When Dead Space came out in 2008, it wore it's inspiration on its sleeve. It wasn't massively revolutionary, it simply presented you with a new setting for a survival horror over-the-shoulder TPS and executed on every element to perfection. If someone asked for recommendations in that style, Dead Space would be right alongside Resident Evil 4. I feel this exact way about Lies of P. It takes the fairy tale of Pinocchio and puts the player in the streets of Krat after the puppet frenzy, and through its own unique quirks we have a game that stands up alongside all my favourite FromSoft titles.
Through just the HUD alone, fans of the Soulsborne games would already be able to see what they are in for. You have your health/stamina/MP (legion) bars, "estus" (pulse cells), "souls" (Ergo), and various weapons, amulets, and parts to suit your playstyle/current needs while balancing equip load. In your left arm, you unlock various different Legion tools for combat. The puppet string allows you to pull enemies (or zip to them), the Aegis serves as a proper shield, there are the Falcon Eyes are a long range gun, and more to choose from and level up.
Perhaps the most unique feature of Lies of P is the weapon assembly system, which allows players to disassemble the blade and the hilt of all regular weapons and recombine them as you like. The damage comes from the blade and the scaling/animations come from the hilt, so if you find a blade you like but it doesn't fit your build, you can slap it onto a better suited hilt. This allows for a great degree of customization to the way you play. Another feature that allows for player expression is the P-Organ, which is a skill tree system on top of the standard souls-like stat-picking to level up. This allows the player to gain buffs or new abilities (e.g. more pulse cells, a second dodge, etc.) by picking multiple smaller upgrades to activate each major skill you want. There's lots to choose from and eventually respec if you aren't happy with your current choices.
As you make your way around Krat, you will also encounter a surprising number of unique enemies and bosses with impressive animations. During combat, blocking enemy attacks will have you take chip damage, but attacking enemies without being hit again allows you to regain that health back. This is somewhat similar to the rally system in bloodborne, except here full on getting hit will not allow you to recover any damage. Rolling seems to have very little i-frames, however pulling off a perfectly timed block will negate all damage that you would take (and can even stagger the attacking enemy) making it the ideal way to deal with most enemy encounters. As for bosses, you do have a summon system for major fights where you can use a consumable item at the summoning pool to summon a specter NPC to fight at your side. In theory, this is a good supplement for the lack of any online multiplayer options, however the Specter might be a little too strong and can absolutely make the difference between being shredded by a boss and outright deleting them with your advantage. However as they say, you control the buttons you push. It's a nice feature for anyone who doesn't want to struggle with a tough boss longer than they would like. Another quality-of-life feature is that if you die in a boss room, your lost ergo is dropped outside the entrance so you can pick it up and just leave if you'd like to go spend it before trying again. Nioh 2 does this as well and I really appreciate it. What's more, your lost ergo isn't completely lost either if you die twice, you just get a cut removed from the total you would have had and the pick-up location changes to your most recent death. I don't mind this either, and due to the aformentioned boss feature I think there was maybe only one time in the whole game where I lost a portion of that Ergo.
Finally, I'd like to talk a bit about the story. Lies of P tells a very coherent and quite frankly gripping story (for an action game) and also had me invested in all the characters and their story arcs. Side quests are marked on your fast travel screen so you always know when someone has something new to say, so I definitely didn't feel like I missed anything. You have plenty of dialogue choices to make throughout the game that can impact the story and characters as you lie, or tell the truth. I definitely want to play this again to see the other outcomes.
As I mentioned at the start of this review, Lies of P is a tremendous game that builds off of the legacy of the souls series, but has just enough soul and passion to really make it standout on its own. Fans of From Software really should give this game it's due, and I am excited to see what the DLC and sequel will bring.
Through just the HUD alone, fans of the Soulsborne games would already be able to see what they are in for. You have your health/stamina/MP (legion) bars, "estus" (pulse cells), "souls" (Ergo), and various weapons, amulets, and parts to suit your playstyle/current needs while balancing equip load. In your left arm, you unlock various different Legion tools for combat. The puppet string allows you to pull enemies (or zip to them), the Aegis serves as a proper shield, there are the Falcon Eyes are a long range gun, and more to choose from and level up.
Perhaps the most unique feature of Lies of P is the weapon assembly system, which allows players to disassemble the blade and the hilt of all regular weapons and recombine them as you like. The damage comes from the blade and the scaling/animations come from the hilt, so if you find a blade you like but it doesn't fit your build, you can slap it onto a better suited hilt. This allows for a great degree of customization to the way you play. Another feature that allows for player expression is the P-Organ, which is a skill tree system on top of the standard souls-like stat-picking to level up. This allows the player to gain buffs or new abilities (e.g. more pulse cells, a second dodge, etc.) by picking multiple smaller upgrades to activate each major skill you want. There's lots to choose from and eventually respec if you aren't happy with your current choices.
As you make your way around Krat, you will also encounter a surprising number of unique enemies and bosses with impressive animations. During combat, blocking enemy attacks will have you take chip damage, but attacking enemies without being hit again allows you to regain that health back. This is somewhat similar to the rally system in bloodborne, except here full on getting hit will not allow you to recover any damage. Rolling seems to have very little i-frames, however pulling off a perfectly timed block will negate all damage that you would take (and can even stagger the attacking enemy) making it the ideal way to deal with most enemy encounters. As for bosses, you do have a summon system for major fights where you can use a consumable item at the summoning pool to summon a specter NPC to fight at your side. In theory, this is a good supplement for the lack of any online multiplayer options, however the Specter might be a little too strong and can absolutely make the difference between being shredded by a boss and outright deleting them with your advantage. However as they say, you control the buttons you push. It's a nice feature for anyone who doesn't want to struggle with a tough boss longer than they would like. Another quality-of-life feature is that if you die in a boss room, your lost ergo is dropped outside the entrance so you can pick it up and just leave if you'd like to go spend it before trying again. Nioh 2 does this as well and I really appreciate it. What's more, your lost ergo isn't completely lost either if you die twice, you just get a cut removed from the total you would have had and the pick-up location changes to your most recent death. I don't mind this either, and due to the aformentioned boss feature I think there was maybe only one time in the whole game where I lost a portion of that Ergo.
Finally, I'd like to talk a bit about the story. Lies of P tells a very coherent and quite frankly gripping story (for an action game) and also had me invested in all the characters and their story arcs. Side quests are marked on your fast travel screen so you always know when someone has something new to say, so I definitely didn't feel like I missed anything. You have plenty of dialogue choices to make throughout the game that can impact the story and characters as you lie, or tell the truth. I definitely want to play this again to see the other outcomes.
As I mentioned at the start of this review, Lies of P is a tremendous game that builds off of the legacy of the souls series, but has just enough soul and passion to really make it standout on its own. Fans of From Software really should give this game it's due, and I am excited to see what the DLC and sequel will bring.