The Lords Of The Fallen trailer, gameplay, classes, and everything we know so far

When can we expect The Lords Of The Fallen? If you know your Soulslikes, you'll know that Deck13 and CI Games' 2014 RPG Lords Of The Fallen was one of the most faithful Soulslikes we've seen so far in the still-burgeoning genre. Filled with dark fantasy landscapes, thoughtful and punishing combat, and powerful magic, it was an easy sell for lovers of FromSoftware titles.

Now the sequel, unhelpfully named The Lords Of The Fallen, is getting closer to release. And we thought it high time to summarise everything that we've learned about the game so far, and every way in which it strays from the original formula. Below we'll go over The Lords Of The Fallen's expected release date and platforms, as well as trailers, story, gameplay, and multiplayer details.

The Lords Of The Fallen expected release date

The Lords Of The Fallen is expected to release sometime in 2023, but otherwise no solid release date has yet been given by Hexworks, the CI Games studio developing the game.

This sequel to 2014's Lords Of The Fallen was announced just 2 months after the release of the original game, but since then no specific release date has been given. Hopefully we'll find out more as we cruise further into 2023.

The Lords Of The Fallen platforms

The Lords Of The Fallen will be available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S - in other words, all next-gen consoles. The Hexworks site states that one of their intentions for The Lords Of The Fallen is to provide "amazing visuals and gameplay supported by the power and performance of the latest Unreal Engine".

Any game being made in Unreal Engine 5 can be reasonably expected to target next-gen rather than last-gen hardware, so the decision is unsurprising, really.

The Lords Of The Fallen trailer

There have been two trailers released for The Lords Of The Fallen so far, and we've added both below so you can take a good look.

The top video is the latest trailer, a gameplay teaser which shows off some very creepy vistas and enemies, and some very Soulslike combat. The second video is the original The Lords Of The Fallen announcement trailer, which provides a more cinematic narrative overview of the game.

The Lords Of The Fallen classes

Just like the original game, in The Lords Of The Fallen you'll be able to customise your own character and choose one of several preset classes to determine your starting path. Only 3 classes have been confirmed so far: Knight, Rogue, and Fire Apprentice. The game's Steam Store page also states that there will be a total of 9 classes to choose from.

This is the same number of classes as the original game. In 2014's Lords Of The Fallen you could choose between three types of magic (Brawling, Deception, and Solace) - each of which has three classes to choose from. We don't yet know if other classes from the original, such as Paladin, Executioner, or Outlaw, will make their way into the sequel.

Regardless, these classes won't lock you into any particular playstyle. As with many Soulslikes, the classes only affect your starting attributes and gear, giving you the freedom to develop your character however you like.

The Lords Of The Fallen gameplay

Like the game it succeeds, The Lords Of The Fallen is a dark fantasy action-RPG which is closely modelled on the Soulslike subgenre. The devs have said the game will be "darker and more challenging, with faster Soulslike combat" than the first game. You'll have access to both weapons and powerful spells, as before, and can choose to forego one in favour of the other, or walk a more balanced path.

The player of The Lords Of The Fallen will also be equipped with a magical lantern, as shown in the trailers above. This lantern has the ability to reveal aspects of the hidden world of the dead overlapping the living world, and it can also be used to destroy denizens of the world of the dead.

Hexworks have confirmed that The Lords Of The Fallen will be "significantly larger" than its 2014 predecessor, its expansive world split between the realms of the living and the dead. When you die in The Lords Of The Fallen, you will awaken in the world of the dead, a parallel realm filled with nightmarish creatures. If you can return to where you died before, then you can retrieve any unspent XP you lost, but if you take too long or die again, that XP will be lost forever.

The Lords Of The Fallen multiplayer

In a departure from its predecessor, The Lords Of The Fallen will feature full co-op multiplayer from release. In similar fashion to Elden Ring and other Soulslikes, you can invite a second player to join you in what the devs have called "uninterrupted" online co-op - which might mean that you need not reinvite friends before every new area or boss.

Only one friend can be invited to join your party and help you in co-op, although if you allow it, players can also choose to invade your world and attack you, giving The Lords Of The Fallen some PvP action as well as simply PvE.

Of course, you can also choose to turn off all co-op and PvP multiplayer settings, and play through The Lords Of The Fallen's campaign in singleplayer.

The Lords Of The Fallen story

Not much is yet known about the story of The Lords Of The Fallen beyond its broad brushstrokes, which remain much the same as the original game. As you'll know if you played the original, the world of humans was once ruled by a dictatorial demonic god called Adyr. After "an age of the cruellest tyranny", Adyr was finally defeated by an uprising of humans led by three powerful heroes known as the Judges.

The first game involved the player character, Harkyn, being tasked with stopping the return of Adyr, and at the end of the game could choose either to revive Adyr, kill him, or keep him dormant.

It seems as though one of the latter two endings was chosen as canon, because from what little we know so far, Adyr is threatening to rise once again. This provides the impetus for the new player character of The Lords Of The Fallen to journey through the twin realms of the living and the dead in order to prevent the demon god's return.

That's just about all we know so far on The Lords Of The Fallen, but keep checking this page every so often! We'll be sure to update it the moment we get further news on Hexworks' upcoming Soulslike action-RPG.