Preview : The Lords of the Fallen

The Lords of the Fallen, developed by Deck13 and CI Games, was released in 2014 to modest fanfare. After shifting the sequel’s development around a few times, CI Games took over as the primary developer in 2020. To be more specific it’s being developed by Hexworks, a subsidiary of CI Games. It’s titled “The Lords of the Fallen.”

The Lords of the Fallen is currently targeting a late 2023 release and looks to be a major departure from the original. With a grander scope and ample development time, CI Games is aiming to make its mark on the ARPG genre. Thanks to a recent issue of EDGE Magazine and GamesRadar, we have more details on how the game is shaping up and how CI Games is avoiding, or encouraging, the obvious comparison to FromSoft titles.

According to executive producer Saul Gascon, Hexworks is not shying away from comparisons with FromSoft’s output. In fact, creative director Cezar Virtosu had the following to say:

“Our strategy was that, yes, we will be ‘Dark Souls 4.5″

According to Gascon and Virtosu, The Lords of the Fallen will feature a semi-open world with more verticality in its level design. It’s set in a dark fantasy world that is five times larger than its predecessor, and totally interconnected.

According to the report, one key feature in The Lords of the Fallen is expected to differentiate it entirely:

Unclasp the magic lantern from your belt and its light reveals a corrupted twin dimension: the Umbral realm. Like A Link To The Past’s Dark Hyrule, this place will be affected by your actions in the other world – and vice versa – and it affords you the possibility of a second chance when you die. If you don’t want to restart at the last rest spot, you can venture within, perhaps scooping up some treasure en route to the totem that will transport you back to reality, resurrected.

The Lords of the Fallen will also feature crossplay multiplayer and a host of other features. Earlier today, CI Games updated the Steam Wishlist page which features some gorgeous new screenshots with accompanying lore.

Almost nothing remains of the once-blooming Kingdom of Mournstead, now little more than an expanse of scorched trees, arid fields, and forsaken buildings. Vivid and full of life in bygone days, these lands now lie veiled in ash, the only notes of colour provided by the rotting corpses of its denizens. Casting a horrific five-forked shadow over this sallow realm, colossal fingerlike crags cleave through its ground; an eternal forewarning of Adyr, the tyrannical god’s imminent return…

The Lightreaper’s sole purpose is to relentlessly hunt any lampbearer that threatens the resurrection of his fallen master, Adyr. Mounted atop a ferocious, three-headed winged creature, he silently glides through the forlorn skies of Mournstead in perpetual search of his prey. The extinguished lanterns of his past victims adorn the necks of his mount like trophies, a visual gloat of his immunity to such powers.

Labyrinthine and treacherous, the vast marshlands of the Forsaken Fen are home to the Shuja, who built their hamlets within the ruins of an old umbral civilization, now completely swallowed by the mire. Standing amidst the very heart of this morass stands an ancient tree that houses one of the beacons. Wreathed in baleful energies, whereas once it repressed Adyr, now it hastens his return.

While conjoined twins, Tancred and Reinhold, embody but one anatomy, the righteous zealot, Tancred, holds sway. As Chaplain of the Order and Master of Castigations, he restrained the heretical brother’s manipulation of the flesh since their accursed birth. In time, Reinhold grew bitter and corrupted, his festering ire manifesting upon Tancred’s body.

For centuries, Redcopse was the first destination for pilgrims heading to the Empyrean. But when the indomitable Rhogar spewed forth upon this world, its villagers were defenseless against such rage and savagery. The few survivors were forced to bend to the will of Adyr, such corruption outwardly manifesting over time thus rendering them unrecognizable.

The horrific truth behind this Congregator of Flesh resides within the Tower of Penance, a place where prisoners of the Hallowed Sentinels suffer horrific tortures. This gargantuan creature now haunts the underbelly of Mournstead, awaiting those hurled into the abyss in the name of purification.

From humble pilgrims to exalted royalty, individuals travel from the world’s farthest corners to climb the Path of Devotion and reach the Empyrean, where the godly Cleric holds her millenia old vigil. The crosses of fallen Hallowed Sentinels dot said path, albeit now overshadowed by the horrific hand of Adyr, as it looms ominously in the far distance – a stark reminder of the weight of the Sentinels’ righteous bulwark.

This fog-shrouded, watery rot bed is home to the eerie Shuja folk: an elusive community of monstrous headhunters who claimed the Forsaken Fen as their hunting grounds centuries ago. Steeped in grisly rites, their gruesome effigies pervert these swamps – a stark warning to those that dare to intrude upon such marshland… and retain their heads.