Since it was released last week, soulslike action RPG Lords of the Fallen has not quite had the universally acclaimed launch that developer Hexworks would've hoped for. The game closely follows the Dark Souls trilogy's formula, in everything from mechanics to its aesthetic, but - for the PC version at least- it has been plagued by performance issues so far. Many fans have praised Lords of the Fallen's mechanics, world, and combat, however, and have been playing constantly since it was released. Those yet to have finished the game may be surprised to hear that the New Game+ on offer significantly increases the challenge in an unexpected way: by removing the game's checkpoints.

Recent soulslikes such as Lords of the Fallen and Lies of P have shown that, despite their wildly different takes on the genre, the bar has certainly been raised. FromSoftware remains the king of its own sub-genre, but the gap between other developers and Hidetaka Miyazaki's team definitely isn't getting any wider. While most soulslikes attempt to follow the same set of core rules, they each look to differentiate from each other using some of their key features and mechanics. Lords of the Fallen is no exception to this and pulls out a couple of surprises that subvert many fans' expectations in new and exciting ways.

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Lords of the Fallen's New Game+ Significantly Ups The Stakes

For many, difficulty is the cornerstone of a good soulslike. A key part of assessing a soulslike's difficulty is the placement of its checkpoints, or bonfires as they're known in Dark Souls. Placing these checkpoints too liberally can remove some of the game's sense of tension, and the opposite can remove any element of fear or dread from players, safe in the knowledge that the next checkpoint will be around the corner. Lords of the Fallen's take on this is slightly different from the norm.

Players will find Vestiges, this game's version of bonfires, throughout Lords of the Fallen's dual worlds as expected, which they can use to heal, level up, or fast travel to other locations. They are few and far between though, with some areas only housing one, or even none whatsoever at times. This means players could find themselves carelessly scrambling around an area hoping to reach the solace of a vestige, refusing to engage in combat as the risk of dying outweighs the reward.

Lords of the Fallen attempts to alleviate some of this pressure by giving the player vestige seeds. These seeds are a limited consumable item that the player can use to create their own checkpoint on certain pieces of land that hold flower beds. This is a refreshing take on a familiar soulslike mechanic, and gives the player something extra to think about in terms of where and when to place these checkpoints. Interestingly, the New Game+ mode takes this concept to a whole new level entirely by completely removing vestiges. This means that players are only able to erect vestiges using these consumable seeds, which are a limited resource that either needs to be collected from bosses, or purchased in the hub world.

Crucially, though, the player is only able to plant and use one vestige seed at a time. Planting a second will effectively replace the first. This means that in New Game+ mode, players will not be able to freely warp between areas, which will restrict the player's ability to travel around the huge world of Mournstead, which is one of Lords of the Fallen's high points. This seems like a strange decision, and while New Game+ mode should definitely make the game harder, it's questionable whether this mechanic achieves that goal without sacrificing some of the most enjoyable parts of the game. With Hexworks proving so responsive to feedback, it remains to be seen if this particular element will be changed.

Lords of the Fallen is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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