Lies of P released in September 2023 and is the most recent Souls-like game. It's undeniably also one of the best with its engaging story and enthralling atmosphere. Standing as the pseudo-sequel to Blood-borne, it captured the hearts of many Souls-like enthusiasts and those new to the genre (such as I) !The game is a dark reimagining of
The game is a dark reimagining of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio. It follows Pinocchio after he is awoken by Sophia and embarks on a journey to save Krat city. Behind a perfect facade, Krat suffers from the Puppet Frenzy, where humanoid puppets have gone rouge and begun to kill citizens, alongside the Petrification disease, which turns people to stone. Pinocchio is tasked with resolving these issues, all the while discovering Krat's hidden secrets.

In any video game, graphic quality and sound design are incredibly important, and Round 8 Studio, the developer of Lies of P, understands that well.

The game has graphics that match the expectation of realism from today's audiences. Yet, being set in the Belle Époque Era in Europe around the late 19th Century, Lies of P still manages to have a distinct aesthetic. The air feels stale, and the streets are in chaos, filled with puppets, dead bodies, and destroyed infrastructure. It is either raining, cloudy, or evening, ensuring the location of the player is visually consistent in being dark and gritty. These elements effectively convey how bleak the situation is.

The sound design is also of high quality. The sounds of the weapons moving and colliding with the enemies or the environment feel impactful, especially when doing fatal attacks. Furthermore, the puppets' movement and environmental sound design deeply immerse the player. This can be seen during rainy days when the player character's steps, puppets' movements and weapon sounds are all slightly different with accordance to the weather.

Speaking of sound, there are 16 collectible Vinyl Records that can be acquired through side quests and listened to at Hotel Krat. Each song is mesmerising and fits with the intended time period extremely well. An example is the "Feel" record the player can gain as part of their first side quest on Elysian Boulevard.

Moving on, the storyline of Lies of P is written very skilfully. Usually, Souls-like games such as Elden Ring have non-linear storylines with their lore and elements being implicitly presented while the focus stays on gameplay difficulty. However, Lies of P follows a linear storyline with various cutscenes and substantial amounts of dialogue, which only serves to enhance the game.

Each stage of the game is linear and certain locations can't be explored before others which makes the story easier to follow. Alongside this, each character that we invite into Hotel Krat is slowly expanded upon during the game with dialogue and cutscenes, especially those involving Sophia, Gepetto, Alidoro and Eugene. In-fact, certain characters share Vinyl Records once their arc is completed, incentivising the player to partake in NG+ to get every possible ending for their character arc. The mechanic of lying also plays a great role in some of the emotional side quests and impacts our humanity throughout the play-time: an important aspect to Pinocchio's journey in becoming a real boy.

To end this section, the three possible endings in Lies of P are all diverse and let the player know of the agency they have in the course of the game's story, even if it may seem otherwise at the beginning. They have been a great component of the Lies of P experience.

Lastly, the most important aspect of any Souls-like is the gameplay. When speaking of the UI, the game ensures it matches the art style of the historical urban setting Lies of P is set at and is neither particularly bad nor outstanding.

The combat mechanics include various attack animations, including light and heavy attacks. Alongside this, there is the addition of fable arts. There is a separate blade and handle each having their own fable art, making every weapon unique. To add, when an enemy is staggered through a heavy attack, they are inactive for a period of time in which a fatal attack can be utilised, letting the player defeat the enemy in a satisfying way.

The core of this system is how it promotes aggressiveness, parrying and dodging in each of the boss fights. The aggressiveness keeps the player engaged while the parrying and dodging are both equally encouraged, giving the player more than one option during defensive combat. However, the parry-window is at times inconsistent and may feel clunky, though it is a small complaint.

Speaking of bosses, Lies of P has a large cast of boss designs ranging from human to humanoid, and puppet to part puppet-part monster, all of which have original attacks and abilities. This enemy variety also stretches to normal enemies and mini-bosses, ensuring each encounter is interesting.

There are also elements that are a staple in the Souls-like genre. These include the six stats, stamina meter, pulse cells (healing potions) and status ailment resistance potions. However, the game branches off with the pulse cell mechanic during gameplay. When all cells have been used, the player can regain the first cell after hitting the enemy a certain number of times, allowing the player to continue fighting.

Amulets are another aspect of gameplay, with up-to 4 available slots. These have a variety of abilities such as increasing Pinocchio's maximum HP or stamina. They provide another option which lets players customise their build to a greater extent, especially before boss fights.

Another gameplay element seen in Lies of P are the Legion arms which may seem similar to Sekiro's prosthetics but are very different. The prosthetics in Sekiro focus on offensive capability where each upgrade provides a new function. However, the Legion Arms are more defensive or support-oriented and the upgrades focus on enhancing an Arm's base function. This is seen best in the versatile "Puppet String" Legion Arm which can help pull enemies toward you. It's upgrades allow the stacking of attacks with the action of using the string, adding to it's versatility.
Where Lies of P really diverges however, is in the stage design. While linear, each level has interesting parts and hidden areas. Not a single area feels as if it did not have a purpose. To add, the enemy designs vary across each stage and the atmosphere that is present makes the game very captivating.

Where Lies of P really diverges however, is in the stage design. While linear, each level has interesting parts and hidden areas. Not a single area feels as if it did not have a purpose. To add, the enemy designs vary across each stage and the atmosphere that is present makes the game very captivating.

Nonetheless, most people would say that Lies of P's true genius lies in the weapon assembly tool. Let me explain. As each weapon has a separate handle and blade, they can be merged with another blade or handle which changes the available fable arts and move set based upon the handle. The number of possible combinations allow players to create unique weapons suiting to their build, desired move-set or aesthetic. This lets the player show their creativity within the game and enables them to experiment with countless possibilities for stat distribution and more.

Personally, I found this game extremely engaging and entertaining. Each level's design, especially the tower at the end was very well-made. I took my time to enjoy them and saw the tower as a great way to end the story of Lies of P. Figuring out how to utilise the combat mechanics to beat each boss, experimenting with the combination of amulets, legions arms and weapons was the best segment of the game for me. Learning when exactly to parry or dodge and eventually defeating the boss was really satisfying.

The gameplay, interesting characters, beautiful music and aesthetic really captivated me, making it my all-time favourite game. 

Overall, I give it a 9.5/10!