Lords of the Fallen Speed and Challenge runs Could Be More Awesome Than You Think

If you're a fan of the Souls game series, you're probably well-acquainted with the influential and active community of players who engage in speed runs and challenge runs within these highly acclaimed and challenging games. The release of Lords of the Fallen, the latest game in the Souls-like genre, has naturally captured the interest of players who enjoy undertaking these specialized runs.

While Lords of the Fallen takes much inspiration from the Souls series in its design, it also introduces fresh and intriguing features that have the potential to add excitement to speed runs and challenge runs of the game. So let's briefly explore the opportunities that Lords of the Fallen presents as a new participant in the Souls-like speedrun and challenge run community.

Lords of the Fallen Could Have Insane Speedruns and Challenge-runs in the Near Future

As previously mentioned, speed and challenge runs of the Souls series of games have become increasingly common over the past few years. Speedrunners are now completing these games in less than an hour, while challenge runners are conquering all seven mainline FromSoftware titles without taking a single hit. These challenges also include runs with specific load-outs or builds, runs without leveling up, or even runs without rolling, among others.

Given the diverse approaches to running Souls games, it's only natural for Lords of the Fallen to be the next major target for many Souls fans interested in speed or challenge running. In fact, the game has already witnessed its first speedrun victory, with runner Hazelblade completing it in just over 90 minutes.

While Lords of the Fallen incorporates standard features that allow for creative runs, such as a varied weapon system and a manual leveling system, it also introduces some unique mechanics that could lead to entirely new types of runs. The Umbral lamp feature, in particular, stands out because it lets players consider two worlds when planning their routes.

Players might challenge themselves to complete an "Umbral Only" run, where they primarily stay in Umbral for most of the run (where applicable, as some areas require being in Axiom) and attempt to beat the game without taking any hits or as quickly as possible. This would be a significant challenge since Umbral becomes more difficult the longer you stay there and could create two distinct types of runs within the same game.

Players could choose to tackle any kind of run they desire, whether it's a speed run, a no-hit challenge, a no-leveling run, and so on, but they could do it for both an Umbral Only run and the standard unrestricted run. This opens the door to unique opportunities for the speedrun and challenge run community to once again test their skills and redefine the boundaries of running Souls and Souls-like games.

In summary, Lords of the Fallen incorporates many classic Souls-like features that will satisfy most runners in the genre. With its new Umbral lamp feature and others, the game has the potential to give rise to speed and challenge runs we've never seen before. If you're a fan of the speed and challenge run community, like myself, be sure to keep an eye out for what the community will achieve in the coming months.