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CI Games 和 Deck13, 2014
Windows, Xbox One 和 PS4
CI Games and Deck13, 2014
Windows, Xbox One and PS4
尽管开发者一再地申明，但“《黑暗之魂（Dark Souls）》复制品”依旧是最能概括《堕落之王（Lords of the Fallen）》的评价。这是一款主打激烈战斗的即时动作 RPG，玩家需要深思熟虑，耐下心来等待时机并时刻把控自己的耐力条。
游戏中的每个部分，从操作方式到容易“暴毙”的 boss 战，甚至是敌人在角色死亡后复活的方式都会让你想起 From Software 的“魂”（Souls）系列[1] 。
不过这不代表游戏中没有尝试创新，其中最明显的区别在于主角拥有明确的身份，从头到尾玩家扮演的都是扮演这位被释放出狱，协助对抗恶魔大军入侵的凶恶囚犯——哈肯（Harkyn）。但你能选择的只有他的初始职业（战士、盗贼或是牧师），外加从三类魔法中选择一种。不过魔法在这款近战主导的游戏中起到的作用非常有限。
本作的一大特点便是会随着击杀次数递增的多倍经验机制（XP multiplier），它会一直保持到玩家休息，时刻激励着玩家尽可能地向前推图。其余还包括了基于攻击时机的连击系统，可以插入武器中的符文，可以发射投射物的魔力手套以及可以获得特殊物品的挑战房间。
得益于出众的画面，游戏的视觉效果也是非常出色。这款游戏显然受到了 Games Workshop 的《战锤（Warhammer）》系列[2] 的启发，其美术风格相当地硬派，并且有意地进行了夸张处理。游戏初战就已经要面对一个身着盔甲的巨型恶魔。这虽然挺酷的，但还是会让你觉得有些不自然，因为游戏后期的敌人看起来很弱。这就不太符合传统 RPG 中的敌人“从老鼠到巨龙”逐渐强化的模式。
尽管如此，画面质量无法弥补游戏本身的局限性。不仅故事十分平庸，存在意义只是给主角一个理由去大开杀戒，游戏的武器设计和攻击模组也比较单调，另外敌人种类和可探索区域都很少。而最严重的问题莫过于通关之后，你甚至不会想重开一周目再玩一遍。
Despite its developers' best efforts to state otherwise, Lords of the Fallen went down in history as the first “Souls-like”. The game is an Action RPG focused on intense battles, which require thoughtful approach, patience to wait for an opening and careful management of your Stamina bar. Everything, from the controls to the deadly boss battles and even how enemies respawn when you die will remind you of From Software's Souls series.
That's not to say the game doesn't try new things. Most notably, it features a defined protagonist – you always play as Harkyn, a brutish prisoner released to help battle an invading army of demons. All you can choose is his starting class (Warrior, Rogue or Cleric), plus one of three magic types, which are very limited and entirely secondary in this melee-oriented game.
One of the game's best twists is the XP multiplier, which increases with each kill and remains until you rest, challenging players to push as far as possible. Other additions include a combo system based on timing your strikes, runes you can socket into weapons, a magical gauntlet that fires projectiles, and challenge rooms you can complete for special items.
The visuals also stand out, as the graphics are truly impressive. The art-style is gritty and intentionally over-designed, clearly inspired by Games Workshop's Warhammer. The game's first enemy is already a huge, armour-clad demon. While cool, it can feel contrived, as the endgame foes look much weaker, ruining the usual “from rats to dragons” RPG progression.
Regardless, the graphics can't make up for how limited the game is. The story is forgettable and just an excuse to kill stuff, but the real sin here is how there are few unique weapons and movesets, few enemies to fight, few areas to explore and, above all, very few reasons to ever replay the game once you're done.
2014 年，CI Games 宣布《堕落之王》的续作将在 2017 年发布。2021 年，他们确认续作仍在开发中。
In 2014, CI Games announced that a Lords of the Fallen sequel would be released in 2017. In 2021 they confirmed that it's still in development.
不过不管怎么样，《堕落之王》都不算是一款烂游戏。只是我们很难不把它和“魂”系列进行比较，注意到它是那么的平庸。虽然游戏确实有着该类型的核心要素，但还是缺少了宫崎英高（Hidetaka Miyazaki）和 From Software 团队的游戏中的那种深度和格局、精心打磨和独特风格。
当然了，《堕落之王》所采用的“D 加密”方法尽管保证了游戏不会在短时间内被破解，但也导致了许多 PC 端玩家遇到游戏运行不稳定和性能问题。
在《堕落之王》发布的这些年里，“《黑暗之魂》复制品”已经成为了一个子流派，甚至 Deck13 自己也制作了更多此类游戏，比如《迸发》（2017）和它令人称赞的续作《迸发 2》（2019）。《堕落之王》由于被批评过于仿造而遭到很多非议，但回首看来，这作为第一次尝试还是不错的，至今仍算是最佳的“魂类”游戏之一。
Lords of the Fallen isn't a bad game by any means, but it's impossible not to compare it with the Souls games and notice its shortcomings. The core elements are present, but they lack the depth and unique flair that Hidetaka Miyazaki adds to his games.
Of course, it didn't help that Lords of the Fallen came with a new type of DRM that, while it made the game uncrackable for months, also led to instability and performance issues for many PC players.
In the years since its release, “Dark Souls clones” became their own sub-genre, and even Deck13 would make a few more with The Surge (2017) and its acclaimed 2019 sequel. Lords of the Fallen was heavily criticized for being a clone but, in hindsight, it was a good first try and still one of the best "Souls-like".
游戏中是有一些 NPC 和对话选项的，但它们很容易被遗忘，对剧情的推动也不大。
There are a few NPCs and dialogue choices in the game, but they are forgettable and of little consequence.
游戏中有着许多可供选择的装备，但由于线性的流程，实际上你的选择是有限的。
There’s a good selection of equipment, but it follows a linear progression, limiting your effective choices.
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1 译者注：这里指的是 From Software 出品，以《黑暗之魂》（Dark Souls）为首的一系列游戏，因玩法一脉相承同，而且游戏标题里大都带“souls”这个单词（也有例外，比如 2015 年的《Bloodborne》，即《血源诅咒》），故而粉丝将之称为“魂”系列。但现如今因其玩法早已形成体系，所以“类魂”（Souls-like）也成为了一种游戏类型。
2 译者注：《战锤》系列分别指的是英国游戏公司"游戏工坊"（Games Workshop）制作的系列桌面战棋游戏系列，包括《战锤 40k》（Warhammer 40000）、《战锤幻想战役》（Warhammer Fantasy Battle，也就是“中古战锤”）以及《战锤：西格玛时代》（Warhammer: Age of Sigmar）。
《电脑 RPG 游戏史（The CRPG Book Project）》原书信息
英文原版主编：Felipe Pepe
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