Lies of P never manages to escape the shadow of its inspirations. I’ve played nearly a dozen Souls-likes and none have had this gargantuan of an obsession with Souls aesthetically and mechanically. Anyone who has seen gameplay will go “haha, Bloodborne,” but it’s actually a blend of a majority of FromSoftware’s modern catalog.
I could sit here drawing hundreds of lines on a whiteboard connecting how much of this game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but I don’t particularly care to focus on that flaw: This is my favorite non-FromSoftware Souls thus far, and while Neowiz’s overreliance on familiar genre tropes saps memorability from the journey, I’m teeming with excitement for this developer’s future and this was a truly wonderful (albeit painful) 35-hour journey.
Lies of P makes a strong case for itself with the tightest mechanical foundation in any Souls-like, only matched by Team Ninja's Nioh—and even then, I enjoy playing Lies of P far more. It is the first FromSoftware-inspired title to realize the potential of the most exhilarating moments in that iconic franchise.
I was also in shock experiencing the game’s high difficulty. Souls-likes are often easier, which I attribute to the lack of fluidity in most of those titles. It’s hard to justify a deeply challenging experience when your game feels like shit to control, yet Lies of P pulls no fucking punches. This is one of the hardest games I’ve played.
Several bosses, level design quirks, and enemies match the oppressive difficulty of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters and Dark Souls 3's DLC. Hitting credits was accompanied by a massive sigh of relief. I'm still in awe by how intensely this game had sharpened me; I had to ascend to Godhood during the finale to come out of the other side.
The consecutive perfect parries I was pulling off considering the game’s exceptionally tight parry window can only be explained by the birth of a sixth sense. I experienced short bursts of what it felt like to become superhuman, and I was shaking during the final moments of many boss fights. It has been a long time since my heart has pounded that hard.
Several bosses took me 10+ tries, with six or seven in particular taking more than an hour each. The longest I spent on a single boss was around two hours and thirty minutes, although this was because that fight in particular forced me to get good at the game.
It’s not just frustrating difficulty for the sake of it, either (excluding one awful boss). Lies of P justifies its intensity with fantastic fights and over-the-top visuals that will certainly stick with me. If you love the unhinged move-sets and animations from Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, or Elden Ring, you will feel right at home here. A few in particular are likely making it on a list of some of my favorites ever.
Lies of P also benefits from excellent mechanical additions. I initially thought weapon durability would be a novelty, but having to manage it within a fight is intense, especially when some bosses are marathons and others attack so fast that there aren’t many opportunities to sharpen it.
Being able to break opponents' weapons by doing enough consistent perfect parries (or attacking them while they’re blocking) is an incredible feeling, especially because it can greatly reduce their reach and lessen the damage they deal. Being rewarded with a fundamentally easier fight because you took the time to learn parry timings is awesome.
Parrying to regain health is similarly brilliant, alongside the absolute clutch addition that allows you to restore healing items if you’re out by hitting enemies enough. I have pushed through a good few bosses by being consistent in my defense and offense to restore Pulse Cells. Bosses even restore health passively through a faded red bar, which always puts the pressure on the player to be aggressive.
There’s also a posture system similar to Sekiro, where parrying and dealing damage will gradually whittle away at an enemy or boss. When you break their posture, you can deal a fatal strike; it won’t kill them nor remove a full HP bar like Sekiro does, but it deals a great amount of damage and resets their passive healing bar.
I also love that the weapon system allows you to separate the hilts and blades to combine them into whatever monstrosities you please. I’ve seen some really funny stuff out there, and through my own experimenting, there’s tons of potentially goofy combos. I wish it was easier to spec into other weapon types, but that’s just a normal Souls issue.
The expected leveling system is present, but the most vital progression mechanic are P-Organs. Each of the benefits they provide are vital towards making your battles against bosses go from “what the hell” to “okay, this is possible.” Do not underestimate how important those buffs can be. Two in particular are somewhat overkill because they are necessary to make the dodge not feel like ass; Neowiz probably should have just made that part of the base dodge.
And while the game has a lot of love for Soulsborne aesthetically, many moments do far more with it than just brushing the surface level. Running through abandoned train stations, underground malls, and industrial factories battling carnival-esque puppets, toys brought to life, or gigantic mechanical monstrosities absolutely ruled. Quite a few designs are incredible, and I found that the more Lies of P strayed from what I’m used to in Soulsborne, the more engaged I was. Really makes me hope the next Neowiz title relies less on those tropes, as this game’s most original ideas are phenomenal.
In particular, Lies of P has a mechanic where you rest in a hotel and listen to music. Throughout the game you find vinyl records acquired by either completing quests or killing certain enemies. Return to Hotel Krat, pop that bad boy in, and enjoy. It's a refreshingly unique concept for a game that is so clearly in love with FromSoftware. Actively inviting the player to just sit there and enjoy some good tunes seems simple, but it’s the best.
I’m a bit mixed on the soundtrack. The songs you play on the vinyl are wonderful, but the boss music is too Bloodborne with its epic orchestra and intense choir. Lies of P’s aesthetic differences call for a different sound. The world has a somewhat modern, European-town setting and it’s mostly focused on a steampunk, clockwork feel. One song that appears within the world stands out to me, as it's related to an in-world character's performance, and it's absolutely beautiful. Stuff more in that line would have really worked. Yes, I would happily listen to a lady serenading me in French during a boss fight.
The ending is sincerely beautiful. The way this narrative plays with the most notable aspects of the traditional Pinocchio story and weaves it into the narrative is brilliant. Questioning the humanity of puppets and the nature of the "I want to be a real boy" concept is the core of this story. It has some parts of the "less is more" cryptic storytelling in Soulsborne, but the main narrative beats are clear and compelling. I won't go much further into story spoilers, but I have a lot great things to say about it.
Lies of P is a grand time. It might lack originality, but it makes up for this in execution. It’s the closest a Souls-like has come to capturing FromSoftware’s magic and I could see myself bumping this up to a 4/5 with more reflection. I cannot wait to see what Neowiz makes next.
I could sit here drawing hundreds of lines on a whiteboard connecting how much of this game wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but I don’t particularly care to focus on that flaw: This is my favorite non-FromSoftware Souls thus far, and while Neowiz’s overreliance on familiar genre tropes saps memorability from the journey, I’m teeming with excitement for this developer’s future and this was a truly wonderful (albeit painful) 35-hour journey.
Lies of P makes a strong case for itself with the tightest mechanical foundation in any Souls-like, only matched by Team Ninja's Nioh—and even then, I enjoy playing Lies of P far more. It is the first FromSoftware-inspired title to realize the potential of the most exhilarating moments in that iconic franchise.
I was also in shock experiencing the game’s high difficulty. Souls-likes are often easier, which I attribute to the lack of fluidity in most of those titles. It’s hard to justify a deeply challenging experience when your game feels like shit to control, yet Lies of P pulls no fucking punches. This is one of the hardest games I’ve played.
Several bosses, level design quirks, and enemies match the oppressive difficulty of Bloodborne: The Old Hunters and Dark Souls 3's DLC. Hitting credits was accompanied by a massive sigh of relief. I'm still in awe by how intensely this game had sharpened me; I had to ascend to Godhood during the finale to come out of the other side.
The consecutive perfect parries I was pulling off considering the game’s exceptionally tight parry window can only be explained by the birth of a sixth sense. I experienced short bursts of what it felt like to become superhuman, and I was shaking during the final moments of many boss fights. It has been a long time since my heart has pounded that hard.
Several bosses took me 10+ tries, with six or seven in particular taking more than an hour each. The longest I spent on a single boss was around two hours and thirty minutes, although this was because that fight in particular forced me to get good at the game.
It’s not just frustrating difficulty for the sake of it, either (excluding one awful boss). Lies of P justifies its intensity with fantastic fights and over-the-top visuals that will certainly stick with me. If you love the unhinged move-sets and animations from Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, Sekiro, or Elden Ring, you will feel right at home here. A few in particular are likely making it on a list of some of my favorites ever.
Lies of P also benefits from excellent mechanical additions. I initially thought weapon durability would be a novelty, but having to manage it within a fight is intense, especially when some bosses are marathons and others attack so fast that there aren’t many opportunities to sharpen it.
Being able to break opponents' weapons by doing enough consistent perfect parries (or attacking them while they’re blocking) is an incredible feeling, especially because it can greatly reduce their reach and lessen the damage they deal. Being rewarded with a fundamentally easier fight because you took the time to learn parry timings is awesome.
Parrying to regain health is similarly brilliant, alongside the absolute clutch addition that allows you to restore healing items if you’re out by hitting enemies enough. I have pushed through a good few bosses by being consistent in my defense and offense to restore Pulse Cells. Bosses even restore health passively through a faded red bar, which always puts the pressure on the player to be aggressive.
There’s also a posture system similar to Sekiro, where parrying and dealing damage will gradually whittle away at an enemy or boss. When you break their posture, you can deal a fatal strike; it won’t kill them nor remove a full HP bar like Sekiro does, but it deals a great amount of damage and resets their passive healing bar.
I also love that the weapon system allows you to separate the hilts and blades to combine them into whatever monstrosities you please. I’ve seen some really funny stuff out there, and through my own experimenting, there’s tons of potentially goofy combos. I wish it was easier to spec into other weapon types, but that’s just a normal Souls issue.
The expected leveling system is present, but the most vital progression mechanic are P-Organs. Each of the benefits they provide are vital towards making your battles against bosses go from “what the hell” to “okay, this is possible.” Do not underestimate how important those buffs can be. Two in particular are somewhat overkill because they are necessary to make the dodge not feel like ass; Neowiz probably should have just made that part of the base dodge.
And while the game has a lot of love for Soulsborne aesthetically, many moments do far more with it than just brushing the surface level. Running through abandoned train stations, underground malls, and industrial factories battling carnival-esque puppets, toys brought to life, or gigantic mechanical monstrosities absolutely ruled. Quite a few designs are incredible, and I found that the more Lies of P strayed from what I’m used to in Soulsborne, the more engaged I was. Really makes me hope the next Neowiz title relies less on those tropes, as this game’s most original ideas are phenomenal.
In particular, Lies of P has a mechanic where you rest in a hotel and listen to music. Throughout the game you find vinyl records acquired by either completing quests or killing certain enemies. Return to Hotel Krat, pop that bad boy in, and enjoy. It's a refreshingly unique concept for a game that is so clearly in love with FromSoftware. Actively inviting the player to just sit there and enjoy some good tunes seems simple, but it’s the best.
I’m a bit mixed on the soundtrack. The songs you play on the vinyl are wonderful, but the boss music is too Bloodborne with its epic orchestra and intense choir. Lies of P’s aesthetic differences call for a different sound. The world has a somewhat modern, European-town setting and it’s mostly focused on a steampunk, clockwork feel. One song that appears within the world stands out to me, as it's related to an in-world character's performance, and it's absolutely beautiful. Stuff more in that line would have really worked. Yes, I would happily listen to a lady serenading me in French during a boss fight.
The ending is sincerely beautiful. The way this narrative plays with the most notable aspects of the traditional Pinocchio story and weaves it into the narrative is brilliant. Questioning the humanity of puppets and the nature of the "I want to be a real boy" concept is the core of this story. It has some parts of the "less is more" cryptic storytelling in Soulsborne, but the main narrative beats are clear and compelling. I won't go much further into story spoilers, but I have a lot great things to say about it.
Lies of P is a grand time. It might lack originality, but it makes up for this in execution. It’s the closest a Souls-like has come to capturing FromSoftware’s magic and I could see myself bumping this up to a 4/5 with more reflection. I cannot wait to see what Neowiz makes next.