next corner.
The first thing I noticed when I booted up the game was how much better it looked than many of its counterparts. Fallen King is built on Unreal Engine 5 and you can tell when looking closely at the lighting and particle effects. Sometimes I just let the game sit and see how good the armor and character models look. I played the game on PS5 and it ran very smoothly, but I’ve heard of some issues on PC. The menu system looks similar to Dark Souls, but I don’t think this game will be any different.
As I said before, Lords of the Fallen introduces some new mechanics, or at least new mechanics from the various Souls games I’ve played. The most unique mechanic you’ll notice is the Umbral field. Players will use the Umbral field to solve puzzles and discover secrets in various maps. As you move through the game, you will notice white moths or butterflies. This is a sign that there is a secret in the area and you will use your lights to peer into another world. I like that you can make yourself vulnerable to enemies in the other world. I think catching players off guard is a good thing. When it comes to combat, there are some interesting mechanics added when it comes to Umbral lights. One is forcing you to use the lights to help defeat protected enemies. You can also use the lamp to pull enemies towards you or throw them off a ledge.
Umbral lights also give the player a second life. When a player dies, you are resurrected in the Land of the Dead. You respawn with a reduced lifesteal, which you can restore by attacking enemies before taking any additional damage. As a player who dies easily, this is one of my favorite additions. It’s fun to play the game in this space, but you have to realize how much time you’re spending. In Umbral, you gain a multiplier when you collect in-game currency, but when that multiplier is maxed out, you’re hunted down by the Grim Reaper. This was very surprising and interesting the first time the enemy appeared. I found myself rushing through all the enemies and loot in order to find the next checkpoint.
Combat will vary depending on the character or building you decide to use. When you first create your character, you can choose from nine starting classes. As you progress through the game, you can unlock four additional professions. Your starting course will give you many different options when it comes to how you want to play the game. While your starting career determines your attribute distribution and armor, you can customize your character to your liking and gain more experience points. If you’re a hardcore Dark Souls player, you may find the game’s controls a bit sluggish. It took me some time to perfect blocking, blocking and understanding the various stance variations. Once you’ve mastered the stance system, you’ll be able to use finishing moves to kill enemies, which is a fun addition to combat. What many players will notice that sets this game apart from others is the number of enemies that will attack you at a given time. In similar games, players will encounter one to three enemies at a time. In Fallen King, things can escalate quickly. There’s no real way to predict this, so it can be frustrating.
Fallen Kings is a great addition to Soul Family. It has a familiar feel to it, but it also brings some welcome changes and I think a lot of people will enjoy it and find it challenging. There are so many secrets to experience and so many different character archetypes to try out. You’ll run into the occasional glitch or quirk, but that doesn’t ruin the experience. This is a great game if you’re looking for a new challenge.
Fallen King is now available on the PlayStation, Xbox family of consoles and PC.