Lies of P

pinokyo

Lies of P is the first 3d soulslike that i have ever played, which is a huge shame, because it ruined all other soulslikes for me. This game is incredible, and of a quality that put even some Fromsoftware games to shame. And if you surpass your inspiration, then you know you did a fantastic job. It is incredibly polished, the combat is fun and challenging, the game runs as smooth as butter, even on my outdated hardware, the characters are actually interesting, and most of the bosses are incredibly well made. This game plays like a mix between Bloodborne and Sekiro. You have very Bloodborne-esque visuals and locations, the eldritch shenanigans, the rally system that encourages aggression, and a relatively "small" amount of weapons (at least compared to games like Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring, there's still plenty of weapons) that all have their unique play style. On the other hand you have Sekiro's parry system, secondary weapons reminiscent of Sekiro's prosthetic tools, and a skill tree, all of which add more depth and variation to the gameplay, and help you find a style suitable for you. This game is also incredibly challenging, harder than all Fromsoftware titles, at least if you include the DLC, which features the hardest boss i have ever fought in a video game. And i played a lot of video games. I can still hear "A human is only truly honest when their life is on the line" in my nightmares at times. But the difficulty rarely felt frustrating or ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Sure, sometimes you had Fromsoftware-esque ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, like enemies hidden behind corners, enemies, areas and bosses with annoying status effects, or your weapon hitting a wall when you try to hit an enemy in a narrow corridor. And while these things are annoying, most of this game is incredible, and was an absolute joy to experience. Struggling at the bosses gave me this feeling i had when i first played Dark Souls 3, where i struggled on a boss for a long time, just to finally beat them and get that immense feeling of satisfaction. Lies of P also features several QoL features that are, to this day, missing from Fromsoftware titles. Those being a boss rush, quest tracking, an easy way to see if you have enough currency for a level up, being able to use currency bundles while doing level ups, et cetera et cetara. A lot of small things that work together to make the game feel more well rounded. My main gripe would probably be the boss quality kinda dipping for the final few areas (except for two specific bosses), and the final dungeon being way too long and dull. I played through this game a lot, and that final dungeon was never not a drag. The enemy variety, at least in the main game, is also relatively small, unfortunately. You will see the same seven enemies very, very often throughout the game. Lies of P is great, and i can absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes the souls games. 8.5/10