Play now: Lords Of The Fallen
The Surge’s predecessor is clashing steel on PS Now
Ever since the first Dark Souls became a sleeper hit, its design philosophy has influenced many games. But releasing only a year after PS4 itself, Lords Of The Fallen was one of the first to take those ideas and form them into their own thing for the new generation.
Playing as Harkyn, branded with runes all over his body for his sins,1 you’re unleashed on a dark fantasy world to stop the second coming of a nasty god, while having your own issues with the demigods who originally usurped them. Starting in a snowy monastery slap-bang next to the Hand Of God mountains (formed from a literal giant hand) this is an early PS4 game that’s still visually exciting, and you can feel the ambition even now. A blizzard whips around you, and the stonework feels lovingly detailed in its ruin.
CRUNCH SQUAD
It’s a strange world, and one that feels good to lumber around slowly. Combat is careful, and it’s satisfying to brush off an enemy flurry before ducking in to crunch your own hits in. On PS Now it’s downloadable as well as streamable, meaning you can rid yourself of excuses for your failures, and try and try again.
Beyond losing unspent experience when you die, what you gain in the first place is a risk/reward system, goading you to skip checkpoints and keep your
combos going. Snuff it and you can pick up what you lost, Dark Soulsstyle, but only if you get to the scene of your demise within a time limit. It’s playful in the way it whispers in your ear, daring you to push yourself further and make mistakes.
The studio would go on to make both The Surge games, and has only improved with each game. Deck13 wears its FromSoftware inspiration on its sleeve, but from there always goes in its own interesting direction.
With a sequel in the works (being developed by Hexworks),2 Lords Of The Fallen is well worth revisiting.