Lords of the Fallen aims to shake up the RPG genre

Lords of the Fallen sparked interest last year, when beautifully rendered artwork showed up on the web, depicting a medieval style world and one-on-one combat that oozed homage to the Demon Souls series. Unfortunately, by the end of 2013, we hadn’t received much information regarding the project. Fast forward to 2014 and we now have a much clearer picture of what to expect from this gorgeous upcoming release.

Lords of the Fallen has been in development since 2011, as a joint effort between CI Games and Deck 13 Interactive. The adventure-epic is the brain child of Tomasz Gop, who worked as the senior producer on CD Prokject Red’s, The Witcher 2. It’s easy to see Witcher-esque influence in Lords of the Fallen, specifically on the front of combat, art-style, and massive boss battles. Likeness aside, Tomasz has stated that the upcoming release draws heavy influence from Demon Souls “learn and prevail” style of combat, mixed with a skill-tree system that is similar to the one found in Borderlands. The end product is an action-adventure title that feels like a mash-up between Dark Souls, The Legend of Zelda, and Darksiders.

The story follows Harken, a man with a shady past that has been placed into a mentorship program in an attempt to resolve his “inner evil.” Lords of the Fallen is set in a universe in which a great war between a god and humans took place. Humans were victorious in the battle, and it brought on a time of peace in which society believed that it could finally cast out all evil that plagues the human race. Because of this, anyone who committed a deadly sin received tattoos on their face, and were outcast for the remainder of their life. But peace is fleeting and the humans soon find themselves under attack by the god and his demonic army. In an attempt to fight “evil with evil,” society calls forth Harken, using him as a tool against the fallen lords.

Combat makes up a large chunk of the Lords of the Fallen experience. A lot of the battles you’ll come across are set up to feel like duels, where you pit your skills against your enemy in a one-on-one setting. It’s appears to play a lot like Dark Souls, although many fans would probably argue that Lords of the Fallen looks to be a much easier trek. The combat will reward those that take the time to learn their enemies, and you’ll be hard pressed to simply jump into battle and mash buttons until your foe is vanquished. There is a large layer of tactical advantage here, and each battle will have you lying in wait for the perfect moment to attack, or discovering weak points on your enemies.

Combat is split into two major sub-sections, melee and magic. Melee fighting encompasses the main tactical chunk of the combat system, and will have you choosing a variety of weapon types and skill paths. Magic and supernatural abilities are specific to each class, and you’ll be able to utilize a myriad of powerful spells to help turn the tide in a difficult battle.

Harken can borrow skills from three separate class lines, Rogue, Warrior, and Cleric. Although unlike the traditional RPG experience, you’ll be free to mix and experiment with the meshing of classes as you see fit. In Lords of the Fallen you aren’t tethered to traditional roles, you are free to play as you see fit. You’re free to wear light armors but carry a massive hammer, or envelope yourself in protective armor while dodging around with dual daggers. You can even carry a sword and shield, while using Cleric skills to defend yourself even further.

There is a mass of weapon types, armors, and additional trinkets to find during your journey. Tomasz was adamant in pointing out that Lords of the Fallen is not a sandbox, or open world experience, but there will be a multitude of secret areas and in-depth side quests to explore. The storyline will cause the world to shift, and change, which may affect areas you have already visited. Developers encourage you to re-explore dungeons and landscapes you’ve already conquered, and warn that new loot and hidden items are always lurking, just waiting to be discovered.

Lords of the Fallen is shaping up to be a beautiful, story driven, and very customizable medieval fantasy experience. It will be interesting to see how long the title is, although the website promises a massive epic with over 11 boss fights and loads of secrets. It also remains to be shown if the rumored lack of difficulty will turn most of you dedicated Dark Souls fans off to the release all together. Hopefully, we will know soon enough, as Lords of the Fallen is set to release on PC, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 sometime later this year.