Lies of P is a brand new soulslike taking on the classic story of Pinocchio, flipping the tale into a dark fantasy where malicious mechanical puppets hunt the human race to extinction, leaving the fate of mankind to one boy who is neither entirely a puppet nor entirely human. Though I initially had my reservations about this title, jumping in and immediately losing a full day made me realize that Lies of P is more than just a competent soulslike, but a creative endeavor worth experiencing, even if you aren’t a huge fan of the FROMSOFT formula. Though it certainly has a few flaws to point out, overall, I’d say my experience with Lies of P was much greater than I expected it to be, and I’ll certainly be dropping a lot more time into this title outside of my working hours.
As you probably noticed from the previous paragraph, Lies of P is based on the story of Pinocchio and came about during a sort of “Pinocchio Panic” late last year. The game was announced alongside Disney and Guillermo del Toro, both making movies about the wooden boy, leading to a certain confusion over the character’s copyright. The truth is that the Pinocchio novel has been in the public domain since at least the 1960s, and any artist can make tales based on the characters and novels, so long as they aren’t based on Disney’s animated portrayal. Why the Pinocchio craze came up last year is beyond me, but I’m thankful for the coincidence, as Lies of P provides a pretty unique twist on the story that I found myself quickly immersed in.
Lies of P is set in an early modern world where once subservient robotic puppets have turned on humanity, violently forcing their former masters into hiding as the revolution rips across the city of Krat. As Pinocchio, the prized invention of puppet creation Geppetto, it’s up to you to help fight off the puppet invasion as well as the scared and mistrusting humans who would attack you on sight. Not quite human and not quite a puppet, the game tackles the question of whether Pinocchio is a real boy (or not) as you crawl through familiarly difficult souls-like levels and boss fights. This is often done through opportunities where Pinocchio has to choose to tell the truth or lie, something that puppets shouldn’t be able to do, and that brings Pinocchio closer to humanity.
The story of Lies of P is told with various levels of cohesion. This is due to the occasionally poor translation quality from what I believe is originally Korean writing, which can lead to plenty of moments of awkward or unnatural dialogue. The translation seems to be stronger when it needs to be, specifically when communicating story beats and directions on how to proceed in the game, and weaker when you’re just having insignificant conversations with NPCs. Thankfully, visual storytelling is a place where the game really excels, and you’ll learn a lot through cutscenes, set pieces, and character designs.
The gameplay is typical of the soulslike genre, with many staples you’ll have come to expect at this point. Defeat enemies to collect souls (called Ergo in this Lies of P,) spend the currency on leveling a build of your choice, and take on increasingly harder levels and bosses. The game has often been compared to Bloodborne, and it’s not without reason.
A couple of really standout changes from the FROMSOFT legacy are Lies of P’s weapon mixing and phenomenal keyboard controls, the latter of which surprised me the most. The game controls phenomenally and naturally on keyboard and mouse, something I haven’t personally experienced in a soulslike until the release of Armoured Core 6 (if you can call it a soulslike.) Usually, I have to break out my controller for games like this. Yet the fluidity and easy access of the keyboard not only made playing the game more convenient. I actually felt like it served my muscle memory and reflexes far better.
Weapon mixing is the game’s way of allowing you to customize your build via your weapons. Any weapon that isn’t a boss weapon is split into two parts: the blade and the handle. You can split these pieces apart and mix and match blades and grips to create the ultimate tool to suit your playstyle, changing everything down to stat scaling and even moveset by simply swapping parts. These pieces can be individually improved as well, so you can hold on to a piece you really like for the whole game and just keep adding new parts to it to suit your needs.
Talking about the difficulty of a soulslike is backbreaking, with the game’s challenge being subjective and admissions of failure often being met with an indifferent “get gud.” However, I will say that there were certainly bosses in Lies of P that I felt were a little too unfair, especially when compared to previous soulsborne titles. Your special fable attacks are very costly and often the only tool you have to really turn a fight. But these are far too easily interrupted by most enemies in the game, especially bosses. Making using them at their full potential kind of a waste most of the time. Earning a backstab on a boss can be an incredible feeling, but the animation doesn’t always trigger despite clearly interacting with the prompt. Enemy bosses generally have very fast movesets, and you can expect to get stuck on most of them for a while. Especially without the proper rolling skill, you have to unlock after facing a few of them.
The game’s levels are designed incredibly well, with easily definable but still well-decorated paths that lead to unlockable shortcuts. Be warned, though, that the game likes to hide enemy traps around every corner. Seriously, approach every corner with caution, as the game will punish and ambush an unsuspecting player at every single chance it can get.
The Final Word
Lies of P is a surprisingly good game with an interesting world to explore and fun twists on classic soulslike mechanics. Though the interesting world and characters can be held a bit back by poor translation, and the game can feel obscenely punishing at times. I never felt like the game I was playing was bad, and I only quit when I needed a break from the screen. All in all, Lies of P is a must-have for soulsborne fans and something to check out if you’re interested in the unique twist on a classic tale this game has to offer.
8
Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! Lies of P is available on Steam, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.