Lies of P PlayStation 5 Review

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Facts

No Strings Attached

I have a long and arduous relationship with the Soulsborne games that I will one day write an article about. To cut a long story short, I hated them, did not understand them, and could not work out why everyone loved them so much. I kept trying, though, and Bloodborne, for some reason, clicked with me. I learned the language and understood the systems a lot more. Then, I went back and destroyed the whole genre. It’s now probably one of my favourite styles of games, period.

On to Lies of P then, which I was really, really, really, really, really looking forward to. As you may have guessed from the first paragraph, Lies of P is a Soulslike set in a twisted dark fantasy take on the world of Pinnochio. There are puppets and diseases and a plethora of things that want to kill you. Awesome-sauce!

I need to get something off my chest before we dive into things, Lies of P is so similar to Bloodborne that it’s unreal. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and right now Bloodborne must be extremely flattered. The combat system, the level layout, the whole vibe screams Bloodborne, and I could not be happier.

Easier to Follow

In LIes of P, you play Pinnochio and are trying to simultaneously work out the cause of the puppet revolt, save the inhabitants of Krat and do little side-quests for its populous. As with all these types of games, though, these somewhat linear areas are peppered with mad puppets, horrid bosses and weird characters that see you at the top of their most wanted list.

Most of the Souls-type game’s story stuff is normally too weird and hard to follow. They were always interesting but very deep and mystical. Lies of P’s story is a lot easier to follow, this does not mean it’s not as good though, it’s full of twists and great characters to meet. I also like how in the UI, when you are fast travelling, the game lets you know where you need to go to progress the story or carry on with side quests, a very helpful feature I think missing from the games that inspired it.

Combat to DIE For

Combat-wise, if you have played any Soulslike, especially Bloodborne recently you will slide straight into Lies of P, like getting into a warm bed in the winter. It will be very familiar, yet it will have a few things that deviate from the norm in the genre. You have a heavy attack, a light attack, throwables parrying and back-stabbing. Where Lies of P differs, though, is its weapon crafting and robo-arm systems.

Whenever you collect a new weapon, a few legendaries aside, they come with a detachable handle. You can then mix the top part and handle from any weapon you have found. This can create some weird and, quite often, powerful mixes of weaponry. A greatsword on a fencing-style sword handle, sure, if you want. Your other arm is a robotic appendage that can be equipped with different arms depending on what flavour you fancy.

You can craft and upgrade this arm with all manner of goodies and tech. From a shield that returns damage to a flesh-burning flamethrower, it’s totally up to you. I found the mixture of weapons and arm tech fascinating, and it went hand-in-hand with a great combat system to create not only a gameplay loop that rewards skill and experimentation but but something that remains exciting right through to the game’s conclusion.

Lies of P’s combat also sees a twist on Bloodborne’s health regain mechanic. When you guard, if you attack straight away, you can regain some of your chipped-away health. Not only does this garner an attacking mindset for the payer, but also makes sure each combat encounter moves at a brisk pace and stops players ‘turtling’ their way through fights.

What a Wonderful World

This game’s level design, while being quite linear, was amazing. I love games like this where getting from ‘bonfire’ to ‘bonfire’ or Stargazer to Stargazer in this game is an exercise in exploration and finding shortcuts. There’s nothing better than being down to your last health item and stumbling upon a new shortcut to get back to a save point.

For players who have never played these types of games before, whenever you kill an enemy, you get XP. However, this XP is always at risk. If you die, you drop it, and it’s lost until you get back to where you died. If you die before you get there, it’s lost forever. Where Lies of P changes that is that if you take damage, the amount you regain drops.

Lies of P’s difficulty was quite erratic and probably my only issue with the game and the only thing stopping me from giving it a perfect score. I found most areas trivial to get through, although that may be because I am a fan of the genre. Most bosses were also relatively trivial, but now and again, a boss or area would come out of nowhere and obliterate me. This is where I was reminded, over and over, what kind of game I was playing. This rarely bothered me as I enjoyed the setting and combat far too much to pay it too much heed.

Technically Superb

From a performance standpoint, Lies of P was perfect, which is quite rare in a game like this. The framerate was solid, and I had zero issues or bugs to report. Everything ran smoothly and without a hitch; I was really impressed with how good it looked, and paired with how effortless the whole performance side of things was, the devs need to be praised. Bravo to all involved!

Lies of P is beautiful; the whole puppet and robot come dark fantasy setting is dank, dark and amazing to explore. Bosses buzz and crackle, enemies squeak towards you, and all the architecture and world-building are top-notch. The music is superb, too, with collectable records, opera-style ditties and a sound design that really fits the theme and setting to a T.

So, So Good!

As you can guess, I adored Lies of P and am nowhere near done yet; that platinum trophy will eventually be mine. It may have difficulty spikes and borrow a lot from its inspiration, but it does a lot with its setting, story and mechanics to feel different enough. If the game was any less than superb, some of these things may bother me, but Lies of P is probably, in my opinion, outside of the FROMSOFTWARE games, the best Soulslike by far.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

If you want to buy Lies of P, you can on the PS Store here.