Lies Of P

After Baldur's Gate 3, it's hard to play another video game for several reasons - even when it's another genre. But I gotta tell you, Lies of P holds pretty well.

Its optimization is flawless, the game runs smoothly, and the story is surprisingly deep.

Some good things I noticed about this game: the graphics are solid, and when it is on in-game cutscenes... it's really beautiful. There's a "dynamic climate" around all areas, so... if you proceed to an area that's raining (plot-wise), all areas will rain too - it's really immersive and much cooler than it sounds. The OST is well-made, and the soundtrack was perfect.

And, gotta say, that's the best soulslike non-FromSoftware I've ever played. They got some elements they liked about Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Sekiro and made this own solid game. Combat feels good most of the time, most bosses are not memorable, but there are some that are definitely top tier, like Laxasia and Nameless Puppet.

There are also some things I didn't like, and to be honest, It's more about the actual souls formula than the game itself. The hitbox is pretty questionable sometimes and the upgrade system feels useless. I remember upgrading my weapons in Dark Souls 3 and feeling like a badass for some moments. Here, you feel like nothing changes. I also believe there is some "Elden Ring Syndrome" here, where the enemies were super aggressive, like in Sekiro, but you move like a "Dark Souls 1" Character. Parry feels good, indeed, but It's not rewarding like it should be. Here, parry it's just a defense mechanism. You still have to find an opening to attack to really fight the boss. Feels like 75% of the fight is just the enemies spamming attacks, while you manage to survive. After some time, you get the timing, and it feels way better, but I believe the player should be more active to call the boss fights a "proper fight" between two opponents. Unless you're ONGBAL - then the boss has to find openings to attack you.

One more thing: with time, Lies of P gets away from only being a soulslike clone. It proves itself as a much more authentic experience than you are expecting. To be honest, the thing that I was more impressed with was the plot. I love the ending and want a hard sequence.

Solid first impressions. Opening section was easy. Beat the boss third try and the walk through areas were easy peasy but it was the tutorial intro so I expect the difficulty to ramp up. But gameplay feels good, incredibly similar to fromsoftware. The closest mimic I’ve played before, at least based off the first impressions. That similarity is 90% a compliment. The vibes are super similar to bloodbourne as well but I’m really liking it. The whole puppets going nuts and slaughtering humans is an awesome twist to Pinocchio.

Main character is Timothy Chalemet in my mind. He looks so similar.

3 hours in and I’m liking it. It’s really solid.

8 hours in and I love this game. I’m still too soon to fully say this, but this is the best non-Fromsoftware souls like I’ve played. The atmosphere, environment, enemy design, weapons, and overal combat feel are really good. I love it. I also enjoy the different upgrades and customization. The quartz upgrades feel impactful. It’s a great game. I think 82 on open critic is too low. Maybe people knocked it a bit for being so blatantly a copy cat game, but it’s a great copy game.

11 hours in and it keeps getting better. There have been multiple weapons I’ve used and enjoyed. I’ve currently settled on the bone cutting saw which looks cool and is quite good. 

The clown boss fight was incredible. Both in terms of gameplay/challenge as well as the atmosphere of the burning hill and environment. It was awesome.

I’m back to using the extendo sword as well as the bone cutter. I like the bone cutter for some situations like big monsters but I forget the extendo sword for the “duels” as it’s a bit quicker and has better range for its stab. This game is great. I like my  character build.

I tested out the living puppet ax. It looks awesome but it’s sooo slow. I’m going back to my trusted bone cutter and extendo sword combo.

I’ve been flying through this game for awhile now. Having a blast but beating bosses in 1-4 tries and clearing zones often on first try. Then I got to door guardian. If he’s got hands.

I kept thinking I was about to fight the final boss like 4 times and then there another.

Nameless puppet also has hands. He was tough.

Beat it and loved it. Excellent game. From music, level design, enemy design, weapons design, character upgrades and the overall story, it was all really good. Im in for whatever these guys make next. Had a blast.

Final Score: A-