3 reviews liked by HallmoDeech


2019-2021 paladins will never truly be understood by the masses

The only Souls-like game that managed to reach the level of quality seen in titles from From Software.
However, my biggest complaint would be the easy difficulty. Version 1.5 of the game seems to have been significantly toned down, rendering many of its systems seemingly pointless. While I understand the developers' motivation to make the game more accessible to a wider range of gamers, I can't help but wish we could experience the original vision around which most of the mechanics were designed, especially regarding shortcuts and the additional combat systems (Legion, Fabel, Spec. Grindstone, Cube).

Many of the side abilities serve as nothing more than a get-out-of-jail card for dealing with a single tough enemy while traveling between bonfires. Unfortunately, most of these side weapon systems lack good synergy and are not useful in other ways. In boss fights, these systems become a tedious checklist, which quickly becomes annoying.

Another issue I have is the overuse and odd placement of shortcuts. Most of them become redundant after unlocking them, possibly due to the reduced difficulty. While shortcuts in Dark Souls are usually satisfying to unlock after a challenging push and are often unexpected, LoP overuses them and reveals them too early, removing the sense of discovery. The linearity of the levels only adds to this issue.

Still, LoP is a very enjoyable game with a fantastic atmosphere, story and satisfying combat. Despited being called just another souls clone, the game has enough of identity to stand on its own, in terms of both gameplay and story.

Most significant cons:
- The game has WAY too many logical problems, primarily due to the player-character's abillity to turn back time. For example, it works perfectly during most of the mundane encounters you have, but it inconveniently stops working in crucial moments to increase the dramatic flair of the story. Generally, it's just used to solve boring puzzles or lazily move the story forward.
- Don't be fooled by the "choices" you get to make to influence the story. The entire game comes down to one binary choice, so none of the countless other decisions you make actually matter.
- The voice acting is subpar at best and cringeworthy at worst. A lot of the dialogue is clearly written from out-of-touch adults trying to sound like kids.
- There's not a lot of gameplay aside from walking around and clicking, but that's just not really my cup of tea, so it may not be a con for you.

Most significant pros:
- The best thing about the game is the murder/kidnapping mystery subplot. That's the biggest thing that kept me playing all the way through. Unfortunately, I don't think it's enough for me to recommend the game.
- The first episode is pretty good, and starts the series off in a promising way.
- Some moments and surprising plot points are very interesting.

All in all, I'd say you'd be better off watching a playthrough if you're really curious about the story.