2014 motion RPG Lords of the Fallen was clearly impressed by FromSoftware video games, and so is its upcoming reboot, The Lords of the Fallen (opens in new tab) (a reputation that may torment Google searchers perpetually). In response to artistic director Cezar Virtosu, nonetheless, whereas it would appear like they cribbed sure concepts immediately from Elden Ring for the brand new sport, they had been as stunned as anybody by them.
Improvement of The Lords of the Fallen started earlier than Elden Ring was revealed, and Virtosu not too long ago advised our pals at Edge Journal (opens in new tab) (by way of our different pals at GamesRadar (opens in new tab)) that the studio “braced for influence” when particulars about FromSoftware’s open world RPG began to look. Positive sufficient, there was overlap.
“Our breakthrough weapon, the flail, was showcased within the Elden Ring trailer, and that killed us inside,” stated Virtosu. “And we noticed that one in every of our bosses was almost equivalent to Malenia.”
The director did not say whether or not the studio made any modifications to the boss because of the similarity, however it’s not as if he is shy in regards to the FromSoftware affect guiding The Lords of the Fallen—”Miyazaki is our daddy and granddaddy,” he stated—so perhaps it’s going to stick round as an unintended homage. (I’ve requested a PR rep and can replace this text if I hear extra.)
The Lords of the Fallen govt producer Saul Gascon additionally acknowledged that their studio, a brand new offshoot of writer CI Video games referred to as HexWorks, exists within the shadow of FromSoftware, however he does not suppose that is an unambitious place to be.
“We wish the studio to develop into a reference within the style,” Gascon advised Edge.
We need to be the second reference [after From], as a result of proper now there isn’t any clear second reference.”
I admire the honesty of aspiring to be the second most notable darkish fantasy motion RPG developer, which in fact can be a giant achievement with FromSoft on the prime, though I am unsure the place is definitely vacant: Some would say that Nioh 2 is that second reference, so that is what The Lords of the Fallen has to beat.
As for the title, senior model supervisor Ryan Hill advised Edge that The Lords of the Fallen will not be a direct sequel to Lords of the Fallen—which was made by a special developer—however probably not a spin-off, both, so that they went with the ‘the’ method.
“It may not be the clearest route ahead,” stated Hill, “however I believe by the point we’ve launched, everybody can be educated on what that is.”
There’s much more about The Lords of the Fallen and what it’s to be present in difficulty 381 of Edge Journal, which is offered to buy from our shared writer right here. (opens in new tab) For the quick model, Virtosu provided this summation: “Our technique was that, sure, we can be Darkish Souls 4.5. We can be that semi-open world that folks crave, that extra vertical degree design—as a result of that is what we would like, too.”
