Lords of the Fallen’s Adherence to Dark Souls Has One Critical Flaw

Like virtually every other Soulslike before it, Lords of the Fallen can trace its inspirations back to the games in the impressive catalog of titles from developer FromSoftware. Specifically, Lords of the Fallen has a very clear line of influence coming from the original Dark Souls, with several of the game’s core elements – combat, art direction, world design, tone, etc. – finding their way into the reboot/sequel of one of the genre’s earliest games not developed by FromSoftware. While aiming for Dark Souls‘ bar of quality is a loft goal that Lords of the Fallen mostly nails, its adherence to 12-year-old game design hinders one of the title’s best aspects: exploration of its intricate world.