Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Sometimes, revisiting the past offers valuable perspective. Other times, it mostly reminds you how far things have progressed. My recent playthrough of the original Lords of the Fallen, the 2014 title from Deck13 Interactive and CI Games, falls squarely into the latter category. It’s crucial to preface this by stating I came to this game now, in 2025, long after its contemporaries like Dark Souls 2 and only a year before Bloodborne changed the game. Playing it with fresh eyes, accustomed to the refinements and innovations seen in countless Souls-likes since, was… an experience. An often frustrating, clunky, and technically troubled experience, despite occasional glimmers of what could have been.
The Weight of Combat: Slow and Sluggish
The first thing that hits you when stepping into the heavy boots of Harkyn, the game’s gruff protagonist, is the sheer weight and deliberate slowness of everything. Movement feels ponderous, attacks have significant wind-up and recovery animations, and dodging lacks the crisp responsiveness I’ve grown accustomed to. It feels draggy, as if Harkyn is constantly fighting against invisible treacle.
This sluggishness permeates every aspect of combat. Finding windows to attack enemies, who are often equally slow but hit like trucks, becomes an exercise in strained patience rather than thrilling reaction. Heavy attacks require long charge times, making them risky propositions. Even light attacks feel deliberate to a fault. Initially, I wondered if this was an intentional design choice meant to convey the burden of Harkyn’s heavy armor and weaponry. Perhaps. But in practice, it often translated into frustrating encounters where the controls felt like they were actively working against me. Compared to the fluidity found even in earlier FromSoftware titles like Demon’s Souls (2009), let alone modern entries, the difference is stark and jarring. Getting used to this heavy, almost lagging feel took considerable time and adjustment, and frankly, it never felt truly good. It felt archaic.
Technical Troubles and Lingering Frustrations
Beyond the inherent clunkiness of the core mechanics, my playthrough was unfortunately plagued by technical issues – issues that, frankly, shouldn’t still exist in a game this old. Several times during intense boss fights, particularly when using certain charged or spinning attacks near walls or environmental objects, Harkyn would simply bug out. I experienced clipping through geometry, getting stuck on top of a boss model, unable to hit them or be hit reliably, only to be randomly teleported nearby and likely take a massive hit during the disorientation. These weren’t isolated incidents; they happened often enough to become a genuine source of frustration, turning challenging encounters into potentially unfair ones.
Worse still were the crashes. Upon reaching the game’s DLC area, presented as an ancient labyrinth or maze, I encountered repeatable hard crashes. Specifically, during the boss fight at the end of this maze – some sort of librarian hurling books – the game would consistently crash to desktop after a couple of attempts. Restarting the game, restarting my PC, verifying files – the issue persisted through multiple cycles.
A quick search online revealed forum posts from years ago detailing the exact same problem, suggesting this wasn’t a new issue related to my setup, but rather a long-standing bug that was simply never fixed. Eventually, through sheer luck on one attempt, I managed to defeat the boss before the game decided to crash again, and the problem ceased thereafter. But having progress repeatedly halted by technical failures, especially known, unfixed ones, significantly soured the experience. It speaks volumes about the game’s long-term support, or lack thereof.
Navigating the Fog of Confusion
Lords of the Fallen attempts the cryptic, hands-off world design typical of the genre, but often stumbles into outright confusion. The main story is threadbare and poorly presented, with cutscenes offering little clarity. Understanding objectives or where to go next frequently relies on obscure hints or simply bumping around until you find the right path.
This lack of guidance led to one particularly aggravating experience. I spent what felt like two hours aimlessly wandering familiar areas, slaughtering the same respawning enemies over and over. I was completely lost, searching for a hidden path forward, a missed doorway—anything. In the end, I had to backtrack significantly to a much earlier area. A door that was previously locked had become accessible after some story trigger I’d either missed or misunderstood.
Souls-likes often involve backtracking and reward exploration, but Lords of the Fallen handled it poorly. The design felt unintuitive and signposting was weak. It wasn’t clever environmental puzzling—it was just getting stuck because of obscure logic. It brought back the worst parts of 90s game design, where getting lost felt intentional. Eventually, I had to break my usual rule and use an external guide. The pointless wandering had drained all enjoyment from the session.
Fleeting Moments of Merit Amidst the Issues
It wouldn’t be fair to say the game is entirely without merit. Despite the clunky combat engine, some of the boss designs are visually interesting, featuring hulking demons and armored knights that fit the dark fantasy aesthetic. A few encounters introduce decent mechanics that require more than just hacking away. The DLC’s maze, despite the technical issues with its boss, was conceptually quite engaging. Activating levers to shift the labyrinth’s layout while fending off tough, spectral enemies was genuinely interesting and probably the highlight of my entire playthrough.
Furthermore, once I finally acclimated to the sluggish combat rhythm, the overall difficulty wasn’t extreme. Most bosses fell after learning their slow-telegraphed patterns. There was one particular duo boss fight that provided a significant spike in challenge, requiring maybe ten or more attempts, but largely, the game felt manageable from a difficulty perspective – if you could wrestle with the controls and avoid the bugs.
A Dated Presentation
Visually, Lords of the Fallen was likely impressive back in 2014. Playing it now, it looks decidedly dated. Character models are blocky, environments lack detail compared to modern standards, and the overall presentation feels firmly rooted in its era. While the art style aims for that familiar dark fantasy look, the technical execution doesn’t hold up particularly well. It’s functional, and the atmosphere is appropriately gloomy, but it’s leagues behind even slightly later titles like Bloodborne, let alone the visual feasts offered today. Again, the context of when it was released is important, but playing it now, the visuals are merely ‘okay’ at best, and certainly not a selling point.
The core gameplay template is pure Dark Souls imitation – bonfires (checkpoints called Shards), upgrading stats with experience points dropped by enemies, weapon scaling, familiar enemy archetypes. It mimics the structure well enough, but lacks the finesse, creativity, and polish of its inspiration.
Is LoF 2014 Still Worth Trying in 2025?
So, should anyone play Lords of the Fallen (2014) today? That’s a tough question. For the vast majority of players, especially newcomers to the genre, I’d have to say no. There are countless better, more polished, more enjoyable Souls-like experiences available. The clunkiness, the bugs, the crashes, the confusing progression – they add up to an often-frustrating time. It ended up being my least favorite Souls-like title I’ve played to date.
Perhaps, maybe, for the absolute hardcore genre historian, the veteran who wants to see where other developers took the formula in those early post-Dark Souls years, there might be some academic value. Seeing the ideas present here, like the maze DLC concept, does offer some insight. But approach it with heavily tempered expectations and be prepared for a significant dose of jank. It stands as a relic, a sometimes interesting but deeply flawed stepping stone in the genre’s evolution, one that has been thoroughly surpassed by almost everything that followed. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to our website.
Lords of the Fallen (2014) – Game and Purchase
Title: Lords of the Fallen (2014)
Type of Game: Action Role-Playing Game (Soulslike)
Developer: Deck13, CI Games
Publisher: CI Games
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Steam (PC): Available on the Steam Store
- PlayStation: Buy on the PlayStation Store
- Xbox: Get it on the Microsoft Store
