In a developer update that feels more like a podcast at 42 minutes, Lords of the Fallen 2 developer CI Games likens the evolution of the sequel to the Batman: Arkham games and how the series found its groove with combat.
These comments are from game director James Lowe, who says the team has discussed this sort of Batman-like arc internally.
"Take a series like Batman: Arkham," he begins. "Arkham Asylum had a set of its combat abilities, and it got its core down, still had a ways to go. Arkham City then started to progress it and really refine the formula, not losing the essence of it, what that combat was in the last one. Then Arkham Knight, it all came together and it felt perfect. It felt like a journey, and we're on that same journey."
With Lords of the Fallen 2, the sequel to a fun-but-flawed reboot of one of the original FromSoftware imitators, Lowe says "we want players to be able to start smashing their sword around really starting to feel, 'OK, I've got power behind this.'"
The essences carried forward in this case include weapon and class distinctions, which, Lowe says, Lords of the Fallen 2 will reinforce with "classes that we haven't even seen in the genre" of Soulslikes.
"That then sets us up for more and more and more," he continues. "The more games that we put out, the more players really engage with this and really mess around with the DNA of our combat, the better it will always be."
Creative strategist Ryan Hill points to dual wielding as one area of evolution and distinction in combat. "You play FromSoftware games and I'm scared stiff to lose my shield," he says, but Lords of the Fallen 2 is deliberately more aggressive and promotes, as Lowe puts it, that sort of "player confidence" in your offense. And so, Hill finds, "a few hours in I realize I'm not using my shield. I'm dashing more, I'm attacking more. It didn't feel easier, but it felt different."
But equally, Lowe adds, "you might throw too many [attacks] and then your stamina depletes and you're going to get punished for it."
Dual wielding in Lords of the Fallen 2 is embellished with unique move sets that don't simply mirror attacks between hands, instead "giving this kind of flamboyant edge, which is a super cool dopamine hit," Lowe explains.
This was another key point for CI Games this time around, as even the devs admit "it's fair to say that players felt there wasn't enough variety between some weapon classes" in the previous game. (Hello, it's me, I'm players.) Here again, the devs promise greater individuality and flare, which is largely what I'd hoped to see from Lords of the Fallen 2. The first game (that is, the reboot) felt like it wanted a sequel to really strut its stuff, so after a surprising volume of patches, it's encouraging to hear the devs pushing in these directions.
