Review: Lords of the Fallen 2.5 – A breath of fresh air before the sequel

Lords of the Fallen (official site) was originally released in 2014 by CI Games, as one of the soulslike titles that flooded digital store shelves thanks to the success of titles like Dark Souls, Sekiro and Bloodborne.

However, version 2.5, recently released, is considered by the publisher to be the final and definitive version of the game, arriving shortly before the sequel promised for 2026. This new, free update refines mechanics, increases difficulty, and adds refinements that will make players think: "Is it worth reinstalling and doing a new run?" We'll answer that for you, and if you have any questions, leave a comment.

The 2.5 update for Lords of the Fallen brought as its main novelty the Veteran Mode, which basically creates a new layer of difficulty for those who’ve already finished the game at least once. It's not just a mode with inflated numbers, although that also exists. Enemies have more health, deal more damage, and are more aggressive, but the main impact is on the pace of the fights. Bosses have smaller attack windows, land hits faster, and punish more when the player tries to play on autopilot. In practice, this changes the way you approach many battles.

In Legacy Mode, after a certain point, you kill everything in front of you without difficulty, especially if you have a strong build. In Veteran Mode, you can still do that, but the risk is greater. One small mistake and you're 'turned into a nostalgic t-shirt', especially against bosses who now mix quick attacks with area-of-effect attacks that catch those who insist on staying close to them for too long.

Even so, you can't say that the game has become a Sekiro. It's become more demanding, but it's still easier than the average of the more complicated Soulslike games. The mode serves to extend the game's lifespan and provide an extra challenge for those who already master the basics, but not much more than that.

The patch also brought changes to boss weapons, but there's a certain exaggeration in how this was publicized. Not all weapons changed. Only a few received truly new movesets, such as the Punishment and Judgment Hammers, Flickering Flail, and Judge Cleric's Corrupted Sword.

Some weapons that many people expected to see revamped remain practically unchanged. Pieta's sword, for example, retains its old behavior, which frustrates those who thought that all boss equipment would have a more distinct identity. The idea is good, but the execution is still quite shy.

Another notable change is in the boss battles. Several of them have their move sets adjusted. Some have gained new attacks, others have old sequences accelerated or modified. Pieta, for example, now uses grabs at moments that were previously relatively safe. If you go in too confident, thinking you know all her moves, you'll probably die before relearning the rhythm of the fight.

The Spurned Progeny has also become more dangerous. Certain attacks now end in explosions, which transform damage windows that were previously safe into traps. Instead of simply rolling back and attacking, you now need to quickly get out of the area of ​​effect and only then think about counter-attacking.

These changes make the battles more interesting, especially for those who’ve already defeated these bosses multiple times. It feels like the game is trying to break the muscle memory you've built up over previous runs.

The promise of improved AI isn't entirely exaggerated, but it's not a revolution either. At various points, especially against large enemies, you can notice they’re more aggressive. If you move away, they tend to close the distance with long combos or attacks that cover larger areas. This forces the player to be more attentive to positioning. It's no longer as safe to take two steps back and wait for the enemy to come predictably. They’re still defeatable with the same strategies, but now require more attention.

As for the smaller enemies, they remain almost the same. The creatures of Umbral, for example, continue to throw themselves at you without much strategy, functioning more as a way to make you waste resources than as a real threat.

Even with all these changes, the biggest highlight of Lords of the Fallen remains the dual-world mechanic. Switching between Axiom and Umbral using the magic lantern completely changes exploration. Broken bridges reappear intact in Umbral, solid walls become traversable, and areas that seem inescapable gain new routes.

This also affects combat. Certain enemies only lose their invincibility when you reveal hidden eyes in the environment using the flashlight. The Soul Flay remains a powerful tool, allowing you to rip the soul out of enemies to immobilize them for a few seconds or throw them off cliffs. This mechanic is what truly gives the game its identity. Even after dozens of hours, it's still fun to see how the two worlds connect and transform.

Beyond the lantern and the two worlds, exploration has been enhanced by the Vestige Seeds system, which allows you to create temporary checkpoints. This adds a strategic layer to the progression. You decide whether it's worth spending a seed now to facilitate a return or risk moving forward without a safety net. This mechanic works well with Veteran Mode, as dying is more costly when enemies are stronger.

Multiplayer remains one of the most interesting aspects of the game. Unlike many Soulslikes, you aren't kicked out of the session after defeating a boss, making the co-op experience much smoother. You can traverse entire areas with a friend without that feeling of always starting over.

However, technical problems persist. In several sessions, the partner is teleported back to the host, accompanied by loading screens that break the rhythm. Sometimes this happens more than once in a row, which is quite irritating.

Even so, playing co-op is still one of the most enjoyable ways to experience the game, especially in Veteran Mode, where the extra difficulty becomes more manageable in co-op.

Here's the biggest problem with version 2.5. Even on powerful PCs, the game still suffers from stuttering and frame rate drops, especially after long sessions. In co-op, these problems seem to intensify, with momentary freezes that disrupt more intense fights. These stutters diminish the impact of the combat improvements. It's no use having a more refined move set for the boss if the game decides to freeze right when you're about to dodge.

Another strange detail is how the game handles saves. When creating a character in Veteran Mode, the selection menu doesn't clearly indicate that the save belongs to this mode. After a few days without playing, it's difficult to remember which character is which.

Furthermore, there's no option to convert an old save to Veteran Mode. Anyone wanting to try the new feature needs to start from scratch. This decision significantly limits adoption of the new mode, as many players would prefer to simply increase the difficulty of the character they've already invested dozens of hours in.

Lords of the Fallen 2.5 isn't a new game, but it's a far cry from the problematic 2023 version. The combat is more refined, the bosses are better, and the Veteran Mode gives a real reason to replay. There are still serious technical issues, but the foundation is more solid.

For those who abandoned the game at launch, this is the best version available. For those who already mastered everything, the changes may seem small, but they still provide extra breathing room until the arrival of Lords of the Fallen 2.