Lies of P [Review]
Like many of our favorite childhood stories, Pinocchio’s original tale is much darker than the Disney cartoon lets on, such as the detail that the newly-crafted puppet almost immediately begins abusing Geppetto, his creator/father. The moment he has legs he runs away, falls into the wrong crowd, kills Jiminy Cricket, and eventually is hung for robbery.
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Crazy, right?
The ending was so stark that fans asked Carlo Collodi to bring the puppet back and continue his adventures, which he did; ultimately leading to the feel-good ending fans are familiar with today: Pinocchio finding the right path and being turned into a real boy by the magical blue fairy.
Sounds like just the kind of game to be transformed into a soulslike action title, right?
Absolutely.
In the world of Lies of P, you play as Pinocchio - a very special puppet in a world where the other puppets have gone mad. Turning on their masters, the puppets seemingly dismantled the Grand Covenant, which is nearly identical to Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics, except with a notable addition: puppets can’t lie. This rule appears to remain iron-clad, as your ability to lie sets you apart.
That, and the fact that the great architect and creator of all puppets, Geppetto, considers you his son. His masterwork. And so you bear the sins of your father to make things right in the city of Krat.
Along the way, you’ll be faced with decisions to lie or not - a narrative tool that allows for numerous endings depending on when you lie, and for what purpose. It’s an ingenious integration of the core trait of Pinocchio without venturing into the absurdity of a growing nose mid-boss fight.
Lies of P made a splash earlier this summer with the arrival of its impressive demo, grabbing the attention of many soulslike fans who have been looking to scratch that itch since Elden Ring faded out of the mainstream gaming discourse and now resides in the lands between.
With a haunting aesthetic and focus on aggressive combat, Lies of P harkens back to Bloodborne - arguably the best soulslike game ever made. So it’s no surprise that I was immediately hooked.
One of the first things you’ll notice about Pinocchio is his formidable looking left arm, known as Legion. In combat, this specialized left arm that can be swapped out to perform a variety of specialized attacks. Want to pull an opponent closer to you? Equip the Puppet String. Looking to overcharge enemy puppets with electricity? The Fulminis will do the trick! Maybe you just want to pack a wallop in combat - well, the standard issue Left Arm of Steel has got you covered.
The variety will keep things fresh with your off-hand attack, but it does utilize its own specialized resource, so strategic use is key.
When it comes to your main hand weapon, Pinocchio can adopt one of three distinct styles at the beginning of the game:
Path of the Bastard - specializing in swift weapons with lower damage
Path of the Sweeper - with a focus on slower weapons with higher damage
Path of the Cricket - a combination of the two in a more “balanced” approach
I decided to take the middling path with Path of the Cricket, and it has served me well so far…but as far as I’ve seen there’s not necessarily a “wrong” answer. You can choose the path that best fits your playstyle.
The progression model should sound very familiar: as you kill enemies, you are awarded with Ergo. This is the magical essence that powers puppets, and will allow you to increase your level across a number of core stats: vitality, vigor, capacity, motivity, technique and advance. If your playstyle is leaning more towards strength, motivity is the stat you want to focus on. Looking for speed? Technique is where it’s at.
Speaking of playstyle, another notable influence on this game is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - particularly when it comes to its guard/parry focused combat. When you guard against an attack, you take reduced damage, and a portion of that reduced damage can be recovered by quickly landing hits against the enemy. When your guard is perfectly timed (a Perfect Guard), no health is consumed.
You’ll notice that bosses are aggressive in their pursuit, and dodge-rolling away is typically not going to be as effective as squaring up with the boss to guard and learn the timing of their attacks. This was a bit of a learning curve for me on the early bosses, so I would impart that nugget of wisdom to you now.
One unique element of progression is the P-Organ.
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Do not ask me why it is called this.
In any case, the P-organ allows you to submit Quartz for permanent upgrades and moveset additions, such as a link-dodge (which allows you to dodge mid-dodge). As you acquire these enhancements, a secondary buff is also applied, granting you additional guard regain, attack bonuses, and more.
In terms of weaponry, this is another area that borrows from the Bloodborne playbook, as you can assemble varying weapons by combining different hilts and blades. As you progress your character, gaining levels in motivity (strength) or technique (dexterity) can enhance weapons differently, so by changing out a weapon’s hilt you can alter its core stat to one more in line with whatever you are focusing on.
Both hilts and blades also have the ability to execute Fable Arts - the blade in the form of a powerful attack, and the hilt in the form of a buff. They can also be enhanced by finding moonstones throughout the game. Of course, as the weapon evolves, the materials needed to further enhance it grow harder to find.
In short, you have a wide array of weaponry, gadgets and skills to wage war against the frenzied puppets of Krat. Good thing too, because they can get nasty.
In the world of soulslike games, FromSoftware is obviously king. They’ve set the bar, creating an entire genre, and in many cases studios aren’t able to capture the full experience that FromSoftware often delivers…like being okay with Pepsi when there’s no Coke available.
The highest praise I can give Lies of P is that it feels like a FromSoftware game through and through. From the environments to the stellar soundtrack, tight gameplay and rich variation in playstyles, Lies of P provides a soulslike experience that satisfies in ways few games can.
Even better, you can get this on PC or Xbox Game pass - right alongside Starfield.
So drop the $10 and dive into this game today!
