Lords of the Fallen’s final update, version 1.5, gives it what every good action RPG must have: a randomizer mode for the sickos who thrive in the chaos of unpredictable enemies and loot.
A list of new options to modify the normal structure of the game will now be available when you’ve completed it. You can randomize the loot dropped by enemies and the types of enemies that show up. Other options include pre-upgraded loot drops, weaker healing, more enemies, permadeath, and fewer (or zero) of the game’s Dark Souls bonfire-like checkpoints, or “Vestiges”.
In our Lords of the Fallen review, Harvey wasn’t a fan of its brutal mid-to-late game enemy ambushes, which he said “occasionally feel downright cruel.” In the roadmap of updates since its release last October, however, developer Hexworks has pruned the enemy count down and many players say the game is easier now.
The new modifiers might bring the game back to its original state, which I’m sure is great to hear for the kinds of people who regularly mod FromSoftware games to kick their ass. Speedrunner LilAggy randomized Elden Ring and immediately dropped into one of the final areas in the game at level 1. The Lords of the Fallen randomizers aren’t that mean, but they’re clearly made specifically for the people who love action RPGs a little too much.
Alongside the modifiers, version 1.5 further tweaks the game’s difficulty, adds new armor and weapon sets, new quests, and a bunch of new spells. It also has “significant performance, optimization, and stability improvements,” that executive producer Saul Gasco promises will nearly eradicate the technical issues the developer has been fixing since its launch. He said creating the game’s overlapping “Axiom” and “Umbral” worlds with Unreal Engine 5 had the team “navigating completely uncharted territory from a technical standpoint,” and that is why the game had such a rough launch for many players.
The timing of the final update couldn’t be better for anyone who needs to fill a soulslike void before Shadow of the Erdtree’s June release. With the enemy placement in a better spot, Harvey’s praise for the rest of the game—”It might be one of the best non-FromSoftware souls games we’ve gotten so far”—has me seriously considering if it’s time to pick up that freaky lamp once again and give it another shot.
Lords of the Fallen’s version 1.5 update is available now.
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