You can’t play Lords of the Fallen (the PS5/Xbox Series one, not the last-gen one) even for a second and not see the similarities it has with the critically-acclaimed, goth-favourite, action-adventure PlayStation and PC game, Soul Reaver.
From the very start – as your character is unceremoniously killed and granted passage to the netherworld via mysterious death lamp – you can start to draw allusions. Phasing between worlds, flaying the souls of the dead to progress, trying to remain in control of your humanity as other forces threaten to unhitch you from everything that kept you pure… for Lords of the Fallen, the comparisons are more than just skin deep.
“Soul Reaver is absolutely, 100% a reference point for us,” laughs Cezar Virtosu – creative director at development studio, Hexworks. “When you have to explain the weird mechanics we have in our game with the money people – who are about to put everything, everything and the kitchen sink, behind this project – you need to find an easy well to tell them what you’re cooking, right? So we say ‘have you played Soul Reaver?’ [Laughter]”