Lords of the Fallen (2023 video game)
A soulslike sequel with dual-realm mechanics and three endings.
Lords of the Fallen is an action role-playing game from developer Hexworks and publisher CI Games. It serves as a follow-up to the 2014 title of the same name and launched on PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 13 October 2023. Critical reception was mixed, yet the game moved more than one million copies within its first ten days on the market.
The game is played from a third-person perspective and, like its predecessor, blends melee combat and magic with elements borrowed from soulsborne games. Players can tackle the campaign cooperatively with another person, and a player-versus-player mode is also available. At the start, players create and customize an avatar, picking from nine character classes. The world is interconnected and significantly larger than the 2014 original. Two realms exist layered atop one another: Axiom, the land of the living, and Umbral, the realm of the dead. A magical lantern lets players shift between them, and areas blocked in one realm may be reachable through the other. A two-life system means that a first death in Axiom sends the player to Umbral for a second chance; dying again there forces a respawn back in Axiom at the last save point, costing all unspent Vigor (experience points). Those points can be recovered by returning to the death spot. Save points are scarce, but players can craft their own using materials harvested from Umbral monsters.
The story begins eons after Adyr, the dark god of the demonic Rhogar, was sealed away by followers of the radiance god Orius. Unable to kill Adyr, they imprisoned him and defeated the Rhogar. Judge Cleric, one of Orius’s finest warriors, founded the Hallowed Sentinels to guard five magic beacons in Mournstead and prevent Adyr’s revival. Over time, the Sentinels grew corrupt and tyrannical. A thousand years later, Adyr’s return draws near as the beacons become tainted and Rhogar infest the land. A sect called the Dark Crusaders acquires the Umbral Lamp, an artifact that can resurrect its user, travel between Axiom and Umbral, pull souls from enemies, and activate Stigmas (fragments of past events). When its previous bearer dies, the Lamp falls to the main character, the Lamp Bearer. Exacter Dunmire, head of the Crusaders, recruits the Bearer to cleanse the beacons by absorbing Adyr’s essence at each one.
Each beacon is guarded by a formidable enemy, though the Bearer can c
- Developer
- Hexworks
- Publisher
- CI Games
- Release Date
- 13 October 2023
- Platforms
- PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S
- Genre
- Action role-playing
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Sales
- Over one million units in first ten days
Lore & Background
Lords of the Fallen is set in the land of Mournstead, where the dark god Adyr was sealed away by followers of the radiance god Orius. The Hallowed Sentinels, once righteous, became corrupt over a thousand years. As Adyr's return looms, the Dark Crusaders acquire the Umbral Lamp, which allows travel between the living realm Axiom and the dead realm Umbral. The player character, the Lamp Bearer, is recruited by Exacter Dunmire to cleanse five beacons and absorb Adyr's essence.
The game features an interconnected world larger than the 2014 original, with two layered realms. Players can use a magical lantern to access Umbral, where inaccessible areas in Axiom may be reached. A two-life system sends the player to Umbral upon first death; a second death there respawns them in Axiom with loss of unspent Vigor, reclaimable at the death location. Savepoints are scarce, but players can craft their own using materials from Umbral monsters.
Three endings are possible: the Radiant ending, where the Bearer cleanses beacons and absorbs Adyr, being obliterated as Orius purges the world; the Inferno ending, where the Bearer breaks beacons and allows Adyr to possess Judge Cleric's body; and the Umbral ending, where the Bearer sacrifices important persons to the Putrid Mother, who shatters the veil between realms to consume all creation.
Reader's Guide
Lords of the Fallen (2023) represents Hexworks' attempt to establish itself as a second reference in the soulsborne genre after FromSoftware, aiming to create 'Dark Souls 4.5'. The game's development was lengthy and troubled: announced in 2014, it passed through multiple studios—Deck13 Interactive, Defiant Studios—before Hexworks was founded in 2020. The game cost $66.2 million to develop, market, and produce. It was revealed at Gamescom 2022 as The Lords of the Fallen, then rebranded in March 2023. A major patch, 'version 2', was released in April 2025, adding improved cooperative play, quality-of-life changes, a character creator, and more tutorials.
Reception was mixed: the PC version received 'generally favorable' reviews on Metacritic, while the PS5 version received 'mixed or average' scores. Critics praised the dual-world mechanic and combat, but noted performance issues and a lack of relatable characters. The game sold over one million units in its first ten days, indicating commercial success despite critical division. Its legacy lies in its ambitious layered-world design and its role as a reboot of the Lords of the Fallen series.
Did You Know?
- The game was originally named Lords of the Fallen: The Dark Crusade before being rebranded.
- The Umbral Lamp allows players to pull souls out of enemies and activate fragments of past events called Stigmas.
- The game's development cost $66.2 million, including marketing and physical edition production.
- A major patch called 'version 2' was released in April 2025, adding a character creator and improved cooperative play.
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