The sequel to 2014 motion RPG Lords of the Fallen has formally dropped each the “the” in entrance of its title and the unique developer’s proprietary engine.
Lords of the Fallen (opens in new tab) (the brand new one), will run on Unreal Engine 5, permitting the sport to maximise its hyper-gothic fantasy vibes.
In a technical showcase trailer, developer Hexworks describes how the workforce made tweaks to the prevailing Unreal Engine 5 tech to decorate up the brand new recreation.
For instance, the developer used 3D scans of individuals to boost the engine’s character customization programs. You possibly can see the participant character’s physique sort step by step change based mostly on the place the cursor strikes inside a triangle of choices. “Gamers can create distinctive faces and our bodies by dynamically morphing between an enormous vary of shapes earlier than finessing the finer particulars,” the developer mentioned.
Unreal Engine’s Chaos Physics characteristic makes all of your gear transfer realistically in fight. An especially Bloodborne-looking character swings a flail and you may see each a part of their armor and cape sway within the course of their assault after which naturally settle over time. It is a tiny element, however one that may seemingly assist the sport really feel grounded as you tackle its soulslike melee battles.
The next broad shot of a cathedral utilizing Unreal’s Lumen GI lighting system is extraordinarily fairly, possibly even too fairly for a recreation the place you will most likely be in fixed peril. It seems to be like somebody recreated a Diablo stage in Unreal, besides in Lords of the Fallen, you get to stroll up the stone steps in third-person.
Hexworks is ready to place orbs of sunshine round to focus on spots of the room with out placing as a lot of a pressure on the sport’s efficiency as full, simulated lighting would.
In Lord of the Fallen, you will routinely swap between the land of the dwelling and the land of the useless. Each worlds will resemble one another, however have distinct options. Utilizing a customized toolset, Hexworks is ready to create each worlds subsequent to one another in order that they really feel linked within the recreation. “This implies our artists and designers can guarantee these worlds really feel intrinsically linked, like two sides of the identical coin,” the developer mentioned.
The primary Lords of the Fallen won’t have been a memorable soulslike, however its sequel positively has the technical energy to broaden its darkish fantasy scope. I beloved Elden Ring’s open world, however I nonetheless yearn for extra soulslikes that may work throughout the tight rooms and corridors of castles and dungeons.
Lords of the Fallen is ready to launch someday this yr.