LIES OF P : THIS IS WHAT P LIED FOR

Lies of P did not take the world by storm in 2023. Lies of P does border on plagiarism with the games it plunders (Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice). Lies of P also has dog enemies.

But it's still a hell of a game.

Honestly, it took me by complete surprise. I remember playing the demo and thinking, "Wow they literally just copy/pasted 90% of Bloodborne and Sekiro gameplay even down to the UI and the "Pretty Lady That Levels You Up". Except this time she's blue! Y'know...like the blue fairy! Except wait. Hold on. Why is she absolutely the best of these "level-up ladies" from any of the "Soulsborne" games (minus Emerald Herald)?

Look, I understand there are a lot of folks who think it's in poor taste to overly compare Lies of P with the "Soulsborne" games. And trust me, Lies of P certainly has its own identity in many ways. But the developers did this to themselves. It's not my fault I'm about to literally just compare them when they literally made a 90% FromSoftware game. So let's just get this out of the way.

THE TRUTHS
-Lies of P is a different style of storytelling. It's more direct, with more cutscenes and much more NPC interaction. But it still asks you to kindly consider its item descriptions and collectible journal-type things. And I've got to say...the NPCs are comparable...or honestly maybe even more engaging than in FromSoftware games. Again, it's totally different, but I grew much more attached to and was more compelled by characters like Red Fox/Black Cat, Sophia, and Alidoro (to name a few). Yes, the FromSoftware games have their heavy hitters...but there was something really nice about really being able to communicate with these NPCs. It felt more HUMAN (more on that in a bit). And it was genuinely pretty refreshing for most of them to not have overly-anime backgrounds and arcs. They feel like real people.

-Lies of P cannot transcend the Trick Weapons of Bloodborne. But the ability to deconstruct your weapons and put handles on different blades is novel and a joy to play around with. They also give you a...mechanical arm (Sekiro Prosthetic Arm) that has unique abilities which also encourages experimenting with your style of combat. Overall, you can make a lot of fun builds in this game. Lies of P is a very, very naughty boy though in how it directly steals BOTH the rally and stance systems from Bloodborne and Sekiro, respectively. That being said...it's actually executed pretty damn well. It demands you at least be competent with both mechanics enough to know when one style might be a better option for certain enemies and bosses. In fact, I would go as far to say it absolutely clears Elden Ring in this regard (having multiple viable styles of mechanical gameplay).

-The boss DESIGNS are incredible. They certainly have that Berserk/Dark Souls maximalist philosophy (no "just a big red salamander" here), and this includes the various humanoid furries (Stalkers) you fight along the way. But how are they? Well, mostly pretty fun. I would say it comes close to rivaling Bloodborne at times. But other times it takes bad inspiration from Elden Ring with relentless enemies that have unlimited stamina and unjustifiably hit like a freight train. But the real issue is that WAY TOO MANY of them have second phases with a new, full health bar. And that's annoying. I have never "loved" this approach to bosses, but it can work out incredibly well when used sparingly for the best designed fights. Think Sword Saint Isshin and Sister Friede. But despite there being too many multiphase fights, I overall found the bosses to be pretty thrilling and fun. As a little final note...the Black Rabbit Brotherhood is a top 3 gank fight for sure. Excellently designed!

-Krat is no Yharnam. But it's definitely better than Lothric (minus Irithyll). The level designs are pretty wonderful visually and offer a pretty good amount of variety that kept me interested in what the next level would treat me to. An opera house, the seedy slums, a puppet factory, a literal landfill...none of the levels dropped below average which is pretty amazing. That being said, they lack the intricate geometry, enemy placement, and hazards of FromSoftware titles. But dear reader...I think that Krat Hotel may be my favorite hub, only rivaled by Majula. Seriously, the ambiance, the look, the NPCs, THE FUCKING MUSIC. Oh my god, the records you collect for the player at your base are unbelievably good. "Quixotic" and "Feel" are officially on my Spotify rotation. Absolutely gorgeous pieces of music.

-Rapid fire truths: the music in general slaps so hard. P as a protagonist is pretty compelling and I even dare say, more engaging on an emotional level than Wolf from Sekiro. There are a healthy amount of fun puzzles along the way (think treasure maps and riddles). I love Gemini--it's really nice to have a lil buddy to keep you company is this dreary, lonesome world. And the drip game is solid.

THE LIES
-Lies of P has "okay" enemy variety. There's definitely more on the puppet side of things. But the cadavers really blend in together, especially the big brutes. There's more to be desired here.

-The "Lie" mechanic is an interesting concept that isn't fully realized. Throughout the game you are given dialogue choices essentially to either lie or tell the truth. From(soft) what I've seen, there don't seem to be many varying outcomes depending on which you pick, with a few exceptions. In fact, in many instances the rewards are even the same.

-While it isn't that far off...Lies of P really just doesn't have the same gamefeel of "Soulsborne" games. Particularly the two it's taking so much from. There's a noticeable lack of tactile motion--P skates along the ground a bit, his feet not quite connecting with the ground as his animations are faster than the amount of ground he's covering. And man there's a big lack of physics in clothing and fabric. Bloodborne really spoiled us in that regard and Lies of P's various wardrobe options seem to stiffly fall behind P like he just got done drying them in the freezer.

-Oh boy. And here it is: the last level is a fucking SLOG. It's far too long, especially because the visual elements are perhaps the most generic and underwhelming when compared to literally every other level. I grew so tired of the same enemies being shoved at me over and over again that I ended up just running past them and skipping an entire section. Every time I got to a new Stargazer (bonfire), I thought "Surely that was it, right?" Meanwhile little did naive me know that I was only halfway through.

Not only this, but a VERY sour taste was poured down my throat when I reached the end of one of my favorite NPC's arcs. But the final outcome-determining factor that would either lead to me murdering them or them getting to leave and try to have a better life came down to this: a currency I very rarely collected because I had little use for it. When I spoke to this NPC...I had zero in my pockets. I ended up having to kill two of my favorite NPCs, thus getting their VERY BAD ending because I didn't happen to have a specific currency item with me right there on the spot. This put me in an even more bad mood than I already was.

Etcetera, etcetera...and then the end finally came. And by golly...I had a reverse Elden Ring experience. Despite absolutely loathing this final mission, I finished the game really happy. The final boss even kind of sucked (think Walmart brand Lady Maria)! How can this be? Well, allow me to explain. The thing that gives Lies of P its own identity was something I alluded to earlier. Its story.

Upon watching the reveal trailer for this game, I mocked it. "A Pinocchio inspired Bloodborne? What the absolute fuck were these freaks thinking?" Well I'm happy to say they really nailed it. There may be some silly plot points, a not-so-great big bad, and unnecessary loose ends. But holy shit this is absolutely a gold standard example of taking a previously existing thing and adapting it into something wholly unique that simultaneously sticks to the source material. I won't go into spoilers but the side stories of the Blue Fairy, the Fox and the Black Cat, and Geppetto himself are not only captivating, emotional, and fit perfectly into this little world of Krat..but they also fulfill the identical plots of these characters from the original story in very creative and novel ways. It also sticks the themes very well in regard to humanity and lies. I know that the lying system wasn't perfectly executed, but it was really interesting how the lies you tell to become more human were multi-faceted. Lying is not always the "bad option". Sometimes the lie is for self-preservation. Sometimes the lie is to help someone you care about realize something about themselves. Sometimes the lie is to protect that someone from a truth that would only serve to bring them pain.

Lies of P is a human story. The people feel grounded in this reality, and I genuinely cared about them and how their stories were going to unravel. The message is not exactly revolutionary and sometimes used less than elegant visual metaphor. But it's really cool to see the narrative designers really dedicate themselves to a theme and really explore it in a way that aligns with the gameplay.

So yeah, while the last level is total of BS aside from a couple cool bosses and storylines, I ended feeling really satisfied and even emotional. And that, to me, makes Lies of P one of those games that provides an experience you can only have in a video game