It is time to put myself through the pain and suffering of tackling another souls-like game, and hopefully, I come out on top with as few broken controllers as possible.

Developed by Neowiz, Lies of P is the latest action souls-like on the market, challenging veterans and new players with its grueling combat and boss fights. You play as P, a puppet who must fight his way through the plagued city of Krat in order to find Geppetto, and finally, become human.

With a world and story inspired by Pinocchio, along with a lot of original creations, Lies of P gives a great blend of a familiar story with unique twists, and it offers a great and enjoyable experience – that is if you don’t mind dying repeatedly while you learn and adapt to conquer what stands in your way. Although I have found Lies of P to be one of the more challenging souls-like I have played, I still enjoyed it

Using your unique ability to lie, which no other puppet created can do, you’ll be tasked with making difficult decisions, altering how people perceive you and the final outcome. Seeing as no other puppet can lie, this is what makes P that much more human. We wouldn’t recommend lying as a way of life, but it might just be P’s only hope.

If you are a souls-like veteran, then you know what to expect, but for those who aren’t, you will be in for quite the challenge, but that’s not to say veteran players won’t be. Taking a lot of core mechanics from the Souls games, like dying to even the easiest of enemies, suffering through difficult boss fights, or gathering a heap of experience points, known as Ergo, only to lose them when you die, but that’s only if you can’t make it back in one piece to regain them.

Combat is pretty straightforward for the most part, using a combination of light and heavy attacks, blocking, and parrying, amongst a few other abilities. Parrying, though, will play a big factor when trying to come out of fights on top. Timing that perfect block is crucial, as it protects your weapon’s durability and lowers your enemy’s poise, allowing a riposte for a good amount of damage. I am usually the kind of player who prefers to dodge an attack, however, this isn’t always the best option in Lies of P, and a lot of the fights and some attacks require you to master the parry system.

Diving into our arsenal, we have some new and exciting weapons, as well as some that might seem familiar. Quite a few of the weapons throughout will have the option to disassemble the blade from the handle, and you can then swap these with other weapons, leading to some rather interesting combinations, because each blade and handle has its own ability.

These abilities are called Fable Arts, and they use an action button to unleash a powerful attack or a defensive maneuver to aid you in combat. In order to use Fable Arts, you’ll need to fill up your gauge, almost like mana, but it charges with each successful hit, or via consumables.

A piece of equipment that might feel familiar, especially if you have played Sekiro, is the Legion Arms. P’s left arm is practically robotic and interchangeable with different arms that you can find, craft, and upgrade, and each has its own ability, ranging from powerful hits to elemental attacks, and even a defensive shield. This might seem a little too much like Sekiro’s counterpart, but fits quite well in a world based around mechanical puppets.

This reimagined world of Pinocchios is quite dark, and in a good way. Well, if you like this kind of setting that is. A plagued-ridden city isn’t the prettiest thing to imagine, especially with the puppet frenzy at foot, knowing that if you are caught by one your chances of survival are slim.

This dark, gothic, and cruel world is beautifully designed, although quite linear with not a lot to find off the beaten track, besides maybe a small sidequest here and there. Some would say not having more to explore makes a game boring. I personally enjoy it when a game goes down a more linear path and sticks to the story and core of the game.

Ambiance, voice acting, enemy noises, and music all play such a big factor when telling a story. I found no flaws in Lies of P when playing through it, everything just felt right and fit so well together. Even the music you can find and obtain throughout gives the Hotel of Krat that much more liveliness. One of my favourite companions was your guide, Gemini. While he might not be a cricket in the game, the slight chirp in his voice during conersations certainly screams Jiminy Cricket, which is pretty neat.

Lies of P is another great souls-like game, with inspiration from a beloved story from our childhood, even if the inspiration has been twisted and turned dark. I really enjoyed this re-imagination. It has some new and unique features that help to set it apart, however, there were a few things that were a bit too similar to other souls-like games.

Written by: MrVibeAU