Lords of the Fallen (2023)

Absolutely blew me away when a game studio just lets your friends download the game for free just to play together. Absolutely one of the coolest dev moves I've ever seen!

Right, look - this game deserves better than the kicking it's been getting. The devs have actually bothered to fix their mess, which is more than you can say for most studios who just take your money and bugger off to make NFTs or whatever.
The launch? Absolute disaster. Crashed more than my uncle at Christmas dinner. But here's the thing - they've actually fixed it. I know, shocking isn't it? A developer that doesn't just abandon ship when things go tits up. CI Games have been listening, making changes, and generally not treating their customers like idiots. Revolutionary stuff.
The combat's genuinely good now. Feels miles better than the original Lords of the Fallen, which to be fair, wasn't difficult', that game played like you were swinging a cricket bat through treacle. You've got a jump button now, completely pointless, but apparently some people got very upset about not being able to hop about like idiots, so there you go. Happy now?
It's borrowed some smoothness from Elden Ring (because everyone's nicking from FromSoft these days, aren't they?), but don't expect the same freedom to wander off and get murdered by a random tree. Lock-on's better, though still not Dark Souls 3 levels of buttery. Some weapons absolutely crunch when they connect – very satisfying, bit like Mortal Shell if you played that.
I went Inferno build, and honestly, it's absolutely mental. Proper overpowered.
You get surprisingly generous invincibility frames when dodging, which was unexpected. Usually these games want you to suffer more than a vegan at a barbecue, but no, they've been reasonable about it. Takes a minute to adjust, especially if you can parry most things (and you can – bosses, mobs, your nan).
The world-building's solid. Two realms, normal boring one and the Umbral realm, which is properly creepy. Sometimes genuinely unsettling, which is nice. They've woven this lamp navigation system through it all, and the whole Axiom/Umbral concept actually works. The Soulflay technique is brilliant, really adds something fresh to the genre, which is impressive given how many of these games are just copying homework at this point.
Music's good, story's decent, and Unreal Engine 5 makes everything look gorgeous. Proper gothic atmosphere, the kind of visuals that make you want to use photo mode even though you'll never look at those screenshots again. The 3D photos are a nice touch, bit gimmicky, but whatever.
Now the problems, because nothing's perfect. Enemy variety is pants. You'll see the same mobs constantly, and after a few hours you'll know them better than your own family. Gets repetitive.
Level design can be confusing and you'll get lost easier than your dad in IKEA. Some people might like that, I found it occasionally irritating.
Bosses are on the easier side if you're a Souls veteran, but that's only if you don't completely balls up your leveling. Pick a build, any build, and stick with it. The game will absolutely punish you for spreading your points around like butter at a Weight Watchers meeting.
Performance is solid now, no crashes, minimal bugs. Runs well, which is what it should've done at launch, but let's not dwell on that.
NG+ adds difficulty modifiers and gameplay changes for when you inevitably become too good at it.
Co-op actually shares progression now, and there's a Friend Pass so your mates can join without buying it. Again, listening to players. What a concept.
Character customization's better than the original. Not Nioh 2 levels, but respectable. Every build's viable if you don't ♥♥♥♥ up the questlines.
The game's massive - properly big - and the weapon variety is ridiculous. The other world mechanic, while not perfect, is at least trying something different instead of just being Dark Souls with a mustache.
Final Word: It's a legitimately good game that's been unfairly judged because of a disastrous launch that's long since been fixed. Give it a go and stop being so cynical. Well, don't stop completely - we're gamers, cynicism is our natural state. But maybe dial it back a notch for this one.
Cheers.

TLDR: Lords of the Fallen is a wonderful game once you temper your expectations. This game is not like Elden Ring, and is more like Dark Souls 2 and Demon's Souls. It is a much harder experience, made by a much more inexperienced team.
Let me preface this by saying that I really do love this game, and I'm excited to see what CI Games does with LOTF2, having had the chance to learn from this game. I'll start with the positives first, and then talk about the negatives and problems the game has at it's core.
The Positive: I want to begin with the absolutely STAGGERING amount of work the devs have done post release. Since 1.0, they have added: Built in game modifiers (including for NG+ cycles), complete balancing overhauls, updates to their (admittedly) lacking multiplayer, and more weapons, armors, and spells for the cheap price of $0. Build variety in terms of theme and power is rivaled only by the best in the genre, and the general setting and world building is quite good. There are a lot of memorable bosses and fights, and the combat feels punchy and extremely visceral. Expanding on this, the game even has a perfect block/deflect system instead of the clunky "press to parry" that Dark Souls and even Elden Ring has.
The Neutral: The lamp mechanic, which the game sells as it's most unique feature, is a controversial topic. I believe it adds a depth to the game that most other games struggle to attain. This lamp is your most powerful tool, and it's got a learning curve to using it that most people are going to find majorly uncomfortable. I don't believe this is a positive or a negative, and kind of just IS. But it certainly CAN be a make or break for the game.
The Negative: The biggest problem with this game is the level design. If I could describe it in one word, it's Labyrinthian. The map will flow in one direction, and abruptly cease with no indication of where to go. You'll backtrack to a door that looks as if it leads nowhere, but is actually the way forward. It is extremely difficult to play this game without a wiki, and that is a huge issue for a lot of people. Another pretty damning issue this game has is the lack of difference in move-sets. Every mace is going to attack like the one before it unless it's a special boss weapon. This effectively means you're choosing the weapon you want based off of raw damage or looks, instead of how your character uses it. Some boss designs are gimmicky, and there's a habit of having an area boss be a normal enemy. Finally, NPC quests are confusing and progression gated, like in all souls games. They're a bit more brutal with it here, so it is yet another reason why you'd have to play with a wiki. One final issue is the multiplayer, which can be very buggy at times.
Verdict: Despite all of it's short comings, I want to say that I believe this game is the silver standard of souls-likes. This game IS worth giving a try on sale, but be warned: if you did not appreciate Dark Souls 2 or Demon's Souls, you will NOT appreciate this game.

I held off on this one at launch after hearing about all the performance issues, and I'm glad I waited. The developers have put in some serious work, and with the big 2.0 update, Lords of the Fallen is finally the game it was meant to be.
Performance is way smoother now, and a lot of the jank has been ironed out. What you're left with is a really solid soulslike. The world design is fantastic, and the whole Axiom/Umbral realm-switching mechanic isn't just a gimmick; it's core to the exploration and combat and feels great to use. The atmosphere is top-notch, dark, and gritty, just as you'd want from this genre.
If you were on the fence like I was, now's the time to give it a shot. It's a beautiful, challenging, and rewarding experience that's finally in great shape.
Recommended.

You've probably heard the expression, "I wish I could forget *name* so it could be like the first time." Lords of the Fallen gave me exactly that kind of emotional satisfaction, if the object of that forgetting is the first Dark Souls.
I've said many times that I'm tired of games with large open worlds, especially when they're overloaded with obviously secondary activities, but if you're a perfectionist, all those icons on the map will feed that feeling. Ultimately, you're immersed in a single game for a time it doesn't deserve, and your truly productive time will be two to three times shorter, since there are few truly important and interesting secondary activities. I needed a break from all of that because I was burned out.
Lords of the Fallen was a great break from many gigantic games where the world is extremely corridor-like, and even the presence of forks in the road prevents you from getting lost, because all roads ultimately lead to the same goal, as the locations are so tightly interconnected. The world is open only in terms of freedom of exploration, but the player is carefully constrained by walls that allow movement in only one direction, which I personally found lacking. The exploration element is still present, but it's designed in such a way that the player never loses sight of the game's ultimate goal.
A new dark fantasy universe where the player has access to two dimensions: the world of the living and the world of the dead. The world of the dead can be accessed at any time using a blue-flame lantern, but returning is more difficult. The presence of the world of the dead means the player always has a second chance, because upon death, you simply travel to another dimension with a new health bar. In the world of the dead, you can still interact with everything available in the world of the living. The difference lies in the appearance of new enemies, access to new places forbidden to the living, and a cosmetic transformation of locations, where frightening images appear and human structures are transformed.
In terms of gameplay, it's a very familiar Souls-style experience, with all the implications that entails. This is an action RPG where stamina is the most important resource in any battle. The game features melee and ranged weapons, magic, and the ability to equip armor and use weapons in solo, dual, or single-player modes. There are light and heavy attacks, and the heavy attack can be charged. In melee combat, you can parry to throw your opponent off-balance and deliver a powerful blow. The game features a hub with numerous characters you can chat with, trade, and level up. The blacksmith can upgrade weapons, but armor cannot. Armor is primarily a cosmetic item, although it does improve your character's stats.
As is typical for Souls-style games, Lords of the Fallen includes side quests that must be memorized; the game won't teach you how to do them. The same applies to achieving one of the three endings. This video game follows the canon of the first Dark Souls, but with significant modern improvements to both controls and movement. It's a wonderful new world to immerse yourself in, reliving that same feeling you get when a game throws you off the ship and you either learn to swim or drown.
Games with corridor-like locations and the ability to escape while staying within certain boundaries evoke a new excitement, as they contrast with the abundance of rich open worlds, where out of 100 hours spent playing, maybe 30 are memorable. A single playthrough of Lords of the Fallen took 38 hours, and I remembered every minute. One of the best alternatives to From Software games.

Great soulslike game, cool armors.

One friend can play entire game with you FOR FREE which is awesome

The shared progression co-op works fine but it stutters a bit for my PS5 friend - they are working on it tho

Based devs turned this game around, listened to the community, and made something GREAT!