Lies of P is the first soulslike game not made by FromSoft that really gets it.
While perhaps a bit copy-pasted at times, it has plenty of new ideas and even the ideas that are taken from DS or BB are executed well enough that I don't personally find it to be a problem. The devs have taken tried and true mechanics, executed them well, and expanded upon them where they could.
Minor thematic spoilers in this review.
Gameplay ★★★★
I felt that the combat mechanics were a well-crafted blend between all prior FromSoft Soulslikes, you have the quick dodge from Bloodborne, the perfect guard from Sekiro, dodge roll (via Link Dodge ability) from Dark Souls, and the health regen again from Bloodborne. I feel that the Gaurd Regen feature is probably the most effective part of the combat (from a design standpoint) since it encourages you to improve your perfect guard while also giving you viable options to recover when you fail at one. Much better than just having your guard let through chip damage and that being that. I think it's a great adaptation of BB's revenge HP gain.
While the mechanics are very well designed and fun to execute, I do feel like there is maybe too much emphasis put on the perfect guard and stagger mechanics. I feel like for most boss fights I was just guarding, then using a charged strong attack, then guarding, then using a charged strong attack. I found that the alternative option of just using standard attacks during shorter windows was less effective overall than building stagger to get the fatal attack.
I didn't like that you had to upgrade in order to do what should be basic things like the link dodge and rolling to get up from being on the ground. But those are minor complaints that are resolved fairly early on. That being said, I feel that these artificial limitations imposed on the player would have been plenty to cause people who are not already invested in Soulslikes to find it more challenging than it needs to be and, more importantly, challenging in an unfair way.
The major standout in terms of unique concepts is the weapon customization which I absolutely love, even if I didn't use it that much. It's awesome to be able to put different weapon heads on different hilts for different movesets and then to be able customize the scaling of those hilts. It really opens up your options for weapon choices regardless of what build you choose. I just wish that the stagger damage was notated on the weapons because I was never sure how much stagger damage was influenced by the hilt vs the blade.
The level design is absolutely fantastic, brilliantly connecting branching areas to central checkpoints the the use of shortcuts, frequently adding verticality and keeping an area fresh long beyond when most other games would have moved you to a new area. I love opening new shortcuts and making connecting paths and Lies of P does it amazingly well.
Story ★★★
The story is a pretty middling affair with a standard AI uprising story hidden behind the mask of puppets, even to the point of their Grand Covenant being nearly identical for all intents and purposes to the Three Laws of Robotics made famous in the Asimov "I, Robot" short stories. The mid- to late-game story points feel pulled right out of an anime, particularly Full Metal Alchemist, and I just didn't find it to be that compelling. The lying mechanic seemed heavy-handed and a bit over the top at times, particularly during the dialog of the penultimate boss whose desire for a world without lies sounds like he was bullied in school by mean kids who told him lies to get him into an embarrassing situation and he just never got over it. Most of the opportunities that allow your character to lie seemed unnecessary and like they didn't truly matter, and also it wasn't always clear what exactly the choices would make you say.
You eventually do find out who/what is responsible for the puppet uprising but the reason/motivation for that action is never fully explored. The final twist that is revealed before fighting the true final boss comes seemingly from nowhere without much buildup in that direction. That being said, the cutscene at the end of that fight did surprise me, but was again back in the opposite direction again with no lead-in.
Characters ★★★
The voice acting is good, but overall the characters are pretty bland. I felt motivated to become more human and to help Gepetto because he seemed to truly care about P and Venigni was a fun, but slightly annoying character. The others were all whatever.
Art and Visual Design ★★★★
The game looks fantastic and is so stylish. The environments are varied and always interesting to explore. P's Legion Arm designs are great, enemies are unique but not ridiculous (except when they're supposed to be), and boss designs are menacing and interesting.
Music ★★★
The music, like the characters was not a particular standout to me. Overall the soundtrack was good but you won't find me listening to it on Spotify.
That being said, several of the optional tracks that you find are the records are very good, ranging from jazzy, to classical, to a bit of pop. A good use of collectables!
Overall, I really enjoyed Lies of P and absolutely cannot wait to see what the devs bring us next. I'm intrigued by the ending of this one and am glad to see that it leaves to door open for a future sequel that will explore completely new themes. This is by far and away the most competent and enjoyable non-FromSoft Soulslike, and a great game in its own right. Highly recommended.
While perhaps a bit copy-pasted at times, it has plenty of new ideas and even the ideas that are taken from DS or BB are executed well enough that I don't personally find it to be a problem. The devs have taken tried and true mechanics, executed them well, and expanded upon them where they could.
Minor thematic spoilers in this review.
Gameplay ★★★★
I felt that the combat mechanics were a well-crafted blend between all prior FromSoft Soulslikes, you have the quick dodge from Bloodborne, the perfect guard from Sekiro, dodge roll (via Link Dodge ability) from Dark Souls, and the health regen again from Bloodborne. I feel that the Gaurd Regen feature is probably the most effective part of the combat (from a design standpoint) since it encourages you to improve your perfect guard while also giving you viable options to recover when you fail at one. Much better than just having your guard let through chip damage and that being that. I think it's a great adaptation of BB's revenge HP gain.
While the mechanics are very well designed and fun to execute, I do feel like there is maybe too much emphasis put on the perfect guard and stagger mechanics. I feel like for most boss fights I was just guarding, then using a charged strong attack, then guarding, then using a charged strong attack. I found that the alternative option of just using standard attacks during shorter windows was less effective overall than building stagger to get the fatal attack.
I didn't like that you had to upgrade in order to do what should be basic things like the link dodge and rolling to get up from being on the ground. But those are minor complaints that are resolved fairly early on. That being said, I feel that these artificial limitations imposed on the player would have been plenty to cause people who are not already invested in Soulslikes to find it more challenging than it needs to be and, more importantly, challenging in an unfair way.
The major standout in terms of unique concepts is the weapon customization which I absolutely love, even if I didn't use it that much. It's awesome to be able to put different weapon heads on different hilts for different movesets and then to be able customize the scaling of those hilts. It really opens up your options for weapon choices regardless of what build you choose. I just wish that the stagger damage was notated on the weapons because I was never sure how much stagger damage was influenced by the hilt vs the blade.
The level design is absolutely fantastic, brilliantly connecting branching areas to central checkpoints the the use of shortcuts, frequently adding verticality and keeping an area fresh long beyond when most other games would have moved you to a new area. I love opening new shortcuts and making connecting paths and Lies of P does it amazingly well.
Story ★★★
The story is a pretty middling affair with a standard AI uprising story hidden behind the mask of puppets, even to the point of their Grand Covenant being nearly identical for all intents and purposes to the Three Laws of Robotics made famous in the Asimov "I, Robot" short stories. The mid- to late-game story points feel pulled right out of an anime, particularly Full Metal Alchemist, and I just didn't find it to be that compelling. The lying mechanic seemed heavy-handed and a bit over the top at times, particularly during the dialog of the penultimate boss whose desire for a world without lies sounds like he was bullied in school by mean kids who told him lies to get him into an embarrassing situation and he just never got over it. Most of the opportunities that allow your character to lie seemed unnecessary and like they didn't truly matter, and also it wasn't always clear what exactly the choices would make you say.
You eventually do find out who/what is responsible for the puppet uprising but the reason/motivation for that action is never fully explored. The final twist that is revealed before fighting the true final boss comes seemingly from nowhere without much buildup in that direction. That being said, the cutscene at the end of that fight did surprise me, but was again back in the opposite direction again with no lead-in.
Characters ★★★
The voice acting is good, but overall the characters are pretty bland. I felt motivated to become more human and to help Gepetto because he seemed to truly care about P and Venigni was a fun, but slightly annoying character. The others were all whatever.
Art and Visual Design ★★★★
The game looks fantastic and is so stylish. The environments are varied and always interesting to explore. P's Legion Arm designs are great, enemies are unique but not ridiculous (except when they're supposed to be), and boss designs are menacing and interesting.
Music ★★★
The music, like the characters was not a particular standout to me. Overall the soundtrack was good but you won't find me listening to it on Spotify.
That being said, several of the optional tracks that you find are the records are very good, ranging from jazzy, to classical, to a bit of pop. A good use of collectables!
Overall, I really enjoyed Lies of P and absolutely cannot wait to see what the devs bring us next. I'm intrigued by the ending of this one and am glad to see that it leaves to door open for a future sequel that will explore completely new themes. This is by far and away the most competent and enjoyable non-FromSoft Soulslike, and a great game in its own right. Highly recommended.