Lies of P Hands-On First Impressions
Jun. 8, 2023Lies of P Hands-On First Impressions
In this Lies of P Demo Impressions article, we will be checking out what Lies of P can bring to the table. The demo provided a hefty amount of content that sheds light on the game’s exploration, mechanics, combat, story, and overall presentation. Join me, especially for the fans of the genre as we dive into it together to determine if Lies of P is worth the wait as it will be released on major platforms.
Developed by:Neowiz, Round 8 Studio
Published by:Neowiz
Platform:PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via Steam
Story and Presentation
Starting with the story and overall presentation, the story sets in the city ofKratwhere puppets became rampant and their kind wreaked havoc and dealt a significant loss to the major population of Krat. Playing asPinocchio, you were ordered to findGeppettoby a mysterious voice and survive the perilous journey through the city of Krat.
Right from the start, players will be thrown into this world without any kind of understanding of the lore or any backstory that may explain the recent events in the City of Krat. Instead, the developers focused on an environmental storytelling approach that will soon be eerily familiar, especially for Soulsborne fans. As players progress, items like the local newspapers Known as “Krat Times Issues” can be found in different locations that contain lore bits and pieces, and as you get more of these, you get to piece the recent events and have at least have a brief understanding of what’s going on.
Lies of Pis another title that explored the Soulslike Genre and reused its staple designs to come up with something fresh. Bloodborne players will definitely find all of the elements of this game familiar. The city of Krat is a maze in general, except for the labyrinth-type layout especially when traversing the city. Checkpoints are laid out strategically across the area, and players can unlock shortcuts to quickly access the said checkpoints.
As you might have guessed, shortcuts are usually in the form of ladders and gates. WhileStargazerswhich I will explain more about that later, serve as teleporters so players can fast travel from checkpoint to checkpoint. I had a decent time exploring at least within the first parts of Krat, where I needed to traverse from building to building to find my way to progress. Getting lost in the city streets is a plus and made my time worthwhile as I get to admire the visual fidelity of this game despite the gruesome state of Krat.
Moving on to the Combat side of things, this is where Lies of P shines the most. Right off the bat, when you get toe to toe with your first set of Puppets, the enemies in this game, one can observe the DNA of theSoulslikegenre. Expect all the great things that this genre offers. From the intricately calculated move sets, backstabs, stagger mechanics, critical hits, attack animations, and more.
Allenemiespose a threat and have their own weaknesses that you will need to determine. NormalPuppetsare easier to deal with but their numbers will usually overwhelm you. One thing to mention is, Elite Puppets blend in with these groups which often provide the highest level of threat and these enemies have their own move sets for you will need to figure out. I will call them elites from now on.
When players kill one, they don’t re-spawn and drop favorable items. It is a fact that players can’t just breeze through the enemies like a madman, it will not work here and it should be pretty clear by now knowing this is a Soulslike game. Careful planning is the key. Pick enemies one at a time if possible and master your arsenal while outsmarting your enemies. I had fun mostly in these fights and popping enemies felt good and rewarding, making the gameplay loop interesting.
Combat is interesting enough, but why not add more features to make it more engaging? The Weapon Assemble feature will allow the player to play with theirWeaponcombinations such as changing theHandlesof your existing swords to different ones or changingBladesin general. By doing this, you can alter the stats of your weapon according to your needs.
I did have a decent time playing with weapon types and at the start of the demo, you will have the option to choose a Saber which is the balanced weapon among the three that has a moderate speed and damage. A Rapier is adept in attack speed and reach but deals lower damage compare to the others. While the Greatsword has the slowest attack speed but deals the highest damage on single hits. Knowing the weaknesses of these weapons and their behaviors is a must if you want to gain the upper hand in combat. You will die, a lot and that is to be expected.
Adding the icing on the cake for combat areFable Arts, which are a set of skills with special attack animations that you can unleash on your enemies. I find the usage of these skills satisfying which often leads to death blows.
When you die, your Ergo drops, meaning you need to find it again and pick it up if you don’t want to lose your Ergo. Ergo is your main currency in this game to buyItemsfromMerchantsand even use it to level up as well as increase your stats. Speaking to a certain NPC in the Hotel Krat is the primary way to level Pinocchio.
As the name implies, this is a feature worth noting. When a player reached Hotel Krat for the first time, Sophia, anNPCin the game will ask Pinnocio to lie in order for him to get through to the hotel. However, every timePinocchiotells a lie, there are repercussions, causing him to suffer internally. At this point, it is unclear what could be the negative effects that Pinocchio may suffer. There’s a possibility that your choices will likely impact the endings later on.
Pinocchio’s left arm is distinctive and functional. This Arsenal is known asLegion Arms. A prosthetic arm that can be almost anything and you see its potential as soon as you use one. Surely enough, players will have the chance to change their arms into devastating weapons. That could turn the tides of battle in the late game. The Puppet String is the one that I tried in the demo that servers as a grappling hook, hooking enemies and staggering them in a short period of time.Sekirofans will find this feature familiar as this arsenal behaves likeProsthetic Tools. I can’t wait to know what other Legion of Arms may offer down the line, as it is something to be excited about.
There’s a little bit of freedom to character progression on the other hand. We already knew that using Ergo will level up Pinocchio. Players can allot it to the stat they desire, shaping Pinocchio in a way they want to. It is not much but at least there’s a little bit of depth there. I decided to have a glass cannon build putting all of my stats majority to the “Motivity” stat, increasing my overall attack.
Stargazerson the other hand are your bonfires. In Lies of P, checkpoints that are scattered around the map. You are required to find and repair them to activate them. This is your way to fast travel from point to point. Helpful in case you want to jump to a specific area to explore later.
When players die, they will respawn at the last Stargazer that they activated. Other benefits that Stargazers provide are the machinery that will let Pinocchio change his Legion Arms, Assemble Weapons (Change Blades and Handles), Fast Travel, refill your Pulse Cells, and Legion.
One thing that I want to dive into is the Hotel Krat. This serves as your main hub in the game. Soulsborne fans are very well aware of how hubs work and it functions the same in Lies of P. As you progress through the story, you will likely meet NPCs and later on will reside in Hotel Krat. While players need to be careful whose NPCs they will send an invitation to, to stay in the said hotel, as it may result in repercussions.
These NPCs provide various rewards and often additional upgrades to the protagonists. Players can enjoy additional content when interacting with theseNPCsas each of their own has their interesting backstories. Hotel Krat is your haven, you level up here, and you do your upgrades here, so be sure to pay attention to its features.
Related to Hotel Krat, I want to briefly touch onside quests. As mentioned, it is likely that NPCs move into your main hub after completing their deeds. Like in other Soulsborne titles, NPCs are scattered across the map, and fulfilling the objectives serves the actual Side Quest in Lies of P. Since I had a little time interacting with side quests in the demo, these NPCs progress or move to different locations according to Pinnochio’s decisions, or when he reaches certain checkpoints in the game.
The last thing that I do want to talk about is bosses.Bossesare the meat of any Soulslike games. Lies of P did a decent job presenting their bosses. The Parade Master is the first boss in the demo and even though this boss offers basic movements, it is a fun opponent to beat. Bosses have phases as well after I deplete their HP to a certain threshold they will transform into stronger ones, which alters their combat behavior.
Mad Donkey is a humanoid boss which had three movesets for me to master. Some of these bosses felt repetitive. But I still had to mind my timing still and calculate my moves in order to succeed. Even though the bosses’ AI in general are little bit predictable it still provided a memorable experience.
Overall, I had a great time playing Lies of P even with the limited time that I had. After experiencing its combat, overall presentation, character progression, and exploration, its potential is up there. As an avid fan of Soulslikes, I can’t wait to see more of this game. Looking forward to its full release. A lot can change here as this is a work in progress. But across the board, this game is worthy to be on my list. I am obsessed withBloodborneand this game shares the same aesthetics so it’s a no-brainer.
That’s it for our first impressions of the Lies of P Demo, I hope you enjoyed the preview. What do think about Lies of P after seeing the demo? Are you excited about it, or you will pass on it? Share your thoughts in the comments and always thanks for watching.
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Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
