The Lords Of The Fallen Is Trying To Be 2023's Elden Ring
The fantasy genre got a serious kick up the arse in 2022. The launch of Elden Ring proved that the title of 'classic' doesn't just apply to old games, as the Lands Between made for a playground that millions of Tarnished adventured across.
Elden Ring's launch was clearly a moment in video game history, as the FromSoftware design went from cult classic to full-blown iconography.
And now, as we get new game trailers, it's very clear that the FromSoftware bug has spread far and wide. Enter The Lords of the Fallen.
The Lords Of The Fallen Channels Dark Souls For New Trailer
The next title in the Lords of the Fallen series - creatively titled The Lords of the Fallen - was first revealed at this year's Summer Game Fest to a chorus of confused gamers wondering where it fits into the series.
It was initially revealed as a soft reboot of the fantasy franchise, but with a new peek at the game courtesy of The Game Awards, it looks like it's coming to be an almost-sequel.
The Lords of the Fallen very much seems like it's attempting to channel the FromSoftware design philosophies that makes its work on Souls-like games so compelling.
A whispering woman monologuing, fire and brimstone, a knight in menacing armour with a whopping great sword hanging over his shoulder - it'd be fair to assume we were looking at a trailer for Dark Souls 4 if we didn't know any better.
What Is The Lords Of The Fallen About?
The new game in the Lords of the Fallen series is technically a sequel, as it takes place a thousand years after the first title. Similar to how Elden Ring spans its history across millenniums, The Lords of the Fallen has a few tricks up its sleeve.
The game is set in Axiom and Umbral, which are two interconnected worlds that make a playable area that is five times larger than the map of its predecessor.
We're not alone in spotting Elden Ring comparisons. One critic wrote, "How is this different than Elden Ring or Dark Souls 3? One map design looked like a polished version of Blighttown from DS1?!?"
One supporter wrote, " This looks like Elden Ring meets Mortal Shell’s aesthetics and it's f*****g sick," while another added, "Did anyone else think Lords of the Fallen was an Elden Ring DLC until the very last frame?"
Though the trailer doesn't offer much more beyond this, at least we get a look at some pretty gnarly armour and a giant skeleton that it looks like players can scale. Only time will tell how The Lords of the Fallen works, but until then, we've got Elden Ring to balm our excitement for it.
