I can’t imagine it’s easy being a videogame door. One day your kind is totally invincible – your unassuming lacquered flesh the only thing capable of withstanding a fully buffed out hero’s galaxy lance machine punch gun – and the next the merest of kicks explodes you into splinters. That’s why I really feel for the door in the trailer for former Witcher 2 man Tomasz Gop’s Lords of the Fallen, which gets kicked, split, splattered, bashed, mashed, boiled, and stuck in a stew over and over and over forever. The very overtly Dark-Souls-influenced dungeon crawl is Hard apparently, so you’ll be busting into its boss rooms repeatedly in your quest to bonk the hulking monstro-jerks until they fall down just right. Watch below.
That ‘roided-out member of the Pyramid Head family? His name is Champion Lord, which sounds like the kind of thing an overzealous pretend-playing six-year-old would call themselves on the Field of Battle. But anyway, here’s what he’s all about:
“The Champion Lord has always been a bit different from other commanders of the Fallen God’s demonic army. For them, it was all about honor and discipline. For the Champion it was all about the intensity of a duel and the bloodthirsty satisfaction from defeating an opponent. Where other Lords would respectfully circle around their opponent, the easily enraged Champion will charge right into the fray with his pure brute force. He always likes to get his hands dirty, so his weapons of choice need to be close to his body, allowing him to smell the blood of his victims. Of course, at close range, his boiling bloodlust and reckless charges don’t leave him much in terms of defense, but who would stand against a hulking brute like him? You?”
YOU? DO YOU DARE? IF NOT I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND NO PRESSURE.
The trailer demonstrates many weapon and ability-based ways you could go about attempting to defeat him, though admittedly not in much detail. It all looks rather solid – like a more arcade-y Dark Souls, albeit one that could perhaps use a little more oomph in its combat.
Lords of the Fallen will be out this fall. Because of course it will. Lords of the Winteren just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
23/04/2014 at 11:04 flashman says:
I’d play Lords of the Fallen Touts
23/04/2014 at 11:09 Prolar Bear says:
Fallen Trouts?
23/04/2014 at 11:20 Drake Sigar says:
This game seems a bit fishy.
23/04/2014 at 12:41 Deck says:
I’m not sure this is the plaice for that kind of thing.
23/04/2014 at 12:50 Darth Gangrel says:
I don’t mind if it jumps the shark, as long as there is enough flow and variety in the gameplay. I don’t want a Dark Shoals game.
23/04/2014 at 11:05 ran93r says:
Must have great replay value to keep you coming back to the same boss over and over.
They could have just rolled the credits in the trailer and then I wouldn’t even need to buy it.
“I kid”
23/04/2014 at 11:09 Prolar Bear says:
No thanks, I’ll just stick to the original.
23/04/2014 at 11:58 Screamer says:
Okay you do that.
23/04/2014 at 13:53 CookPassBabtridge says:
Excellent teamwork A+
23/04/2014 at 15:35 AngelTear says:
Surely, you meant to say “jolly cooperation”?
23/04/2014 at 13:52 toxic avenger says:
You sir, have truly edified us all today with your brevity and wit.
23/04/2014 at 17:37 CookPassBabtridge says:
My favourite one is to speak in spoonerisms for a bit, and then tell someone they are a Shining Wit.
23/04/2014 at 11:12 CookPassBabtridge says:
Which brings us back to the question – Who is the best Lord?
An easier Dark Souls sounds quite good if they can nail the lore and sense of place
23/04/2014 at 11:17 Volcanu says:
Flatley my dear, I don’t river dance……..give a damn
23/04/2014 at 11:19 Crainey says:
It’s like Diablo and Dark Souls had a lovechild, just without the love. Anyway; I encourage more games in this genre, god knows I need less productive hours in my life.
23/04/2014 at 11:41 altum videtur says:
Someone sure missed the memo that said “wrong neighborhood motherfucker”
23/04/2014 at 11:50 Dave Tosser says:
The Witcher 2 had some of the worst doors in recent memory. Geralt had a special animation and pace for walking through them no matter how hard you ran at them, and even if the door was already open he still wouldn’t just run through them. It got even worse if you were travelling with someone else, because then they’d always find a way to push you out of the doorframe and go first. I’d love an ability to kick the shit out of those doors, though not in a game that looks like a Dark Souls cash-in and everything I loathe about modern action RPGs. Eh, beggars can’t be choosers. Sign me up for some man on door action.
23/04/2014 at 12:57 Geebs says:
Somebody who reviewed the Witcher 2 joked that, given that doors were so obviously Geralt’s nemesis, they were sure that the final boss was going to turn out to be a really sticky door.
23/04/2014 at 11:52 feverberries says:
haha made by CI Games. expectations: ultra-low. they only make bad and very bad games.
23/04/2014 at 11:53 frightlever says:
“Every victory is born from defeat”
Would put me in mind of Infinity Blade.
23/04/2014 at 11:57 XhomeB says:
It looks good, but what truly made Dark Souls special for me was the wonderfully designed, interconnected world, the art direction and the eerie, unsettling atmosphere of the world – not necessarily the difficulty or the (rather simplistic, but every weapon had some “weight”, which I liked) combat system.
They’re obviously trying to ape the overall gameplay style, nothing wrong with that, but here’s hoping they have some surprises up their sleeve.
23/04/2014 at 12:25 Oktober Storm says:
So Rakanoth took steroids and changed his workplace.
23/04/2014 at 12:28 Okami says:
“Every Video Game Trailer Sentence is born from Randomly Mashing Together Words”
23/04/2014 at 12:32 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
In a world of the living room with a mirror wall to wall of the most trusted photographers in the media
23/04/2014 at 12:33 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
Ia! Ia! Thomasz Gop!
23/04/2014 at 16:28 RedWurm says:
Gop knows the gate. Gop is the gate. Gop is the key and guardian of the gate.
23/04/2014 at 12:45 SMGreer says:
You know, the first I read about this I was extremely interested. The premise and initial concept art was very cool.
Now? It’s blatantly trying to ape Dark Souls but with none of the flare, the grit or weight, the haunting beauty or intricate design. It’s an eight year old’s version of that brilliant game, complete with macho man in barely practical warhammer armour and monsters with spikes and muscles! Hard to believe this is being over seen by the same man who a hand in The Witcher 2.
Consider my interest in this gone, which is a shame as the premise sounded really good.
23/04/2014 at 17:07 baozi says:
I think it’s a bit early to deny the game these qualities. IMO, of the humans, only the first character would look really out of place in a Souls game. And let’s not forget that lots of weapons in that series are ridiculously oversized.
I for one am still very interested and will just wait to see how it works out in the end.
23/04/2014 at 12:46 Hunchback says:
The art direction of this game is simply amazing. The design of those armours and weapons, even if a bit absurd, is so beautiful that it’s hard not to want to play it, just so you can equip your hero with those stuff and look THAT badass.
Hope the gameplay is as good as it’s visuals.
23/04/2014 at 14:22 tormos says:
Take up Mordheim. Start either an Inquisitors or Sisters of Sigmar warband. Enjoy the root of this aesthetic immensely (and a fantastic tabletop game as well)
23/04/2014 at 12:54 Penguin_Factory says:
This basically looks like Dark Souls but with the Blizzard GIANT SHOULDERPADS ON EVERYTHING aesthetic.
23/04/2014 at 13:51 Darko Drako says:
@Penguin bar
They are not Blizzard shoulder pads, they are Warhammer shoulder pads!
23/04/2014 at 12:58 Darth Gangrel says:
Champion Lord isn’t more silly a name than Master Chief.
23/04/2014 at 13:12 Press X to Gary Busey says:
Master Chief is a real title/rank though.
23/04/2014 at 13:38 DanMan says:
Not in my kitchen.
Oh, you said chief. I see.
23/04/2014 at 14:00 Darth Gangrel says:
It still sounds equally silly to me.
23/04/2014 at 16:39 Stellar Duck says:
Just because the USN has a rank called Master Chief (Petty Officer to be exhaustive) doesn’t mean it doesn’t sound just as silly.
I wasn’t aware the soldier men in Halo was US Navy actually.
Edit:
Besides, gunnery sergeant is a way cooler rank in any case.
23/04/2014 at 18:03 Phendron says:
Brave seamen floating through the ocean of space.
23/04/2014 at 23:08 DanMan says:
Is it bad that I stripped an “a” from that phrase in my head and started giggling like a little school girl?
23/04/2014 at 23:03 Press X to Gary Busey says:
I never refuted the silliness of the rank. :)
Perhaps some future reform might make use of the Champion Lord rank too.
“Champion Lord Sugeon General’s Warning: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer and May Complicate Pregnancy.”
23/04/2014 at 16:07 cpt_freakout says:
MEGA MAN
23/04/2014 at 13:11 Lobotomist says:
Brutal gameplay of Dark Souls , combined with Diablo loot system. And all made by team lead by Tomazs Gop.
Whats not to like ?
23/04/2014 at 17:43 aliksy says:
Well, part of the elegance of Dark Souls is that winning or losing comes from your skill rather than your loot. Adding diablo’s loot system to Dark Souls would ruin it.
24/04/2014 at 01:53 Tuco says:
well, Diablo-like loot is a load of crap, in my opinion. Especially in games that aren’t Diablo-like and would probably benefit more from good design and carefully hand-placed items.
Beside that, I’m tentatively optimistic about this game.
24/04/2014 at 02:24 Kaeoschassis says:
“Diablo-like loot is a load of crap, in my opinion”
link to imgs.xkcd.com
23/04/2014 at 13:18 pasports31 says:
I can get behind this. The more overtly Dark Souls influenced titles being produced, the better. I doubt it’ll even come close to Dark Souls though….the gameplay is obviously the largest part of the appeal, but the things that caused a long term obsession w/Dark Souls 1, for me, went way beyond gameplay. The boss/monster design, the atmosphere, the lore, the underlying, hidden motivations, the tucked away secrets…there’s a lot to live up to when trying to ape Dark Souls (unfortunately, although I loved Dark Souls 2, which I played on Xbox, it doesn’t seem to be quite up to snuff when it comes to things like secrets and lore…as much as I loved it, it was a bit disappointing in this regard).
23/04/2014 at 21:05 derbefrier says:
exactly what i was thinking, except the part about DS2. I decided to wait for the PC release so its on this friday.
23/04/2014 at 13:29 dE says:
Doors are serious business. They really are.
link to lizengland.com
23/04/2014 at 14:59 YogSo says:
Also, this elegy by Alec Meer.
PS: Nathan, you missed the greatest opportunity to reuse the “doors” tag.
23/04/2014 at 13:53 Shooop says:
You know what was great about Dark Souls?
The art direction and general feel that the world was decaying and crumbling under your feet. The hard-hitting enemies didn’t make the game, they made it so you’d slow down and examine the world. This misses the point by so much it lands in another universe.
And CI Games has a track record that guarantees this is going to be a hilarious failure at best. link to en.wikipedia.org
23/04/2014 at 19:36 DatonKallandor says:
Wow there isn’t a single good or original game on that list. You gotta work really hard to be THAT bad THAT consistently.
23/04/2014 at 14:34 araczynski says:
meh, i’ll pick it up in the bargain bin and use a cheat.
more importantly, anyone else getting tired of all these boss/enemy fights where you don’t see any damage to the enemy during/after combat? just a bunch of stupid combat animations from both parties and then the model lays flat. got old years ago.
23/04/2014 at 21:03 derbefrier says:
nope.
23/04/2014 at 14:45 Cytrom says:
Dark Souls isn’t the best game ever, not every frame of it is visual poetry, and not every action of the game was better than sex. It was not the first kind of its genre, and a comparison to dark souls isnt mandatory for every action oriented rpg. (or even games of completely different genres)
Also, skyrim isnt the worst game ever, and dragon age 2 WAS garbage.
*Flame on!*
23/04/2014 at 15:14 Humppakummitus says:
Nah, you’ve got it pretty much right. Only one of your points is wrong.
23/04/2014 at 15:41 ADinVA says:
Is it the use of past tense in referring to Dragon Age 2?
23/04/2014 at 19:37 DatonKallandor says:
It’s true, Demons Souls was so much better than Dark Souls.
23/04/2014 at 21:05 pasports31 says:
disagreements!
I preferred dark souls.
24/04/2014 at 11:28 Makariel says:
I disagree, I find Dark Souls 1 better than Demon’s Souls, which I find better than Dark Souls 2.
I’ve only played through DaS2 twice so far but I don’t like a number of changes to the combat mechanics, especially how shields and parrying are handled now. Demon’s Souls was a bit too unwieldy for my taste, for a game that has so much platforming for shortcuts and secret passageways it’s a sin not to include the ability to jump. Or at least to be able to consistently leap over ledges, instead of guessing if the ledge you’re standing in front of can be leaped over or not.
23/04/2014 at 16:43 fish99 says:
That shield block looked weird.
23/04/2014 at 16:44 SillyWizard says:
Wasn’t there a Dark Souls II trailer which was pretty much exactly this?
23/04/2014 at 17:01 Makariel says:
Yes, pretty much the same trailer as the Dark Souls 2 one that shows all different ways of how to die on the way to the Looking Glass Knight.
see here:
23/04/2014 at 19:44 DatonKallandor says:
Which incidentally is just a worse version of the Dark Souls 1 Silent Comedy trailers (especially this one: link to youtu.be ). Except those are bleaker since they don’t show the protagonist winning (just despairing) and prettier (why the hell is Dark Souls 1 better looking than Dark Souls 2? And isn’t that DS2 trailer pre-uglyfication-for-the-sake-of-framerate?)
24/04/2014 at 11:23 Makariel says:
I have to disagree with you there. These trailers are very different in that the DaS2 trailer shows how adapting gameplay style and equipment is part of overcoming the challenges, while the DaS1 trailers mostly show dying, preparing to die or just show off the amazing scenery and monster design (a reason I stopped watching those quite quickly since I didn’t want to spoil too many surprises).
23/04/2014 at 20:35 Cortes says:
What a awesome trailer. Finally CI Games shows something new about Lords of the Fallen. I don’t understand people which say LotF is second DS, I hope it will be a completely different game and I see it like that. Nice to see this game not will be too easy:) I like this trailer.
23/04/2014 at 20:39 CookPassBabtridge says:
Hi.
This has nothing to do with anything.
I just ordered an Oculus Rift DK2.
I needed to tell someone
Thank you
Also: WHHAAA HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
EDIT: Er Dark Souls. Dark Souls in VR. There, now its kind of on-topic. Did I mention I ordered a Rift?
23/04/2014 at 21:04 derbefrier says:
lol congratulations on your totally responsible use of your money!
23/04/2014 at 21:08 CookPassBabtridge says:
DO NOT CARE It is going to be sooooo sweet :) Eurotruck Simulator 2. Oh my god.
24/04/2014 at 11:29 Makariel says:
… and from that day on, the world was a better place :)
23/04/2014 at 23:55 knowitall011 says:
show me 30 mins of un edited game play footage, and I would be sold. I dare you!
24/04/2014 at 00:25 Shodex says:
There is a 7 minute gameplay demo.
24/04/2014 at 01:54 Tuco says:
And in fact they make the game look much better than this trailer does.
24/04/2014 at 04:04 Shodex says:
I’d love it if every game hired some bloke to just play for an hour and just record it, with no commentary because I hate Let’s Plays. Just an honest, unedited look at what experiencing the game for the first time looks like.
24/04/2014 at 01:36 lautalocos says:
the game looks like the witcher 2 but with way better combat, rather than dark souls
24/04/2014 at 06:50 bill says:
Bonking people clearly has a different meaning in the states… :-o
24/04/2014 at 11:32 Makariel says:
I am not sure about the art style. It reminds me of Darksiders, where the approach to character design is to start drawing details and never ever stop. The characters just appear too ‘busy’ to me, to much unnecessary details on armor and weapons that wouldn’t make any sense in the real world.
24/04/2014 at 23:28 Cortes says:
For me these details on armor and wweapon looks awesome. Graphics on this one and before trailer looks very nice so nothing wrong with that details:) I very like it.
29/04/2014 at 21:26 Notus87 says:
For me, everything looks good, I have nothing against that showed the same boss again, except that this time they showed a little more technology, and weapons, and it looks like a possible fight such weapons. Totally Not Dark Souls, I have the same feeling, in a positive sense.