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[abstract alien]

After 60+ hours in on the PS5 version, I have to say this game has been great to me so far. I've loved nearly everything about it, with my one real gripe being the enemy mobs in Umbral at times. I get that it's supposed to be more difficult in there, but it feels artificial at times, which is always and forever a dumb ass way to design a game unless you used to be in the arcade business where quarters were your life force. It's never truly gotten in the way of me enjoying the game though, and it's almost a non-issue at this point since I have a great weapon at level 10(Pyro build with Fallen Lord's Sword). The story is as convoluted as Dark Souls, so I have no idea what the hell is going on with that and haven't even tried to understand it. One thing I really do like is that you get an item(rare as far as I know, but you at least get one or two) that lets you respec your character. That came through for me since I never know what the hell I'm doing or what my goal is on my first playthrough with these types of games. Overall, this has been a great game, with a great map, and some awesome souls style gameplay. I believe I'm coming close to the end game, so let's see how it goes.

 

[Bartski]

GameInformer - The Final Level

 

[abstract alien]

Damn that's nice

 

[gunslikewhoa]

GameInformer - The Final Level

I haven't checked on in this game for a couple weeks. Wow. These guys just don't stop.

 

[Draugoth]

GameInformer - The Final Level

Dreams and Kingdoms Await in Rumored Lords of the Fallen Expansions

A new rumor suggests that the studio will be releasing two DLCs and a ton of quality of life improvements for the ARPG.

www.xfire.com

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Not that long ago I posted LTTP thread and criticized the game for all of its flaws and glaring issues (of which there are many) and I stand by what I've said. But after almost ~40 hours I can now deal with all the BS the game throws at me + - easily and it's not a complete frustration fest anymore. I still can't recommend this game at this point in time, but IF the devs will keep updating, improving it and especially if they'll fix a HUGE enemy variety issue and will populate different biomes and locations with completely new and only unique enemies without re-using bosses which won't be showing up in other locations, that will be the game to buy for sure.

I mean, I honestly don't care how they'll fix enemy variety issue, they can fuckin' copy Blashemous enemies for all I care (there's plenty of great designs there which will fit the theme of the game easily since they're similar in terms of religious themes, art etc.), but one way or another it must be fuckin' done. This and improved enemy placements, completely removed timer and reaper in Umbral and significant reduction (if not complete removal) of endlessly spawning enemies. At the point in the game I am now, these are the most glaring issues the game has and it's not even difficult or frustrating anymore, it's just boring and tedious to fight the same exact enemies you've seen at the very beginning, I mean, come the fuck on HexWorks, you can do better!

It'll be cool if they'll also revamp how Ubral works and instead of endlessly spawning enemies, maybe they can just place them right in various locations. I mean it's completely pointless to have infinite spawns, it adds nothing to the game whatsoever, just like I said. Lock-on system is still not perfect and I've tested multiple variations of it. The problem with it is also related to just how many enemies you need to deal with and it even locks on various objects as well during fights ffs which absolutely must not happen, at all, ever, period.

They have something great on their hands and this game is already miles and miles better than what the original game was, so hopefully they'll make something great out of it by the end of the year so that it could be easily recommended to any Souls-like fan. Literally every issue the game has now can be fixed, it won't be easy, it will take time, but I think it's doable, cuz underneath all that the game is so fuckin' good that I can't stop playing it. At this point I can only recommend this game to people who can close their eyes on the issues the game has and just.... well, fight on and suffer through all the BS until they can deal with all of it. It won't be easy and can't say it'll be worth it for everyone, cuz you might like it in the end or you don't, it depends. I love it cuz it's basically Soul River, Dark Souls, Blashpemous and Onimusha at the same time and no other game in the genre has anything it has to offer.

Dreams and Kingdoms Await in Rumored Lords of the Fallen Expansions

A new rumor suggests that the studio will be releasing two DLCs and a ton of quality of life improvements for the ARPG.

www.xfire.com

If that's true, it'll be awesome.

 

[Hot5pur]

Finally finished it, 32 hours, highish end PC.
Overall good experience, framerate was all over the place but not determinantal to play. No crashes, a few small bugs where the enemy would free up to clip in a weird way, very minor.

Graphics are great except for character models (really bad faces), but overall far head of anything in the souls genre.
I prefer the faster pace and more hack-n-slash nature of things, enjoy the combat more than souls genre.
Enemy design is good, but sparse given the size of the world, still, it didn't bother me too much.
Bosses are fun, and mini bosses become regular enemies (but sometimes within 10 minutes of play, which is awkward). The bosses have a lot of variety compared to a lot of souls games that are mostly" fight this giant thing with swords".
World design reminds me of DS1, it's nicely interconnected and feels less random than Elden Ring, for example. Exploring can be fun-ish.
Story is very basic and I don't think it lands the way they wanted it to, in that respect Elden Ring is much more engrossing and the world feels more "real".
- levels are well designed, boss and level difficultly are balanced on average, some gripes though
- Umbral is absolutely amazing and I loved the pressure to try to get out of it, especially if you are carrying a lot of vigor
- lamp mechanics are a really great addition
- game is a good length and doesn't overstay its welcome, I played a mix of strength and radiance magic, not sure how other classes would play like

Stuff I didn't like:
- side quests are really easy to miss, ending conditions as well, basically playing without a guide and trying to see everything is futile
- some bosses towards the later game could have been a bit harder, and perhaps easier at the start, it's a bit unbalanced that way
- story did not motivate me to replay right away, but I might if DLC drops and will be using a guide. I REALLY wish the side content wasn't so cryptic and random in terms of its conditions to progress storylines
- characters kinda sucked, except maybe for the Blacksmith, I think the bad face design makes you really disconnect

Overall 8.5/10 for me, overall not Elden Ring level but very close. Gameplay wise I prefer it, but overall world/story/characters/setting is better in Elden Ring which makes the game more memorable and special.
Looking forward to the DLC and I think they got cleared for a sequel too.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Graphics are great except for character models (really bad faces), but overall far head of anything in the souls genre.
World design reminds me of DS1, it's nicely interconnected and feels less random than Elden Ring, for example. Exploring can be fun-ish.

It's without a doubt the best looking Souls-like after Demon's Souls Remake. It's not perfect of course cuz it's not using hardware Lumen, there's a lot of shadow map and objects pop-in (Nanite is used only for rocks and rock formations) there's a lot of light leaking, reflections are low-quality, character faces are really bad as you mentioned (with a couple of exceptions) and character creator is atrocious with abysmal hair quality and amount of options overall.

But, even with all these tech imperfections, it is also the biggest traditional Souls-like interconnected world done right since original Dark Souls, cuz none of the Souls game done what original Dark Souls did after the first game and it's so surprising to see this realized really well again and in Lords of The Fallen of all games. Clearly HexWorks are fans of what the original Dark Souls did and it shows. But, I really don't like that there's very few checkpoints which are permanent and temorary ones will dissapear - it make backtraking more tedious, there's a lot of ground to cover and there's locations like the edge of the castle wall which is the worst when it comes to backtracking.

Back to visuals though, they've absolutely nailed the feel of the weapons in the game and they even interact with the world beyond just bouncing off walls when you accedentely hit them. There's snow, dust and water interaction with splashes, distinct sounds etc. Not to mention that all weapons have distinct sound of impact based on what is it you're hitting - snow, dust, water, earth, wooden or concrete floor etc.. None of the From games have that.

Enemy design is good, but sparse given the size of the world, still, it didn't bother me too much.

Designs are good, variety is nowhere near there. Personaly, I only liked a few enemies which have really cool move sets and it was always great to fight with them: Crimson Rector, Scourged Sister and Sanctified Huntress, the latter being the best of the three - I wish all enemies were as cool as she is.

Bosses are fun, and mini bosses become regular enemies (but sometimes within 10 minutes of play, which is awkward).
I liked most of the story bosses so far (I'm almost at the end of the game), mini bosses not at all cuz they're just regular enemies with lot's of HP.

The bosses have a lot of variety compared to a lot of souls games that are mostly" fight this giant thing with swords".

It's not always like that, but Dark Souls 2 and Elden Ring are the worst of them all - the latter one even reused bosses literally doezens of times.

Stuff I didn't like:
- side quests are really easy to miss, ending conditions as well, basically playing without a guide and trying to see everything is futile
I REALLY wish the side content wasn't so cryptic and random in terms of its conditions to progress storylines

It's basically impossible without a guide and it's just as stupid and awful as in all From games. Elden Ring sort of fixed that, but at the same time not really. I just don't get the obsession with this BS design, it's really bad and always was.

- some bosses towards the later game could have been a bit harder, and perhaps easier at the start, it's a bit unbalanced that way

Here's the thing about this game - it's so effin' big, that you literally can't track all of the shit you found, be it keys to unlock doors / shortcuts etc. Almost 50+ hours later I'm going through previous locations right now and finding stuff I completely forgot about, cuz it was like 10, 20 or 30 hours ago. That's how I found a boss for example in an area below Cistern - I found the location before, I just decided to go up and then completely forgot about it. So sure enough, almost at the end of the game it was a walk in the park and I killed the boss there which had two phases without a problem at all.

- story did not motivate me to replay right away, but I might if DLC drops and will be using a guide.

Idk if you've played original game, but story in the reboot is miles better, so as the game itself.

- characters kinda sucked, except maybe for the Blacksmith, I think the bad face design makes you really disconnect

All of the character storylines and lore are hidden in rememberences all over the world, so you won't get much info out of the characters themselves, you need to search for it in Umbral, which... well, not the best way to handle it, but it gives you motivation to explore Umbral beyond just secrets and upgrades.

I'd say it's the best traditional Souls-like since Dark Souls 3 (I'm not counting Sekiro cuz it's completely different game in every way). We'll see what Black Myth will bring to the table, it looks like it can be on par with what From did with Sekiro even.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

So, I didn't want to make a new thread about it, but I just have to talk about NG+ and I wonder what you guys/girls think about it (if you're still playing the game or dropped it after playing NG+). There's zero videos on YT dedicated to NG+ and absolutely none of the reviews even mention NG+.

Now, from what I've seen and experienced,.... NG+ FUCKIN' SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! I simply cannot believe how bad it is after all the patches they've released. Some are probably wondering "What's even the problem, every Soul-like and From game has NG+, how can you even fuck it up?" Well, guess what, HexWorks found an effin' way to do it. Imagine being a mostly solo player who just wants to play the game alone and power through all the bosses by yourself (or with one of the characters to finish their quest - absolutely useless pieces of shit during boss fights, I can't even put it into words to fully describe it). You did that in From games so you feel confident that you can do it in LOTF.

After beating LOTF's NG and figuring out how the game works you go into the NG+, playing it just fine and then... Harrower Dervla wipes the floor with you like you're nothing. Somehow you killed that bitch alone, the Crow a bit later and only after getting to Abiding Defenders you're realized just how bad NG+ is and that it's effin' SUCKS BALLS! And don't even get me started on Reinhold the Immured, which is in-effin'-possible to beat alone unless you've got like insane amount of patience and hundreds of mana restoring items, cuz believe me when I say, that pure or even a mix of strength + magic builds are absolutely worthless pieces of shit in LOTF's NG+ when it comes to the main bosses starting with Harrower Dervla. None of the rings, amulets or even 90% of stats at 40 will help you here AT ALL.

Basically, some effin' idiots (and they're effin' idiots!) at HexWorks thought that giving bosses an insane x3-4 times of HP and DMG boosts is a good idea and balanced challenge, while at the same time not giving you anything to deal with this shit alone, not even a slightest effin' chance. But, oh, look what we have here, an effin' co-op which barely works and works in the most ancient way possible, whereas in other Souls games and Souls-likes it's easy af to help other people and find someone to help you (if this option is available). Furthermore, you also could help other people kill bosses and level up fast by doing so, but you simply won't find that here and at the same level of quality and QOL.

So, if you're primarily a solo player and just from time to time playing with or helping others in Souls game and Souls-likes, effin' morons from HexWorks forcing you to deal with their shit net code and co-op system to even beat most of the main bosses in NG+, cuz it is impossible to do it alone, you can't rely on level ups (which you won't even get outside of killing bosses - regular enemies are not droping more Vigor in NG+ so you can't farm) bc stats and 10+ weapons in NG+ doing absolute shit to help you and you can't up your DMG even and at least x1.5-2 times.

WTF? Huh?! In what universe forcing people who don't want to deal with co-op/multiplayer to go through and insane amount tedium, boredom and fake challenge with absolutely zero ballance towards players is good game design? How is this still not fixed 5+ months after release?

 

[Hot5pur]

So, I didn't want to make a new thread about it, but I just have to talk about NG+ and I wonder what you guys/girls think about it (if you're still playing the game or dropped it after playing NG+). There's zero videos on YT dedicated to NG+ and absolutely none of the reviews even mention NG+.

Now, from what I've seen and experienced,.... NG+ FUCKIN' SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! I simply cannot believe how bad it is after all the patches they've released. Some are probably wondering "What's even the problem, every Soul-like and From game has NG+, how can you even fuck it up?" Well, guess what, HexWorks found an effin' way to do it. Imagine being a mostly solo player who just wants to play the game alone and power through all the bosses by yourself (or with one of the characters to finish their quest - absolutely useless pieces of shit during boss fights, I can't even put it into words to fully describe it). You did that in From games so you feel confident that you can do it in LOTF.

After beating LOTF's NG and figuring out how the game works you go into the NG+, playing it just fine and then... Harrower Dervla wipes the floor with you like you're nothing. Somehow you killed that bitch alone, the Crow a bit later and only after getting to Abiding Defenders you're realized just how bad NG+ is and that it's effin' SUCKS BALLS! And don't even get me started on Reinhold the Immured, which is in-effin'-possible to beat alone unless you've got like insane amount of patience and hundreds of mana restoring items, cuz believe me when I say, that pure or even a mix of strength + magic builds are absolutely worthless pieces of shit in LOTF's NG+ when it comes to the main bosses starting with Harrower Dervla. None of the rings, amulets or even 90% of stats at 40 will help you here AT ALL.

Basically, some effin' idiots (and they're effin' idiots!) at HexWorks thought that giving bosses an insane x3-4 times of HP and DMG boosts is a good idea and balanced challenge, while at the same time not giving you anything to deal with this shit alone, not even a slightest effin' chance. But, oh, look what we have here, an effin' co-op which barely works and works in the most ancient way possible, whereas in other Souls games and Souls-likes it's easy af to help other people and find someone to help you (if this option is available). Furthermore, you also could help other people kill bosses and level up fast by doing so, but you simply won't find that here and at the same level of quality and QOL.

So, if you're primarily a solo player and just from time to time playing with or helping others in Souls game and Souls-likes, effin' morons from HexWorks forcing you to deal with their shit net code and co-op system to even beat most of the main bosses in NG+, cuz it is impossible to do it alone, you can't rely on level ups (which you won't even get outside of killing bosses - regular enemies are not droping more Vigor in NG+ so you can't farm) bc stats and 10+ weapons in NG+ doing absolute shit to help you and you can't up your DMG even and at least x1.5-2 times.

WTF? Huh?! In what universe forcing people who don't want to deal with co-op/multiplayer to go through and insane amount tedium, boredom and fake challenge with absolutely zero ballance towards players is good game design? How is this still not fixed 5+ months after release?

I think your main problem is that you just need to get gud.
Kidding!
I just played through the main story and left it there. Very fun game, but didn't pull me in enough to continue on NG+.
Actually I rarely do NG+, too many good games out there to replay the same content for a barely different experience.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

I just played through the main story and left it there. Very fun game, but didn't pull me in enough to continue on NG+.

I think that one of the main reasons as to why there's only about 700+ people playing the game now, is bc of how shit NG+ is (can't even imagine how bad is NG++ etc.). There's other issues as well, but they're nowhere near as bad as NG+. Funny thing about NG+ btw, you can blaze through everything else in it just fine, every single enemy and every single mini boss, but main bosses are unbalanced pieces of shit.

Actually I rarely do NG+, too many good games out there to replay the same content for a barely different experience.

It's understandable. I've plenty of games in my backlog (including new ones) which I still haven't played and I probably should, but I just like LOTF and want to finish NG+ and move on to my backlog, until they'll fix this shit and release expansions.

 

[Bartski]

I think that one of the main reasons as to why there's only about 700+ people playing the game now, is bc of how shit NG+ is (can't even imagine how bad is NG++ etc.). There's other issues as well, but they're nowhere near as bad as NG+. Funny thing about NG+ btw, you can blaze through everything else in it just fine, every single enemy and every single mini boss, but main bosses are unbalanced pieces of shit.

It's understandable. I've plenty of games in my backlog (including new ones) which I still haven't played and I probably should, but I just like LOTF and want to finish NG+ and move on to my backlog, until they'll fix this shit and release expansions.

Never touched NG+ but had a lot of fun with NG0. But you can’t revert if you’re already in NG+ afaik

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Never touched NG+ but had a lot of fun with NG0. But you can’t revert if you’re already in NG+ afaik

Yeah, you can't, you can only restart NG+. I've save files before NG+ so it's not a problem, but at this point I can't just abandon NG+ when I'm almost done with it along with finishing a few quests and getting 2nd ending out of 3.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

So, I didn't want to make a new thread about it, but I just have to talk about NG+ and I wonder what you guys/girls think about it (if you're still playing the game or dropped it after playing NG+). There's zero videos on YT dedicated to NG+ and absolutely none of the reviews even mention NG+.

Now, from what I've seen and experienced,.... NG+ FUCKIN' SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! I simply cannot believe how bad it is after all the patches they've released. Some are probably wondering "What's even the problem, every Soul-like and From game has NG+, how can you even fuck it up?" Well, guess what, HexWorks found an effin' way to do it. Imagine being a mostly solo player who just wants to play the game alone and power through all the bosses by yourself (or with one of the characters to finish their quest - absolutely useless pieces of shit during boss fights, I can't even put it into words to fully describe it). You did that in From games so you feel confident that you can do it in LOTF.

After beating LOTF's NG and figuring out how the game works you go into the NG+, playing it just fine and then... Harrower Dervla wipes the floor with you like you're nothing. Somehow you killed that bitch alone, the Crow a bit later and only after getting to Abiding Defenders you're realized just how bad NG+ is and that it's effin' SUCKS BALLS! And don't even get me started on Reinhold the Immured, which is in-effin'-possible to beat alone unless you've got like insane amount of patience and hundreds of mana restoring items, cuz believe me when I say, that pure or even a mix of strength + magic builds are absolutely worthless pieces of shit in LOTF's NG+ when it comes to the main bosses starting with Harrower Dervla. None of the rings, amulets or even 90% of stats at 40 will help you here AT ALL.

Basically, some effin' idiots (and they're effin' idiots!) at HexWorks thought that giving bosses an insane x3-4 times of HP and DMG boosts is a good idea and balanced challenge, while at the same time not giving you anything to deal with this shit alone, not even a slightest effin' chance. But, oh, look what we have here, an effin' co-op which barely works and works in the most ancient way possible, whereas in other Souls games and Souls-likes it's easy af to help other people and find someone to help you (if this option is available). Furthermore, you also could help other people kill bosses and level up fast by doing so, but you simply won't find that here and at the same level of quality and QOL.

So, if you're primarily a solo player and just from time to time playing with or helping others in Souls game and Souls-likes, effin' morons from HexWorks forcing you to deal with their shit net code and co-op system to even beat most of the main bosses in NG+, cuz it is impossible to do it alone, you can't rely on level ups (which you won't even get outside of killing bosses - regular enemies are not droping more Vigor in NG+ so you can't farm) bc stats and 10+ weapons in NG+ doing absolute shit to help you and you can't up your DMG even and at least x1.5-2 times.

WTF? Huh?! In what universe forcing people who don't want to deal with co-op/multiplayer to go through and insane amount tedium, boredom and fake challenge with absolutely zero ballance towards players is good game design? How is this still not fixed 5+ months after release?

I throughly enjoy the game

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Just killed Reinhold the Immured.... by throwing effin' poison bombs at the bastard, hitting him with the sword with bs DMG and avoiding close combat 95% of the time (including 2nd phase, which is even more dangerous using melee than the 1st one) - even more tedious and boring than doing it using a sword or whatever

It's goddamn ridiculous. I haven't even used any bombs and stuff in NG at all

 

[Agent_4Seven]

I guess for the new players it'll be worth it, but for those who finished the game in NG and NG+, features like randomized loot is kinda pointless, cuz if you've finished the game 2 times, you probably already upgraded most of what you need. Pre-upgraded loot is cool and it means that you can save some resources and money, but idk, it's not a killer feature to me personally, especially considering that the limit on how many weapons and stuff you can upgrade to the max is still in the game. Vestige Decay is a cool option, obviously in NG+2 (when all paid DLC/Expansions will be released) I'll be using No Vestige Decay cuz it was a HUGE pain in the butt in NG+ where you don't have quite a lot of them and even flower beds weren't available in some places. I can't imagine playing the game without fast travel at all cuz it'll be a gigantic chore and borefest. Ironman can fuck off 24/7, I honestly don't know who will be playing the game like this cuz it will fuck you over one way or the other, even if you're good and know how it works.

But I've more serious question. 70+ enemy types? WTF was that HexWorks and why haven't I seen even 10% of these 70+ types of enemies in the game after two playthroughs, hell, even a single one?

 

[adamsapple]

Looks like the game has had some significant improvements since launch for this 1.5 patch. I doubt DF does a full video again but they had a segment devoted to it on the Direct. Glad to see the Xbox stutter issues are mostly fixed and now it actually seems to run at a higher average frame rate.

Plus they've added difficulty customization options with the update.

No time like the present to put this in my gamefly queue.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

The game still stutters on PC in Axiom and especially when using a lamp to check stuff in Umbral and when you're in Umbral.
I'm curious to see how's peformance in Hellblade II, which is also using UE5. So far and from what's available on the PC, RoboCop: Rogue Legacy is the best UE5 game in terms of performance hands down.

 

[adamsapple]

According to this source, Lords of the Fallen will come to game pass soon, the article thinks it's late May.

[Exclusive] Lords Of The Fallen Is Headed To Xbox Game Pass

Lords of the Fallen is on its way to Xbox's premier subscription service, Game Pass, as the devs target a late May launch on the platform.

exputer.com

 

[Raphael]

Any tips what to do in the deck settings to get a decent picture? Scaling / fsr etc.

Game runs fine but during movement its a graphical mess. Blurry grainy. Standing still looks very nice.

I have the in game effects turned off.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

PSA for anyone interested in getting this game on PS5 now that the price is rather low. The standard retail editions now include the deluxe edition disc and DLC code. I don't see any indication on the case, but other posts on Reddit etc confirm that this is how new copies are shipped.

Going to start the game tonight!

 

[_Idea_of_Evil_]

Going to start the game tonight!

Enjoy! It's not perfect, but it's a solid attempt and feels closer to Dark Souls 1/2 than any other non-From Soulslikes. I had fun running a poison dual dagger build.

Also with minimal spoilers: avoid the radiance ending because it's extremely underwhelming (don't light any beacons after the major bosses!).

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Despite having the tutorial on, the game seems to fail to mention some things. Like, apparently when you die you go umbral, then you can die again?

I'll have to dig though the menus to see if there is a tutorial or tips section.

It's also weird that there is no way to see equipment descriptions in the equipment menus when changing gear. It only shows the stats screen. Pressing the button just hides or shows the stats (instead of cycling through the screens like any Souls game). I have to exit back to the main screen to see the description.

Also strange that there is game version is like 1.49 or something when supposedly they released 1.5? Did that never reach PS5 or something? The latest update was applied.