Lies of P was my biggest surprise this year. I imagined it'd be a good game, but didn't think it would actually be the best soulslike game not made by Fromsoft.
At first, I was a bit skeptical. LoP tries VERY hard to be Bloodborne. And, well, it might be the closest we'll ever get to a sequel. But what bothered me was how closely it followed on BB's footsteps. At first, at least. Eventually I pretty much ignored it and that made my experience way better.
Lies of P looks beautiful and plays even better. Although not very atmospheric game, I just love how it feels to advance through the levels. It has a strong aesthetic setting, with creepy looking enemies and places, shady characters and a beautiful soundtrack. Places do start to look very samey after a while, but it never got boring due to how well the level design was planned and executed. It's not perfect, but item and enemy placement functions great! I just wish it had better environmental storytelling, because the story is surprisingly good!
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from a story loosely based on Pinocchio, but I was drawn to it. It improves as the game progresses, gets creepier, more epic and engaging until the very end. Even the post credit scene is quite pleasant. And while I can't say that it's a character-driven story, I really liked all the characters from the start. From the way they look, to the voice acting.
And then there's Lies of P's gameplay and mechanics. That's where I feel they nailed the most.
While not perfect, this is the closest I've ever gotten to feel like I was playing a Miyazaki game. Areas were compelling to explore, difficulty was (mostly) just right, enemy variety was (mostly) good, checkpoints were (mostly) well placed, boss fights were (mostly) quite incredible and the combat itself is almost spotless. Assembling new weapons and toying around with combinations and mechanics is where I most had fun. And without need for grind! It's all just there. Sometimes it's a little too much with grindstones, golden fruits, legion arms and etc, but you'll get it eventually.
But, as you can see, I did have my "mostlys" out there. Lies of P had quite a few misteps along the way. I don't want it to seem like it's not a great game, because it is, but they clearly don't know how to handle status ailments, some mechanics and items can be quite useless (even certain weapons or handles), writing could be improved, levels could look a bit more varied, and I think parrying could be perfected.
I think they exaggerated on a few things. You can totally see this on bosses. They're yet to figure out "gang bosses", some runs towards the arenas are tedious, almost all of them have too much health, fights can take very long and BY GOD, NOT EVERY ENEMY NEEDS A SECOND STAGE!
They do look cool and some fights were fantastic. The feeling I got after defeating the green monster and the final boss were unmatched. But did the final two bosses really need that many amount of moves to memorize? Did the arcbishop really need to take that long? Why are both fights with the rabbit brotherhood so annoying? Those things need to be worked on for the next one.
But regardless of my nitpicking with combat and mechanics, Lies of P works very well and was my biggest surprise of the year. Definitely a must if you like this style of game. I can't wait to play the DLC and I'm excited for its future.
Oh, by the way, fuck Geppetto!
At first, I was a bit skeptical. LoP tries VERY hard to be Bloodborne. And, well, it might be the closest we'll ever get to a sequel. But what bothered me was how closely it followed on BB's footsteps. At first, at least. Eventually I pretty much ignored it and that made my experience way better.
Lies of P looks beautiful and plays even better. Although not very atmospheric game, I just love how it feels to advance through the levels. It has a strong aesthetic setting, with creepy looking enemies and places, shady characters and a beautiful soundtrack. Places do start to look very samey after a while, but it never got boring due to how well the level design was planned and executed. It's not perfect, but item and enemy placement functions great! I just wish it had better environmental storytelling, because the story is surprisingly good!
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from a story loosely based on Pinocchio, but I was drawn to it. It improves as the game progresses, gets creepier, more epic and engaging until the very end. Even the post credit scene is quite pleasant. And while I can't say that it's a character-driven story, I really liked all the characters from the start. From the way they look, to the voice acting.
And then there's Lies of P's gameplay and mechanics. That's where I feel they nailed the most.
While not perfect, this is the closest I've ever gotten to feel like I was playing a Miyazaki game. Areas were compelling to explore, difficulty was (mostly) just right, enemy variety was (mostly) good, checkpoints were (mostly) well placed, boss fights were (mostly) quite incredible and the combat itself is almost spotless. Assembling new weapons and toying around with combinations and mechanics is where I most had fun. And without need for grind! It's all just there. Sometimes it's a little too much with grindstones, golden fruits, legion arms and etc, but you'll get it eventually.
But, as you can see, I did have my "mostlys" out there. Lies of P had quite a few misteps along the way. I don't want it to seem like it's not a great game, because it is, but they clearly don't know how to handle status ailments, some mechanics and items can be quite useless (even certain weapons or handles), writing could be improved, levels could look a bit more varied, and I think parrying could be perfected.
I think they exaggerated on a few things. You can totally see this on bosses. They're yet to figure out "gang bosses", some runs towards the arenas are tedious, almost all of them have too much health, fights can take very long and BY GOD, NOT EVERY ENEMY NEEDS A SECOND STAGE!
They do look cool and some fights were fantastic. The feeling I got after defeating the green monster and the final boss were unmatched. But did the final two bosses really need that many amount of moves to memorize? Did the arcbishop really need to take that long? Why are both fights with the rabbit brotherhood so annoying? Those things need to be worked on for the next one.
But regardless of my nitpicking with combat and mechanics, Lies of P works very well and was my biggest surprise of the year. Definitely a must if you like this style of game. I can't wait to play the DLC and I'm excited for its future.
Oh, by the way, fuck Geppetto!