We aren’t snipers anymore.
City Interactive might be known for its Sniper franchise, but soon it’ll declare war on the action RPG genre with Lords of the Fallen. It’s a bold move by the studio, but it might be its best decision yet.
In Lords of the Fallen you play as one of four character classes, with each class defined by the weapons that class can equip. For example, the Cleric prefers the strength of two-handed hammers while the Rogue is a master of daggers. Weapons vary greatly in speed and technique. Individual classes also have unique abilities and skill trees to make subsequent playthroughts intriguing.
This might be an action RPG, but don’t think you can just charge into battle and spam abilities. You’ll quickly be punished for your foolish actions. The game has vicious foes who would like nothing less than to chop you in half. You’d be wise to learn enemy habits and dodge their attempts to murder you.
Most combat sequences will be between yourself and fewer than four foes. It’s intimate and challenging with blows received putting a large dent in your health pool. It’s difficult not to draw a correlation with Dark Souls, a game that follows some of the same core principles. However, Lords of the Fallen isn’t a game that emphasizes constant trial and error. Instead, it fills up time with a story.
If you love RPGs with dark settings, then you’ll love what’s here. It’s highly stylized with huge enemies in iron armor and highly detailed cathedrals. You’ll regularly find yourself exploring the game’s engrossing world. That’s not a bad idea either, because there are hidden Shards of the Fallen hidden throughout the game world. Once they've been obtained you receive valuable loot.
City Interactive might not currently be known as an RPG developer, but it will soon. Lords of the Fallen is a game that has the potential to entertain even the most demanding RPG fans.
