Let’s get the obvious out of the way first.

Everything will feel immediately familiar to soulslikers.

In LOTF, they’re just fiery skulls.

Armoured warrior fights with a spell caster in Lords Of The Fallen (2023)

Don’t expect your connection to its world to be all that strong.

The magic lantern, though, manages to save LOTF from being just another clone… sort of.

That boss knight who’d hop into the swamp?

A screenshot from Lords Of The Fallen that shows the player take on a scythe-wielding wraith.

I get what CI is going for here!

Both of these things can halt your momentum and, crucially, snap your suspension of disbelief in two.

The game absolutely loves hammering you with loads of mobs.

A screenshot from Lords Of The Fallen that shows the player chatting to a forlorn knight on a cliff edge.

Transition into Umbral and it gets even worse, with loads of critters constantly nipping at your ankles.

There are more little annoyances in LOTF I just can’t get past.

Enemies get caught on terrain.

A screenshot from Lords Of The Fallen that shows the player tug a platform towards them using the Umbral lantern.

Mimic chests are placed in spots that aren’t darkly humorous but more a major ballache.

I really want to like Lords Of The Fallen more than I do.

The lantern almost elevates it into special territory!

The player looks out at a blue vista filled with two enormous skeletons in Lords Of The Fallen.

And at times, there are flashes of a grand adventure to cleanse a kingdom of rot.

A screenshot from Lords Of The fallen that shows the player shining a lantern on a previously inaccessible stream, and revealing an Umbral area they’re able to traverse.

A screenshot from Lords Of The Fallen that shows an enormous, almost childish face turn to the player.

A screenshot from Lords Of The Fallen that shows the player wearing a bell on their head.