Lords Of The Fallen is more Bloodborne than Dark Souls, and I'm here for it

Ask me what my favourite game is and the chances are high I'll unhinge my jaw, turn into an eldritch beast from beyond the limits of human comprehension, and roar Bloodborne in a tongue so ancient it'll sever your head from your body with the sheer unholy power of the declaration.

I really like Bloodborne, in other words. Which is why I'm incredibly hyped for Lords Of The Fallen.

Take a look below!

FromSoftware fans everywhere have probably been keeping an eye on Lords Of The Fallen, a brutal new action RPG developed by Hexworks that promises to offer a new take on the classic formula put forth by the likes of Dark Souls.

The Dark Souls influences are abundant, of course. In my brief time with the game I came across shrines at which I could rest, explored a decaying fantasy world, and had my shit rocked by a dragon ten times my size. Like I said, it's a classic formula beloved by many people like myself who don't quite have their heads screwed on right.

Lords Of The Fallen is also an absolutely gorgeous game, which is not surprising given it makes use of Unreal Engine 5. The world is filled with grotesque details and horrifying enemies that ooze and slither and sneak. And yet, as much as Lords Of The Fallen might look like Dark Souls, it feels infinitely more to me.

Maybe it's because I go into every Soulslike looking for a little slice of my favourite game, I don't know. But where Lies Of P has the gothic aesthetic of Bloodborne down, Lords Of The Fallen plays an awful lot more like the criminally underrated PS4 exclusive then I would have expected.

Combat feels much quicker in Lords Of The Fallen, for one thing. While you can choose between various classes and builds (much more like a Dark Souls game) I felt more of an emphasis on speed and parrying. Perhaps this was just because of the build I opted for, but if multiple builds can impact combat to the extent that it can feel like either Dark Souls or Bloodborne, that can only be a very good thing.

I'd also humbly suggest that Lords Of The Fallen, like Bloodborne, leans way more into survival horror. It's not like Dark Souls is a tip-toe through the tulips, but Bloodborne always felt much scarier to me. Lords Of The Fallen has much of that tension, which terrors lurking behind every corner, their rasping breath the only thing to give them away before they leap out to attack you and leave your trousers browner than they were seconds before.

Then there's the entire concept of the Umbral plane, which feels like it could've been explored in a Bloodborne sequel. Basically, Lords Of The Fallen allows players to enter an unseen realm to overcome certain obstacles and pass previously impassable barriers. The only catch is once you die in the Umbral plane, you're sent back to the last checkpoint. That means it's up to you whether or not you give up one life to enter the realm, or look for another route. All I'll say is being astutely aware I could get murdered at any moment while exploring the Umbral plane was deeply, deeply scary in a way I haven't felt in a game since... well, since Bloodborne.

All told Lords Of The Fallen is shaping up to be an adventure that takes the absolute best of FromSoftware and still throws in plenty of its own fascinating ideas, and really, that's laying the foundations for yet another potential 2023 GOTY contender.

Topics: Dark Souls, Bloodborne