Lies of P has what it takes to become one of the very greatest Soulslikes ever made.
Lies of P is a new game that is being developed by Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio, and it’s significantly influenced by the game Bloodborne. The tale of Pinocchio served as the basis for this game, which is a role-playing adventure set in a dark fantasy world. I can’t help but think about Bloodborne when I play this game because of the striking similarities between the two.
Nearly every year, a new set of games that are similar to Souls is released, and the vast majority of the time, when we do get a chance to try them out, they don’t live up to the expectations that were built up for them. However, the sense of gravity in the Lies of P demo suggests that Neowiz isn’t just messing around. From what I’ve seen thus far, this has what it takes to become one of the very greatest Soulslike games ever made.
The first thing that you will notice about the game is that it begins in a manner very similar to that of a Souls game. This will become immediately apparent when Lies of P begins. You are instantly thrown into the action and given complete control of your character with no introduction or tutorial to interrupt your engagement.
The gameplay is identical to that of the Dark Souls Trilogy, and one of the things that stuck out right away was how crisp and flawless both the graphics and the performance were. This is one of the best examples of the Lies of P’s distinctive visual design. It is not particularly flexible, but it generates an air of obscurity, which is complemented by the exceptionally good and reliable performance that generates the profound involvement that can be found here. There was never a single instance of a frame dropping while I was playing through the game.
In Lies of P, you don’t get much of an idea of what this world is like until you finally get up from your chair and stroll down the path; even then, you only get a small taste of what it’s like. You are a puppet belonging to Geppetto who has been tasked with tracking down other harmful puppets located across the vicinity. Armed with this knowledge, you are immediately thrown into the game’s conflict.
At the beginning of the game, Lies of P presents the player with a choice between three different starting classes: one that focuses on dexterity, one that emphasizes strength, and one that strikes a balance between the two. After equipping the big sword that comes with the strength boost, I immediately had the impression that I was playing a Souls game. As opposed to other Soulslikes, which have a tendency to seem laborious and irrational…
Lies of P will feel simple the moment you press the lock button. You won’t have any trouble learning how to play the game because the controls are identical to those of Dark Souls; in fact, the similarities between the two games go much beyond the scope of the fighting system. So far, this game has followed the same pattern as Souls games, and you’ll fit in perfectly if you’re a seasoned veteran of the Souls games.
The gameplay of Lies of P at its core is definitely based on the elements that made the Souls games so popular, despite the fact that the game contains a number of new features. And just like the Souls games, Lies of P has a bit of a learning curve, which it borrows from Bloodborne in the sense that even though you aren’t locked on, you still have a dodge roll. Even if the quick step and the dodge roll are not as effective as they are in Bloodborne.
There is a rational explanation for why this is the case. The reason for this is that it is not your sole way of avoiding harm; in addition to it, you also have the ability to deflect and parry, just like in Sekiro. You’ll also need to figure out how to merge the two into one coherent whole. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, it will seem so natural and pleasant to do, despite the fact that, at first, it might not appear like it works.
There are, however, a few minor issues with its Lies of P’s control, and you will become aware of these issues during the initial encounter with the mini-boss. Because if you try to play this game exactly like a Dark Souls game, relying exclusively on the Dodge button and R1, you could discover that the controls are a little bit difficult because the Dodge distance is short. However, if you think of the gameplay as being similar to Sekiro and focus more on the Block and Perry, you’ll understand it much better.
Along the same lines as Sekiro, there is also the inclusion of a Posture System, which causes your opponent to become vulnerable. You can break their stance while they are in this vulnerable position by hitting them with a Strong R2 and then having the choice to follow up with another attack if you do so. It is a very satisfying sensation when you finally succeed in landing one of these attacks.
However, in a similar vein to Sekiro, Lies of P also features unlocked attacks in which the target enemy would glow red throughout rather than displaying a skull and crossbones emblem above their head. Only a flawless parry will allow you to avoid taking damage in this situation. There are also several new improvements in the fighting system that takes inspiration from past Souls games.
One example of this is the puppet arm, which, similar to Sekiro, may be adorned with a variety of different types of weapons. Despite this, I didn’t find myself making extensive use of these during the demo. It’s possible that as we progress further into this game, we’ll become aware of Lies of P’s build system’s full potential and that it will become significantly more relevant to our experience.
The fact that you won’t ever find yourself lost in the game environment is easily the nicest aspect of the experience. This isn’t due to the game’s rigid linearity; rather, it’s because it adheres to the exact same pattern that we’ve seen repeated numerous times in the Souls series. Even though the level design in this area doesn’t really introduce anything new, there aren’t any complaints about it because it seemed natural and wasn’t broken. It is to your advantage to not have to worry about finding your way through a maze while you are concentrating on learning your opponent’s moves.
Compared to similar Souls games, the level design is most like Demon’s Souls, where bonfires aren’t a continual presence; in this instance, Stargazer, your goal is to locate passageways back to the initial checkpoint, which is a great touch. There are still many secrets and reasons to explore because it made the level feel very interconnected, but other than that, there is not much to say about the level design, at least not yet. It appears to be either reassuringly familiar or uninterestingly similar based on your personal preferences.
The boss fights in Lies of P will be the highlight of the experience, just like they are in every other good Souls game. The Parade Master served as the demo’s first boss, and he turned out to be an excellent choice for the role. At first, I attempted to defeat it in the same manner as Bloodborne by performing a series of rapid, short steps.
Even though I believed my reaction time was really good, I was still getting hit even though I was able to avoid a few of his strikes. However, as I indicated before, you’ll have a lot more fun and make a lot fewer mistakes if you approach it like the major bosses in Sekiro.
When you finally find out when dodging is the better option and when blocking or parrying is the better option, boss battles will become more exciting for you. Sometimes dodging will be the superior option. During these confrontations, I did not have the sensation that I was being struck by something that was not my fault, which made me feel even better.
Whereas in a lot of games that are similar to Souls, the bosses can occasionally feel lackluster and unpolished. It was a lot of fun to learn any of the three bosses that were included in the demo, and you could even say that they were on par with some of the bosses from the mainline version of Souls.
The battle against the Mad Donkey was a lot of fun, despite the fact that it is only considered to be a mini-boss battle. You are pitted against another humanoid who possesses all of the same tools as you do and is also vulnerable to all of the same threats as you are. You can dodge; he can dodge. You have the ability to parry, as does he.
Both you and he have the ability to backstab him and cause status damage. Because it was such a great test of all facets of the combat system and brought out Lies of P’s full potential, I really hope that there are more fights like this one throughout the rest of the game. It was a tremendous test of what this game is capable of becoming.
As soon as you have defeated the first boss, you will be sent to the central heart of the game, Hotel Krat. It is here that you will meet your level-up maiden, Sophia, just like you would in any other regular Soulslike game. The leveling-up mechanism in Lies of P is extremely similar to that found in Dark Souls, as are many other aspects of the game.
And you won’t have any trouble understanding it at all. There wasn’t much to do in the demo outside upgrading guns and testing them on dummies, and I’m sure the overall cost of Hotel Krat will increase in the final game. There are also a few non-playable characters (NPCs) who had some interesting dialogues, which piqued my curiosity about the universe and intrigued me about the game’s narrative.
This game’s foundation is word for word, a Souls game. However, Lies of P doesn’t inform you that until you enter Hotel Krat, you can level up at the Stargazers. Despite this, I realized that I needed to go back and have a conversation with Sophia. Those who haven’t played the other games in the Dark Souls Trilogy will have to spend a good deal of time wandering around aimlessly, trying to find this out. Therefore, I really hope that they would at least add a prompt that instructs you to speak to her as soon as you arrive at Hotel Krat for the first time. On the other hand, you’ll learn a new mechanic for lying in the game.
Even though there were only two instances in which this mechanic could be utilized in the demo, I don’t yet know to what extent it will be implemented. But I really do hope that whether you choose to tell a lie or the truth, there are some significant repercussions for your decision.
Not only is it an essential part of the overall aesthetic of Lies of P, but it also plays a vital role in the narrative of Pinocchio. Crafting your own weapons and modifying their hilts and blades is also a fun and useful gameplay mechanic in this game. It is difficult to predict how broad the weapon choices will be in the full game due to the fact that the demo only contains a limited number of options.
The character in Lies of P has to have just a little bit more speed added to them in order to be considered a near-perfect alternative to Souls. The walking speed when you are not moving is excruciatingly slow, and I discovered that I was getting hit by strikes that I should have been able to avoid because there is a moment while you are recovering from attacks in which you freeze altogether.
I’m not suggesting that we need the Bloodborne quick step as that’s not intended to be your primary means to deal with assaults; rather, what I’m saying is that I find that the movements are somewhat rigid, and he has to be more fluid. Even if it were, I still wouldn’t consider it a major disadvantage because I believe the combat in Lies of P is designed to be different from what you’d find in Bloodborne.
To put it simply, I would love to have slightly more authority over the control mechanism. As someone who often dislikes Soulslikes developed by studios other than FromSoftware, I really don’t have much else to gripe about beyond that. In the end, I had a great time with the Lies of P demo, and I think it would be fun for all of you to give it a shot if you are into Souls games.
I’m now really interested in learning more about the plot and seeing how far we can go in this conflict. Lies of P, on the whole, was a wonderful surprise for me, and I will most likely buy it once it is fully released. Although it isn’t a FromSoftware game by any stretch of the imagination and might use some polishing up here and there, the game has a ton of untapped potential, and I can’t wait to see what Neowiz Games will bring in the finished game.
