In an effort to curb the "frustration" that sometimes accompanies the Soulslike experience, Lords of the Fallen pays extra attention to the way it introduces players to its rules and world – seemingly with a bit more care than the likes of Elden Ring.
The Souls games generally explain as little as possible, essentially just giving players a pamphlet of basic controls and mechanics before sending them off to die, quite possibly at the end of a charitably described 'tutorial' a la Demon's Souls. And while it can be fun to get thrown into the deep end like this, it's significantly less fun when you don't already know how to swim, and I suspect this is often why some players bounce off Soulslikes so hard.
The original Lords of the Fallen was very much in this camp of design, but while the upcoming reboot is said to be significantly more challenging, it's also apparently going the extra mile to help ease people into that challenge.
"We have created a lengthy onboarding experience, because the difference between motivation and frustration is understanding why you failed or what the game wants you to do," creative director Cezar Virtosu told us at a recent hands-off preview. "With long onboarding, we believe that players will be able to practice and master all the basics before we let them out in our very unforgiving world."
Personally, I've been playing Souls games and Soulslikes for over a decade, so I'm pretty much picking up what they're putting down at this point. But I won't complain about a gentler or clearer crash course, partly because I do still remember being confused by Lords of the Fallen's intro back in the day, and especially if it helps more people enjoy a game.
Lords of the Fallen sounds revives the place-your-own bonfires that were cut from Dark Souls 3 - with a twist.
