Lords of the Fallen (2023) Review

Developer: Hexworks

Platform: PS5

Length: 35-45+ hours

When Lords of the Fallen released back in 2023 it was a decent game that suffered from performance issues and some gameplay choices that got a mixed response from fans and critics alike. Fast forward to April 2025 and the developer Hexworks has just released the major 2.0 patch, which aims to address many of those concerns, and improve the experience in a number of areas. I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed my time with it.

The beacons light the way to your next destinations.

Primarily drawing influence from the Dark Souls series, if you are a fan of those games, you're likely to feel right at home exploring the dreary land of Mournstead. The unique mechanic that separates it from the increasing number of Soulslikes is the Umbral world. At any point you can hold up an item called the Umbral Lamp that will reveal a hidden, twisted version of the same area that has its own enemies and new paths to take. Swapping between the two is often necessary to progress, but it also holds a lot of secrets to discover.

A safe place to upgrade and resupply before heading out.

I love the art direction of the various locations, the enemy and boss designs and the small number of inhabitants you meet, all brought to life in Unreal Engine 5. Considering the scale of the game, it's impressive that the level of detail remained high throughout.

The soundtrack is suitably moody and bleak which helped the overall atmosphere of the journey and the voice acting is well done.

Not the best place to hang out.

There's three endings to unlock, online PVP and co-op and a New Game+ mode, so it will definitely keep you busy if you want to see everything.

It's unclear if this revamp will bring back enough people to revitalise the game, but if there's a chance of a sequel in the future, I'm in!