It’s Pinocchio meets Bloodborne when it comes to Lies of P, and if that concept sounds about as strange as it is compelling, that’s because it is. Moody, gothic, bloody, and unabashedly similar to one of FromSoftware’s most respected games, Lies of P demonstrates that there aren't too many Soulslikes that can fill the void that Bloodborne has left for the past eight years; however, Neowiz seems to be coming within striking distance.
The Best War Games recently received an extended hands-on demo of the opening stages of Lies of P, including a good look at what to expect regarding bosses and gameplay mechanics. Overall, Soulslike fans will have a lot to look forward to when the game launches later this year, but not without some preamble about what to expect going into it. Those who have spent any time in Yharnam over the past few years will immediately notice the parallels between Lies of P and Bloodborne because they are unmistakable. Simply hearing the sounds this game makes when picking up an item says as much. But with current Soulslikes leaning more toward the Dark Souls blueprint over FromSoftware’s PS4-exclusive eldritch nightmare's formula, we can’t really say that this is a bad thing.
As mentioned, the Lie of P’s premise is quite an unusual one. Instead of the whimsical and child-friendly Disney story where Pinocchio becomes a real boy, Neowiz has decided to take Carlo Collodi’s classic fairytale and give it an incredibly somber twist. The result is a Pinocchio who is rather stoic and wooden - literally and figuratively speaking - and accompanied by a cast of supporting characters who are more concerned with survival than singing. Launching the game for the first time proves that this is far from a Disney movie.
At the start of this demo, the player awakens Pinocchio in an abandoned train station in the city of Krat. In this grim retelling of the classic Pinocchio tale, Mr. Geppetto seems to have been in some way responsible for the ongoing puppet frenzy resulting in the death or evacuation of all humans in the city. Krat is filled with gruesome scenes as dead humans litter the streets at every turn, and we even saw a few people still being brutalized by puppets in some instances. Some content here is definitely tough to stomach at times; however, there was a certain beauty to the overall game thanks to its effective art direction. After taking in the thick atmosphere and beautiful Belle Epoque architecture, our main goal became to find Mr. Geppeto.
This preview demo didn’t give us too much time to figure out the big narrative picture of Lies of P, but we did get a taste of where it was heading, and it left us interested. Besides Geppeto being at the center of the ongoing puppet siege, it seems like the game has some sort of branching narrative element revolving around Pinocchio's lies. At one point, we were given the option to either lie or tell the truth, so naturally, we lied to see what would happen. Unfortunately, Pinocchio's nose didn't seem to grow, but there were some "gears" that began to turn inside our main character. Perhaps the full game has more to tell.
What we did get a good handle on throughout this preview was the gameplay. It is tough to play Lies of P without being taken aback by how similar it is to Bloodborne, even if Neowiz is introducing some new concepts like Pinocchio's Legion Arm. Bloodborne was defined by its high-risk, high-reward play styles, which stripped back a lot of the RPG elements of Dark Souls in favor of fewer and more specialized weapons and character builds. In Bloodborne, those who kept up the aggression succeeded, while those who retreated were punished. Lies of P is doing the exact same thing.
Throughout this preview, we noticed how conservative play styles were frequently punished by unrelenting enemies and a level design that would regularly greet players with a projectile to the face if they stood around for too long. Players won’t be able to just turtle up behind the block button whenever they encounter a large group of foes because even when an attack is blocked, it still does damage. However, if players quickly respond on the offensive, they can regain that lost health. Whenever we were on our back legs and lacking any health juice, the game said we could replenish one flask if we kept landing hits on enemies. By the end of our playthrough, it was clear that playing it safe in Lies of P would be a bigger hassle, as the game really emphasizes a "fight or die" mentality.
In terms of weapons, Lies of P keeps it fairly lean. Right at the start, the game asked us if we wanted to prioritize a balanced playstyle through the Path of the Cricket, a dexterity playstyle through the Path of the Bastard, or a strength playstyle through the Path of the Sweeper. Each playstyle was characterized by having a unique type of weapon associated with it - either a longsword, a rapier, or a greatsword - each scaling with its affiliated attribute. The various Moonstones we picked up throughout the world upgraded our weapons, and we also boosted our base stats through the Ergo essence that puppet enemies dropped as we killed them. It’s a standard Soulslike affair, but fans of Bloodborne should be seeing how Lies of P specs more into the Bloodborne branch of Soulslikes over anything else. This might be one of the game's greatest strengths.
It has been over eight years since Bloodborne launched on the PS4, and in that time, there really hasn’t been a game that could scratch the Bloodborne itch until now. While many game studios are developing great Soulslikes that are more derivative of Dark Souls and Sekiro, for some reason, almost no studios want to compete on Bloodborne’s level. Lies of P wants to be one of the first, and it seems to be doing an excellent job of it and with a wholly interesting concept to boot. The setting, atmosphere, and narrative are all pulling enough weight to make this a good alternative for those who may have missed out on the PS4 exclusive some years back, but it isn’t without some noticeable shortcomings that we hope get better as the game goes on.
Perhaps the least compelling part of the whole preview was the enemy variety. The concept of a Pinocchio video game where evil puppets are on a bloodthirsty rampage throughout the Belle Epoque city of Krat is novel, but it feels like it still has a while to go before this concept feels fully fleshed out. Our preview enemies were mostly night watchmen and train conductors–some large and some spindly–who never stood out much and didn’t pose a huge challenge aside from the occasional mini-boss. The two areas we played through almost started to blend together at times due to how similar everything looked as we progressed. Krat looks fantastic, but it needs a little variety.
Additionally, two of the three main bosses we encountered weren’t incredibly intriguing conceptually. They mostly looked like bigger versions of enemies we had already been fighting without any interesting story behind them. That’s not to say these bosses weren’t challenging. Lies of P’s bosses definitely gave us a run for our money at times, and it’s clear that this will be another game where players will have to master that classic combat dance that Soulslike fans have come to love. However, the game's biggest hurdle might just be turning these technically challenging foes into the larger-than-life horrors worthy of that challenge.
Based on the Lies of P demo, fans should be extremely excited for the full game later this year. Its premise, art style, and aesthetic all seem unique enough and strong enough to entice players to dive in and get absorbed in this grim retelling of a children’s classic. Meanwhile, its gameplay is trading blows with what many consider one of FromSoftware’s strongest games ever. The comparisons to Bloodborne will be inevitable, but in a time when it looks like that game might be locked to the PS4 forever, Lies of P may be the next best thing.
Lies of P launches September 19, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The Best War Games was provided a PC code for the purposes of this preview.