Game Review: Lies of P

As mentioned in previous reviews, FromSoftware established a legacy with their Soulsborne collection of video games, so much so that they opened the door to an entire sub-genre of video games that other developers were inspired to follow in their footsteps.  The catalogue of Soulslike video games have always ranged in terms of quality; I found in my experience the non-FromSoftware titles have always had something that held them back from being able to truly match the level of quality that defined the likes of Dark Souls or Bloodborne. I imagine for a lot of these titles, the struggle to stand out for its own merits while still projecting that core formula that defines this subgenre is often the root cause to why their games can never truly succeed in stepping out of FromSoftware’s enormous shadow.  This is an important note to keep in mind when it comes to talking about the latest entry in the subgenre; Lies of P. 

Developed by South Korea-based studio Round8 and published by Neowiz Games, Lies of P is a third person, action-adventure video game based within a darkly original interpretation of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio.  Released on September 19th 2023, the title released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, MacOS, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.  As it currently stands, the title has garnered very favorable ratings from most media outlets and general audiences alike.  Something of interest to note with regards to the developer of this game, is that Round8’s lack of an experience. The only game this studio has produced in the past was a free-to-play MMORPG called Bless Unleashed back in 2020. That limited backlog of experience might be a warning sign for some, but in Lies of P’s case, I think it just reflects the astounding feat the studio has come out and accomplished in spite of it!

The narrative set up behind Lies of P follows a puppet called Pinocchio who was created by an inventor called Geppetto. Pinocchio finds himself awakened in the city of Krat in the aftermath of a bloody puppet rebellion. Once a beacon of innovation and industry, the city of Krat has fallen on hard times after the local puppet population soon turned on the human governing body known as the Grand Covenant. The source of their frenzied rebellion is Ergo, a rare energy source that the Grand Covenant mined from the local environment which fueled Krat’s industrial revolution with the hopes of taking humanity into a brand-new age.  That hope soon proved flawed as the Ergo began to corrupt the puppets within the city and caused them to kill their human masters. Within a short time, the city had fallen and the streets were filled with human corpses and those who remained have been driven to near madness themselves. Along with the frenzied puppets, a petrification disease has infested the city and is corrupting any humans who contract it, turning them into vile monsters.  With a city full of threats, Pinocchio finds safety within the local Hotel Krat in which he learns from a blue-haired lady called Sophia that Geppetto is still alive and Pinocchio must brave the numerous dangers of the city in order to save his creator and end the nightmare that permeates within the city once and for all. 

The main distinction FromSoftware’s titles have with most other games out there is the narrative isn’t told in a conventual manner. There is the expectation that the world building comes first and foremost and to truly learn all of the games main plot, you must pay great attention to the descriptions of items and places you discover in the world.  Lies of P doesn’t follow in that expectation completely and instead its narrative approach tries to be a little bit more involved in order to convey its story in a more direct format. It’s incredible how well the source material mixes with the original concepts to deliver a narrative concept which capitalizes on it’s potential fully. This is a clear re-telling of the Adventures of Pinocchio but the structure and themes at play build upon a lot of the main storytelling elements in a way which doesn’t feel derivative or non-sensical.  What helps keep you invested in the main plot I found was the collection of supporting characters you will meet along the way.  Again, akin to many Soulsborne games, there’s a cast of NPC’s hear who all offer something of value to the main plot while also offering some of their own subtle storylines you can follow through on.  Their presence in the story is adapted from their roles in the books in a way that feels very clever.  The main plot combined with the many subplots of the characters you meet along the way help give a proper sense of definition to this uniquely crafted tale and it is one of the games finest elements which helps it stand out the most in a positive sense. 

Gameplay is a whole other conversation and there’s a lot to go over. That Soulsborne inspiration we talked about earlier in the review is most clearly seen within this portion of the game.  From level design, character progression/customization and combat; this game follows all the same footnotes that you would expect to find in any FromSoftware game. Is that a good or bad thing? Well let’s delve into these elements in a bit more detail and I’ll give my overall conclusion on that question.  When it comes to level design, Lies of P does an absolutely fantastic job in crafting a plethora of varied environments for you to traverse and fight though. Each chapter within the game has you working trough different divisions within the city of Krat, all with their own distinct flavors and atmospheres.  Similar mostly to Bloodborne on this front, the level design is fairly linear, with smartly sectioned areas structured in a way to keep you moving forward with short cuts and hidden sections to open up.  I have to applaud the game’s diverse range of levels as it’s clear the developers had a clear idea of how this city and its numerous segments were intended to connect with one another in a way that felt smart from both a narrative and gameplay perspective. Everything about the environments feels designed with purpose and there’s no sense of confusion or hinderance when it comes to navigating them. 

Next let’s talk about character progression/customization. This aspect feels like it’s directly taken from Soulsborne games without too much variation or originality added to it.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the idea of if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it; however, it feels like there’s just too much similarity here to feel like the developers or the game deserve all that much recognition for clearly copying a lot of similar systems.  The game’s stat system is identical in the sense that you collect a resource/currency to level up aspects of your stats. You will have to collect upgrade resources to level up your normal weapons to +10 or special weapons to +5.  While the core construct of the progression/customization system feels too familiar, that isn’t to say there isn’t some original considerations here either.  One of the more distinct aspects of customization comes with the gear you equip.  One of the most iconic aspects is your Legion Arm. In this game Pinocchio has a distinct left arm which he can upgrade and switch around with different weapons and mechanics. The concept is smartly realized with a number of different options to switch around to and additional aspects to upgrade to make the way you utilize the arm in combat convenient for the time and setting.  There’s a P-Organ system too which allows you to tier Pinocchio’s combat and resource abilities in a fairly balanced manner. The system increased its requirements with the higher you go with the end result being even more compelling benefits to assist you as you progress through the game.

Combat is one of the games most refined elements which will require a fair bit of time and patience to master.  The selection of weapons you have available to obtain feels incredibly diverse and they each give you a different approach to adapt to within the games many combat encounters.  One of the most important aspects is the ability to switch the head and the handle of the weapon to experiment with the motion, stat or abilities linked to your weapons. Each weapon’s fable art abilities give you an added flurry to your attacks which feels unique and convenient. The game’s weapon and ability system are a wonderfully intuitive feature which gives you as the player all the means of experimenting and figuring out your playstyle and approach in your own time.  It’ll be important to pick the right weapon when it comes to the many fights, you’ll be working through during your time in Krat. Standard enemies all have their own unique designs and attack patterns. Like with any Soulslike, they will hit you hard and will not be very forgiving, so it pushes you to meet them with the same level of ferocity. The varied and distinct range of enemies throughout the game help keep the challenge progressing, although I would argue the difficulty balance doesn’t progress as fairly or as evenly as I would have hoped. There are moments halfway through and in later parts of the game where the game decided to screw you over with some insane difficulty spikes and a clear heads up leading up to those moments would have been appreciated.  Boss fights are where the game’s combat is really showcased though and as we know bosses are the bread and butter of any good Soulslike game.  Each boss in this game feels unique in their own way with a very notable approach to combat that you will be forced to learn over, and over and over until you can truly master the encounter.  Again, I loved the range of bosses in this game, especially from a design perspective. I do however feel there’s a rather ill-considered unbalance when it comes to how badly some of the difficulty spikes with these encounters, especially in earlier parts of the game. It’s not enough to put any substantial dampener on the game’s combat however, as on a whole it’s a very robust and well thought out system that rewards players for experimenting and mastering their own playstyles. 

From an audio and visual level, this game does a phenomenal job in projecting the core themes and tones within its graphic design and soundtrack.  On a visual level, the distinct graphical quality behind the design of the environments, enemies or characters feels incredibly refined. There’s a clear beauty in the tragedy of this world and the game recognizes the visual element at every opportunity. Not unlike other great Soulsborne games either, the orchestral soundtrack behind this game is simply incredible. Like we’re talking Bloodborne-level of incredible. The orchestral score is used to make each moment as bombastic or as nuanced as is required. Both visuals and audio add an incredible layer of details onto an already detailed game to truly appreciate. 

Let’s wrap this review up by addressing the key point I raised at the start of the review. Being a good Soulslike game is hard because the game will inevitably be compared to the FromSoftwae games. Lies of P recognizes the similarities and embraces the reality that it shouldn’t try to deviate or shy away from utilizing the best aspects of those games.  Does that make the game just as good? It’s a very subjective question that I feel everyone will have a different answer to. For me I feel Lies of P does just enough to stand on its own two feet while also embracing the core principles of what made FromSoftware’s games so memorable.  Whether it’s the darkly compelling take on the age-old children’s story, the wonderfully visualized world or the layered and robust combat system; Lies of P does enough on its own merits to be worth the time of any Soulsborne fan. Let’s just remind ourselves again that this game was produced with little prior experience in the subgenre either, for that feat alone, Round8 Studio deserve as much praise as I can possibly provide.