CI Games has released the ninth episode of its “Lifting the Veil” developer roundtable series, and this one is all about Umbral, the dark alternate dimension that serves as one of Lords of the Fallen II‘s defining features.
Clocking in at 37 minutes, the episode features Chief Creative Officer Ryan Hill, Game Director James Lowe, Lead Systems Designer Daniel Regan, and Producer Alex Harkin discussing what the team is calling “Umbral 2.0,” a significant overhaul of the dual-realm mechanic from the original game, built largely around player feedback.
If you played the first Lords of the Fallen, you know Umbral as the mirror-world realm of the dead that players could dip in and out of using the Umbral Lamp. In the sequel, that concept is getting pushed much further. The team describes it as more aggressive and oppressive this time around, with the realm actively bleeding into the mortal world of Axiom rather than sitting as a separate space players choose to visit. Producer Alex Harkin compared it to “the back floor of a butcher’s shop,” which should give you a pretty clear picture of the direction they’re going.
Check it out below.
A few key changes are highlighted in the episode. Enemy behavior now reacts to player actions rather than following a linear threat timer, making the danger feel more organic. New enemy types can morph into deadlier forms the longer players stay in Umbral. There’s also greater biome diversity this time, giving the realm more visual variety and more reason to explore.
The episode also includes alpha gameplay footage, with a separate highlight reel available on YouTube for those who want the condensed version. This gameplay gives a better look at what you can expect when the game is released, including the new characters and playstyles.
I was already hyped for Lords of the Fallen II, and every time I see one of these developer showcases, it makes the wait for the game that much harder. Everything is simply bigger, better and we’re going to see a better game thanks to everything CI Games learned from the first game and all the work that went into the game after the release.
While there’s no release date for Lords of the Fallen II, there’s plenty of time to go play the completely revamped Lords of the Fallen 2.0, which has seen a number of gameplay tweaks and technical issues addressed that ultimately make it a much better game than when it was originally released.
Lords of the Fallen II is currently in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Are you looking forward to the game and if so, what platform are you going to be playing it on? Let us know in the comments (yes, comments are back!)
