Gameplay trailers for two highly anticipated soulslike games, Lords of the Fallen and Lies of P, dropped this week. Both stunning in their own way and, without a doubt, look to be bringing the brutal combat the genre is known for.
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Lords of the Fallen
Game developer HEXWORKS has treated us to a 17 minute long video of straight gameplay from Lords of the Fallen, giving a pretty clear representation of what the game will actually be like to play.
Wielding a greataxe and some pretty snazzy looking golden-magic, the player character wastes no time getting stuck into their monstrous foes. Watching them rip out an enemy’s soul and then hack at it with an axe was so damn metal!
The level looks big and it’s actually a while until we come across another enemy, but when we do… hoo boy!
The towering barbarian-demon charges full steam ahead at the player, its flaming hooves causing mini-explosions as it runs. It comes at the player so fast that I actually held my breath in fear, before remembering I was watching a trailer.
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The player switches to dual-wielding swords which looks slower but much more damaging. At one point, they get hit with a flame attack and the air around them distorts into a heat mirage for a few seconds. A cool idea I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a game before.
Shifting into Umbral, the realm of the dead, brings on a new fight against a wicked wraith, faceless zombies and a humanoid moth creature that needs a whole can of fly spray dumped over it STAT! Retreating back to Axiom, the realm of the living, the player continues on.
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Boss encounters look super intense!
Walking out onto an empty courtyard, it took mere seconds for a portal to open up and a three-headed dragon to swoop out breathing fire. The boss looks to be able to summon portals at will, making its movements hard to predict. The dragon’s rider dismounts and reveals they actually have four arms, each wielding a blade — massive General Grievous (Star Wars) vibes from this character design!
The player gets smoked and returns to the Umbral world, only to get defeated a second time and sent back to their last checkpoint. These bosses are no pushovers!
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I love the switching between realms of Life and Death and how it not only changes the enemies standing in your way but also the whole mood of the place. The enemy design is seemingly excellent and varied; the zombie knight, wreathed in flame at the end of the trailer was a particular highlight.
Lies of P
Lies of P dropped a couple of gameplay videos over the weekend, giving gamers a brutal look at what they’re in for.
The ‘Lorenzini Arcade‘ clip starts with Pinocchio in a dark and grubby street, wielding a deadly forked sword and saw-blade buckler, he also utilises an electric-based attack that devastates his puppet-like enemies.
The attention to detail is great, like his matte leather jacket, glistening in the lamplight after getting wet.
Next, we see him within the arcade, brandishing a sick looking scythe, slashing up some pretty disgusting tentacled monsters. His mechanical hand, this time, loaded with a flamethrower.
I’m not sure if the basement is flooded with blood or wine, but I love how Pinocchio’s white jacket gets stained pink after he gets knocked into it. There’s a monster with massive spiked clubs for arms that I definitely don’t want to get hit by!
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Later on, Pinocchio has found a big old cleaver from somewhere and is not afraid to use it! Chopping up enemies like they’re meat at the butcher. This time, he has a device on his wrist that plants timed landmines in the ground, and is luring foes to their doom.
Lastly we see him rocking something truly epic, what looks to be a chainsaw poleaxe! He goes toe-to-toe with the level boss, a nightmare inducing jester, and puts it in the dirt.
The design and aesthetic of the game is top notch, and I’m loving the variety of weapons on show; the fact that some enemies will attack each other is a cool touch as well.
The other trailer shows off ‘Rosa Isabelle Street‘ where we see Pinocchio quickly dispatch a flamethrower wielding mannequin. Seconds later he’s dodging a giant rolling boulder straight out of Indiana Jones, and taking on a new horde of enemies with his sword and mini rocket launcher. He fights a creepy clown with robotic hands that would put Iron Mans hulk-buster armour to shame.
A quick outfit change and Pinnoch’ is headed into a fancy mansion with a wicked great sword swung over the shoulder. In here we find my favourite enemy of the trailer, a grotesque puppet with spider legs that’s actually controlling other puppets with it’s golden threads… Puppets pulling the strings of puppets!
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Lastly, the sword has been swapped for the biggest monkey wrench you’ve ever seen… I can only imagine the size of the nuts he plans to loosen with that bad boy! We soon find out, as Pinnochio faces off in a boss-fight against a colossal steampunk monkey with stretchy accordion arms! Sick!
Lies of P looks to be taking heavy inspiration from Bloodborne‘s dark gothic tones, while Lords of the Fallen’s overlapping planes of existence remind me more of Demon Souls‘ changing world tendency and soul form.
Both games have me equally excited for what they’re bringing to the genre and I’m looking forward to getting my ass kicked over and over again!
Lies of P is right around the corner, launching on September 16th for Xbox Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC.
Lords of the Fallen isn’t far away either! October 13th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC.
