Building a soulslike is a minefield, because you’re always in FromSoftware’s shadow and even minor inspiration can trigger plagiarism accusations. After shipping a rocky 2023 Lords of the Fallen and improving it through dozens of updates, CI Games is now outlining how 2026’s Lords of the Fallen 2 plans to stand apart from the genre’s “parents”. A new video focuses on combat and build philosophy, and the team stresses that the comparison isn’t an attack on FromSoftware, but a deliberate choice in design. The key message is simple: the sequel is built to push constant experimentation, not long-term commitment to a single setup.

In a recent video on the studio’s YouTube channel, game director James Lowe explains how he thinks many FromSoftware games tend to be played once a build “clicks”. “With a FromSoftware game, and I’m not attacking FromSoftware, once I find my build, I’m in. That’s probably the build that I’m going to use for the whole game, and I’m not really going to mess about with it,” he says. By contrast, Lords of the Fallen 2 aims to create “more pushes” to experiment – try dual weapons, or switch style entirely when a difficult encounter calls for it.

CI Games argues that experimentation only works if the game supports it instead of punishing it. The developers say the sequel “respects” you for changing things up and “rewards” you for having different playstyles, so multiple systems are being tuned to reduce the friction of rebuilding. They contrast this with how many players approach Elden Ring or Bloodborne: find a favorite weapon, invest heavily into it, and stick with it to the end. In Lords of the Fallen 2, they’re lowering stat requirement thresholds, making rebuilding your build less of a sacrifice, and easing the cost of upgrading weapons, so switching style doesn’t feel like throwing hours away.

The other big differentiator is heavy attacks. The studio believes that in most soulslikes heavy attacks are often just “a slightly slower attack that does slightly more damage, and that’s it”, while Lords of the Fallen 2 gives them more explicit utility – breaking the guard of shielded enemies or stunning heavier monsters. This is meant to create “small decision loops” where you quickly choose whether it’s worth winding up a strong hit or reacting with something faster. The idea is that every attack has consequences, so you should think before you press the button (as relayed via GamesRadar).

Enemy speed and movement are designed to force adaptation

CI Games ties that philosophy to enemy design: foes have their own movement and attack patterns, and some will simply be faster than you, meaning you’ll have to adjust your style to deal with them. The studio frames this less as reinventing the genre and more as finding the balance between what already works in soulslikes and what its own fantasy needs to shine. How all of this will land in practice remains to be seen, but one concrete detail is locked in: Lords of the Fallen 2 is slated for 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Source: 3DJuegos