Review - Lies of P
"Geppetto's Puppet... We Need Your Help."
Publisher - Neowiz Games
Developers - Neowiz Games, Round8 Studio
Director - Choi Ji-Won
Genre - Action RPG, Soulslike
Platform - PC, macOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PS4, PS5
I am a huge fan of the Soulslike genre, an emerging type of game that combines action with the slower and strategy-based gameplay of 2D games. I admit that I tolerate the difficulties of the games, but I don’t love them as most of its fans do. What I find compelling about them is the exploration aspect, whether it’s the worlds they put you in or discovering the lore behind its characters and history. However, the genre is mostly dominated by From Software. There have been others that have tried the formula with some success. There’s Nioh and Wo-Long, which have a lot of Soulslike elements. There’s also Lords of the Fallen, which I have never played, but some people really like it despite others feeling it doesn’t touch the Souls games. There are also titles like Hollow Knight and Death’s Door, which have some elements of the genre and are legitimately great games. So, when I heard about Lies of P, I expected either a disappointment or an okay, but not great Soulslike game. Well, I was wrong.
Plot and Characters
Most Soulslike games require reading items and listening to a lot of character dialogues to understand the story. Lies of P is different; there’s a story told from start to finish that any player can follow. There is lore hidden away to understand side character’s backgrounds and more, but the main story is easy to follow. The story follows a new interpretation of the tale of Pinocchio. You play as P (essential Pinocchio), and you are tasked to find out why there is a puppet frenzy that has led to the city of Kraft plunging into chaos. It takes place in late 19th-century France.
The characters all resemble well-known characters from the tale, such as Sophia, who reminds me of the blue fairy, or Gemini, who is Jiminy Cricket and acts as an interesting companion who tells you the history of the areas you explore. Even characters like the fox come up in interesting ways. But as you go through the game, completely new characters start to show and expand on the lore of the usual Pinocchio story. And the after credits reveal a really interesting twist on what could be the main theme in the upcoming DLC or sequel.
Gameplay
The gameplay for Lies of P is mostly reminiscent of Bloodborne, but it also has a touch of Sekiro. Like most Souls titles, you’ll have to go into fights thinking with your head and being patient. You can block attacks and parry them, which lets you attack and get back damaged lost. You’ll also have to keep an eye out for your weapon's durability, which may require you to use a grindstone to get it back up or suffer low damage or the weapon breaking. There’s also your Legion arm, which can be made to do different things and attacks to add to the fight. I LOVED the combat. I thought it was a nice mix of what I knew with some little new elements. There’s also various attire you can wear, and you can unlock new fighting tactics and healing abilities by upgrading your P Organ. And like all Soulslike games, you have to be wary of your Ergo (the game’s version of Souls) to use for leveling up or purchasing items.
One interesting mechanic the game has is your humanity. It takes the lying aspect of the story of Pinocchio and rewards you for lying. You can also find vinyl records and listen to the entire song to get humanity. The more you act like a human, the more you’re rewarded in your quest to become more human. There’s even a moment when you can pray to an altar and give you humanity. It’s probably my favorite aspect of the game. This will be necessary if you want the “Rise of P” ending, which is considered the best and true ending.
As far as difficulty goes, I’ve seen some people call this a hard game. Truthfully, as someone who loves this genre but is also critical of its lack of easy mode, I think this is the most approachable Soulslike game I’ve played since Bloodborne. Now I will say, halfway through, the game’s difficulty does pick up, and the final act has it REALLY pick up. I probably would still point to Death’s Door to start people in the genre, but Lies of P could come after. The bosses, however, are a different story.
All bosses and mini-bosses do feel like Dark Souls type of bosses. But I personally found the last fifteen percent of the game to have what I can only call out as cheap bosses. They were cool in design, but some of their moves are just plain unfair, with almost no gaps to heal. And you quickly realize that the max of 10 heals isn’t good enough. The final boss of the true ending I found particularly cheap, and it took me three days to finally beat him. I have faced hard bosses such as the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3, the final boss of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and, of course, the now infamous Malenia in Elden Ring; while they did have me raging, I beat them, and never would call them unfair. But the final true boss of this game is a great example of what an “unfair” video game boss is. He wasn’t even that hard, but when you take major damage by taking a move, and then the boss keeps going without letting me heal or make any move, it’s unfair in my book. Even though beating him popped me, it still dragged my opinion of the game a bit down.
Visual Presentation
This game runs on Unreal Engine, but I swear it looks almost just like the engine that From Software has been using for its games. Even the sound effects sound similar to Bloodborne. For a game that a major publisher didn’t make, I didn’t run into any bugs or issues. The aesthetic of 19th-century France was really cool and something you don’t usually see in video games. My one complaint is that the game is essentially a concrete jungle, with one area that was mostly outside the city, and that was a swamp. But, what you have here is a good-looking game that not just feels but looks like a From Software game.
Soundtrack and Score
The sound in this game is incredible. Whether it’s the big scores played during boss fights or the soundtracks of the vinyl records, this game has a lot of music and sound I won’t soon forget. I have many of the songs I played in the record player stuck in my head, and they fit perfectly with the 19th-century French setting. The character voices are good as well, even if the lip-syncing is pretty bad. I especially liked Gemini, whose voice actor seemed to try to sound like Jiminy Cricket from the Disney movie. Again, for a new game publisher’s first game, it’s a great soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
Lies of P is, in many ways, a dream game for me. It is a game in the Soulslike genre with the setting and story of Pinocchio. The game plays great, and you can’t help but want to unlock the secrets of Kraft as you play through the game. The story that unfolded intrigued me, and the after-credits only made me beg for what was next. Neowiz struck gold here, and in any other year that wasn’t as stacked as this one is, it would most likely make it to Game of the Year conversations. I loved this game despite how annoyed the final boss made me. If I wished upon a star for a great game, this would be one great wish made.
Pros
Combat is good and feels natural, even to newcomers to the genre
The story and characters kept me intrigued
The way you become closer to humanity
World design and aesthetics
Soundtrack, especially the vinyl records
After Credits scene popped me
Approachable Soulslike game, at least in the first half
Cons
The final act gets a little way too hard
Some of the final bosses have really cheap moves
The final boss is one of the most unfair boss fights I’ve ever faced
What I Loved Most
The aspects of becoming human and the different ways to get there
Verdict
A -
It's a great game that any Soulslike fan will fall in love with. It would be close to masterpiece status if it weren’t for the final act’s unbalanced designs. For the everyday gamer, I would still recommend it, but caution on the difficulty spikes in the midway point and the final act.