The new Lords of the Fallen game is out on PC and consoles. Unfortunately, it runs like garbage and looks like it, too. We tested the game across several high-end NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards and got some disappointing results. Our test bed features an Intel Core i9-13900K paired with DDR5-6000 CL37 memory and a Corsair RM1000E. We use a Lian Li Galahad 360mm CPU cooler and an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero to put it all together.
At 4K Ultra (without any upscaling), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 averages a paltry 48.8 FPS with lows of 40.9 FPS. AMD’s fastest GPU, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX yields 34 FPS on average, with lows of under 30 FPS. The RX 7900 XT is limited to an average of 28 FPS and 1% lows of 25 FPS.
The frametime graphs of the GeForce RTX 4090 and the Radeon RX 7900 XTX are more or less identical at 4K Ultra. Both suffer from periodic micro-stuttering that renders the game unplayable. Lords on the Fallen leverages the Unreal Engine 5 with real ray-tracing. It uses the software-based Lumen global illumination and Nanite to increase the LOD and tessellation levels. Unfortunately, the game barely looks any better than the Dark Souls Remaster that came out several years back.
The top-end GPUs stabilize at 1440p but fail to render 100 FPS at the “Ultra” quality preset. The GeForce RTX 4090 averages 85 FPS with 1% lows of 70. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX averages just over 60 FPS with 1% lows of 55. The RX 7900 XT registers an average of 53 FPS and 46.5 FPS lows.
The Radeon RX 7900 XTX offers the smoothest performance, followed by the RTX 4090. The RX 7900 XT continues to stutter like crazy at 1440p Ultra.
Down to 1080p, and still, most GPUs fail to hit 100 FPS. The GeForce RTX 4090 averages 118 FPS, followed by the RX 7900 XTX with 87 FPS. The RX 7900 XT final delivers a playable experience at 1080p with an average of 76 FPS and 1% lows of 66.5 FPS.
The overall performance continues to be less than acceptable, even at 1080p, with frequent stutters when moving the mouse or crossing corners. The game is mostly GPU-bound, with regular intervals of CPU bottlenecking at 1080p and 1440p.
Unsurprisingly, the game pushes even the fastest GPUs to their limits. Our GeForce RTX 4090 drew 433 watts on average, with a peak of 446 watts. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX sipped 346 watts on average and a maximum of 352 watts. As for the 7900 XT, the average power consumption hovered at 308 watts with an upper limit of 318 watts.
Lords of the Fallen crashes frequently, and we were lucky to get these benchmarks. The open area right after the very first bonfire was chosen as the location of the test.
