Hold off on those refunds: Lords of the Fallen dev promises further Xbox updates ASAP
In a statement issued to VG247, CI Games’ senior brand director Ryan Hill sets out the future of LotF’s Xbox version.
Lords of the Fallen hasn’t had the smoothest launch. Though it previewed well, got a lot of credit for how beautiful it looks, and received a good selection of scores when the review embargo lifted, CI Games’ loyal take on the Soulslike genre has come under fire from some sectors of the internet. There were performance issues on every platform, but Xbox users had it worst, thanks to the fact the game shipped with an outdated build.
Initially, developer HexWorks put out a statement to let players know that the Xbox version will be updated "to bring it to parity with other platforms." But, as we’ve been reporting on this game, we’ve seen a couple of comments on our articles saying that players were ‘eager to get refunds’ for the Xbox version. I reached out to CI Games to ask what’s being done to keep Xbox players, in particular, on-side after this launch-period fumble.
“Since the launch of Lords of the Fallen last Friday, our incredibly dedicated team at HexWorks has worked hand-in-hand with Microsoft to release three substantial patches for the Xbox Series X/S version,” said Ryan Hill, CI Games’ senior brand director, in a statement to VG247. “As a result of these rapid actions by the team, both performance and graphical quality have vastly improved. These patches also feature a number of general gameplay and quality of life updates.”
Though some players may still run into performance issues across all versions of the game (albeit significantly improved from launch), Hill wants players to rest assured that more updates are coming – and further optimisation patches will be applied across all versions of the title.
“Of course, we remain hard at work further optimising Lords of the Fallen and will continue to listen and react to the observations from our player base. We are fully committed to providing further updates across all available console and PC platforms, ensuring every adventurer who picks up the mantle of the Dark Crusader will thoroughly enjoy their time exploring the vast lands of Mournstead.”
It’d be a shame to let these launch woes overshadow the game; both Sherif and I have been playing the title, and agree that it’s a unique take on Souls-likes that genuinely adds value to the genre it so loyally holds a candle (or should that be lamp?) up to. The two-world mechanic – both narratively and mechanically fascinating – really does put me in mind of Soul Reaver, and I personally can’t think of any higher praise than that.
VG247’s review of Lords of the Fallen will be live soon.
Keen to try the game for yourself? You can pick up Lords of the Fallen on Amazon UK or Amazon US.