Info about Lies of P: Official game description: You are a puppet created by Geppetto who’s caught in a web of lies with unimaginable monsters and untrustworthy figures standing between you and the events that have befallen the world of Lies of P. You are awakened by a mysterious voice that guides you through the plagued city of Krat - a once lively place that has been poisoned by madness and bloodlust. In our soulslike, you must adapt yourself and your weapons to face untold horrors, untangle the unfathomable secrets of the city's elites and choose whether to confront predicaments with the truth or weave lies to overcome them on the journey to find yourself. **・ A DARKLY ELEGANT AND CRUEL WORLD** -------------------------------------- Unearth the secrets of the city of Krat – a place soaked in the style of the Belle Epoque era which once thrived due to its puppet industry and now sees its streets covered in blood. **・BATTLE WITH TWISTED INSTRUMENTS** ------------------------------------ Develop a unique combat style to counter vicious enemies and terrain by weaving together dynamic weapon combinations, utilizing the Legion Arms, and activating new abilities. **・WHAT’S IN A LIE?** --------------------- There will be times when you will be confronted with choices where you can give comfort to others in sorrow or despair by lying…or you can choose to tell the truth. Carve your own path. **・A CLASSIC REIMAGINED** ------------------------- Experience the beloved fairy tale of Pinocchio reinterpreted as a dark, grim narrative that allows players to discover the secrets and symbols hidden within the world of Lies of P. Release date: 18 Sep, 2023 Categories: Soulslike Combat, Real-time Combat, Exploration, Choice-based Narrative, Multiple Endings, Weapon Customization, Character Customization, Single-player - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Excellent level and enemy design (weight 0.84): The game features excellent and varied level and enemy design. Locations are fun to explore, and enemy placements are challenging but fair. Bosses are consistently well-designed, providing engaging and satisfying encounters that reward learning and adaptation. - Satisfying and adaptable combat (weight 0.83): The combat system is well-executed, offering a variety of options for different playstyles. The parrying mechanic is particularly rewarding, and the game provides tools and options to adapt to different challenges. Offensive and defensive play are both viable, creating thrilling and engaging boss fights. - Memorable and immersive soundtrack (weight 0.77): The game features a memorable and immersive soundtrack that complements the atmosphere and enhances boss fights. The music is particularly impactful during boss encounters, creating a more engaging experience. Vinyl records found during exploration fit the game's setting. - Meaningful quality-of-life improvements (weight 0.75): The game successfully integrates quality-of-life improvements that enhance the player experience. These include quest indicators, convenient Ergo recovery, and a weapon combination system. These features streamline gameplay and make it more enjoyable compared to other Souls-like titles. - Polished and refined Soulslike formula (weight 0.74): The game refines the Soulslike formula, drawing inspiration from FromSoftware titles while adding its own unique mechanics. It successfully blends elements from Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Dark Souls, creating a polished and engaging experience that feels both familiar and fresh. - Engaging and direct storytelling (weight 0.7): The game features a more direct and engaging story compared to typical Soulslike games. Character motivations and relationships are clearer, and the narrative is presented in a straightforward manner. This makes the story easier to follow and more emotionally resonant. - Compelling story and characters (weight 0.56): The game features a compelling and emotional story with memorable characters. The narrative is easy to understand without excessive lore reading, and player choices have meaningful impacts on the plot. The world-building is excellent, creating an intriguing and engaging setting. - Stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere (weight 0.4): The game boasts a visually stunning and immersive world with a strong atmosphere. The setting, music, and sound design all contribute to a pleasurable experience. The graphics are top-notch, and the environments are detailed and varied. - Unique Pinocchio story reinterpretation (weight 0.21): The game offers a unique and captivating twist on the classic Pinocchio story. The darker narrative explores themes of humanity, morality, and identity. The 'Lie/Truth' system influences endings and quests, adding depth to the role-playing experience. - Unique and customizable weapon system (weight 0.21): The game features a unique and customizable weapon system. Players can mix and match blades and handles to alter weapon functionality and create unique movesets. This system encourages experimentation and allows for diverse builds and playstyles. - Balanced and well-optimized gameplay (weight 0.17): The game is well-optimized and provides a balanced challenge. The gameplay is smooth and enjoyable, and the difficulty is decent without being overly frustrating. The game is also beginner-friendly and offers a lot mechanically to engage with. - Meaningful choices and multiple endings (weight 0.17): The game features multiple story endings that are affected by player choices. The moral choice mechanic (lying vs. truth) is well-implemented, and the game explores themes of lies, free will, and humanity. New Game Plus recontextualizes the story, revealing new information. - Rewarding and impactful parry mechanic (weight 0.16): The perfect block mechanic is difficult but satisfying, negating damage and staggering enemies. Parrying is central to the combat system and is generously rewarded. Mastering the perfect guard mechanic provides a feeling of being an unstoppable killing machine. - Excellent Souls-like with unique identity (weight 0.15): The game successfully emulates the Souls-like genre, drawing inspiration from Bloodborne and other FromSoftware titles. It combines familiar elements with its own unique ideas, creating a polished and enjoyable gameplay experience. The game is often described as "Bloodborne combined with Sekiro". - Immersive steampunk atmosphere in Krat (weight 0.14): The game features a well-executed steampunk atmosphere in the city of Krat. The visuals are stunning, blending Victorian architecture with steampunk elements. The city feels both alive and dead, with realistic depictions of poverty and luxury. - Consistent dark and immersive atmosphere (weight 0.08): The game has a consistent dark and sombre vibe throughout. The level design is inspired by Gothic, Victorian, and Steampunk aesthetics, encouraging exploration and creating unsettling encounters. The dark puppet apocalypse setting is visually incredible, with moody and imaginative levels. - Rewarding exploration and clear direction (weight 0.08): The game encourages exploration, rewarding players with items and collectibles. The linear structure prevents players from getting lost, and the maps offer rewarding exploration with hidden elements to discover. The game also provides clear direction and incentives for New Game+. - Challenging and rewarding boss fights (weight 0.07): Boss encounters encourage experimentation to find suitable strategies and vulnerabilities. Bosses are visually unique and epic, and most can be beaten within a reasonable number of attempts. Defeating bosses feels rewarding, and each boss is unique with their own particularities. - Useful and versatile Legion Arm (weight 0.07): The Legion Arm is a useful tool in both boss fights and against regular enemies. The variety of ways to combine weapons and Legion Arms to tackle the game was enjoyable. The Legion Arm adds a special charm to the combat, offering varied abilities that enrich the gameplay. Common complaints: - Uneven, artificial difficulty spikes (weight 0.95): Many reviewers found the game's difficulty to be uneven, with difficulty spikes at certain bosses and in later areas. Enemies often have delayed attacks, long combos, and high health, leading to frustrating encounters. Some bosses are considered unfair due to unpredictable attack patterns and limited opportunities for healing or weapon repair. - Localization, control issues (weight 0.09): The game suffers from localization issues, including unclear descriptions and inconsistent terminology. Some reviewers also reported awkward PC controls and a lack of customization options. These technical issues detract from the overall player experience. - General frustration, unenjoyable experience (weight 0.09): Some reviewers expressed general frustration with the game's difficulty and design choices. Some felt the game was intentionally malicious and designed to make things difficult for the player. Others simply found the game unenjoyable and regretted their purchase. - Poorly designed boss encounters (weight 0.05): Some boss fights, particularly the Black Rabbit Brotherhood, are criticized for poor design and unfair mechanics. These fights often involve multiple enemies with different elemental attacks, making it difficult to manage. The chaotic camera angles and limited player abilities contribute to the frustration. - Underwhelming Legion Arm system (weight 0.04): The Legion Arm system is considered underwhelming and underutilized. Many reviewers found the arms to be clunky, ineffective, or lacking in variety. The limited amount of Legion limits its usefulness, especially for players who rely on parrying and counterattacking. - Limited truth/lie choice impact (weight 0.04): The truth/lie choices feel limited and lack meaningful consequences. The story is unengaging, possibly due to a general dislike of the game. The humanity system in NPC quests requires players to lie to gain humanity, even when telling the truth seems more human. - Poor stamina, status effects (weight 0.04): Stamina recovery feels slow, exacerbated by the 'Shock' status effect. The protagonist's stamina is insufficient, leading to constant exhaustion during combat, dodging, and running, hindering the ability to focus on boss design. Status effects instantly kill you upon full activation, which is an unfun mechanic. - Perfect Guard system is flawed (weight 0.04): The Perfect Guard system feels half-baked, missing the opportunity to be a strong complement to other defensive options. The game lacks incentives to spend Fable stock, relying heavily on the Perfect Guard system instead. The perfect guard system is high risk, low reward, offering little stagger damage and requiring a charged heavy attack to activate. Gameplay feedback: - Souls-like combat with Sekiro parry (weight 0.49): The combat system blends elements from various Soulslike games, most notably Sekiro's parrying and posture breaking, Bloodborne's rally mechanic, and Dark Souls' dodging. Perfect parrying is emphasized, with successful parries breaking enemy poise and opening them up for critical attacks. However, the timing for perfect parries can be strict, and the effectiveness of dodging versus parrying varies depending on the enemy. - Linear, interconnected level design (weight 0.31): The game features a linear level design reminiscent of classic Souls games, with interconnected areas, shortcuts, and secrets to discover. While exploration is encouraged, the overall structure is more straightforward than open-world Soulslikes like Elden Ring. Some reviewers found the level design uninspired, while others appreciated the focus on combat and streamlined progression. - Unique weapon assembly system (weight 0.23): The weapon system allows players to combine different blades and handles to create customized weapons with unique movesets, scaling, and abilities. Handles determine the moveset and stat scaling, while blades determine damage type and special abilities. Boss weapons cannot be customized but have unique properties. - Story with lying mechanic (weight 0.1): The game's story is based on Pinocchio and incorporates a lying mechanic that affects the narrative and leads to multiple endings. The player's choices to lie or tell the truth influence the main character's development and their path to "humanity." - Deep character customization via P-Organ (weight 0.1): The game features a deep character customization through the P-Organ skill tree, allowing players to unlock abilities and perks that significantly affect their build. The P-Organ system allows for different build specializations, enhancing critical hits, defense, or item effectiveness. The game also allows players to respec their stats relatively freely. - Customizable Legion Arm for utility (weight 0.08): The Legion Arm is a prosthetic arm that can be customized with different abilities, such as a grappling hook, flamethrower, or shield. It adds tactical depth to combat and provides additional options for both offense and defense. However, some reviewers found certain Legion Arms to be less useful than others, especially in the later stages of the game. - Stagger system enables critical attacks (weight 0.06): Enemies have a posture system that can be broken by parrying or heavy attacks, allowing for critical attacks. Perfect parries are particularly effective at breaking enemy posture and can even break enemy weapons. The game rewards aggressive play by incentivizing players to interrupt enemy attacks with charged heavy attacks to trigger staggers. - Fable Arts are special attacks (weight 0.03): Fable Arts are special attacks tied to the weapon's blade and handle, requiring a filled bar to execute. Each handle and weapon has its own Fable Art, which is used by spending a Fable bar that refills as you attack and defend. Fable Arts provide buffs, fast combos, or powerful attacks that can break enemy poise. - Challenging New Game+ mode (weight 0.03): New Game+ offers increased difficulty and new content, encouraging multiple playthroughs. The difficulty depends on the player's pattern recognition ability, with some bosses being significantly harder than others. The core gameplay loop involves repeated defeats, overcoming difficult bosses, and progressing through perseverance. - Enemies have elemental weaknesses (weight 0.02): The game features distinct enemy types with specific weaknesses and resistances to different weapon types and elemental damage. Puppets are weak to blunt weapons and electric damage, the infected are weak to slashing weapons and fire, and humans are weak to poison weapons. This encourages players to experiment with different weapon types and elemental infusions to exploit enemy vulnerabilities. - Exploration is well-rewarded (weight 0.02): The game rewards exploration with good loot and gradually introduces harder elements, preventing the player from feeling overwhelmed. Exploration yields costumes, weapons, tools, and items that can aid playstyle. The game includes subtle reminders and hints for item usage and teleport hub icons to guide players. Performance notes: - Excellent, smooth performance and optimization (weight 0.22): The game is generally well-optimized, delivering smooth performance and high frame rates on a variety of PC configurations, including mid-range and older systems. Many reviewers reported no significant bugs, crashes, or performance issues, even at high settings and resolutions. Some reviewers specifically praised the game's optimization compared to other recent releases. - Impressive graphics and sound design (weight 0.03): Many reviewers praised the game's graphics, art style, and sound design, highlighting the detailed environments, character animations, and atmospheric music. The visuals are often described as impressive and fitting for the game's gothic setting. The sound design and music complement the atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. - Good Steam Deck compatibility (weight 0.02): The game is generally compatible with the Steam Deck, offering good performance on the handheld device. However, some reviewers noted that the text size may be too small and that the battery drains quickly without adjusting settings. Some users reported crashes even on the lowest settings. - Precise and responsive combat (weight 0.01): The combat system is precise and responsive, with no input delay. A wired controller connection is recommended for the best experience due to the precise parry windows. - Uncapped FPS, reduced input lag (weight 0.01): The game features uncapped FPS and reduced input lag compared to FromSoftware titles, resulting in a smoother and more responsive experience. - Blurry textures in some areas (weight 0.01): Metal upscaling blurs textures and reduces image sharpness. Some environmental textures, such as mountains and walls, appear blurry. - Long shader compilation time (weight 0): The game has a long shader compilation process on startup, which can take around two minutes to load. - "Skidding" effect when encumbered (weight 0): When encumbered, the running animation speed remains constant while the character moves slower, creating a "skidding" effect. - Boss fight T-pose glitch (weight 0): During the second phase of the 'Безымянная марионетка' boss fight, the character model glitches into a T-pose after being impaled and thrown. Recommendations: - Excellent soulslike, stands out (weight 0.61): Reviewers frequently compare the game to FromSoftware's titles, with many considering it the best non-FromSoftware soulslike. Some recommend it as a good entry point to the genre, while others suggest it's better suited for experienced players. Some reviewers also mention that the game combines elements from Bloodborne and Sekiro. - Strongly recommended overall (weight 0.46): Many reviewers highly recommend the game, praising its engaging gameplay, compelling story, and high level of polish. Some consider it a masterpiece, a GOTY contender, and a must-buy, even at full price. Reviewers also commend the game's art direction, soundtrack, and sound design. - Enjoyable despite some flaws (weight 0.21): While reviewers generally recommend the game, some acknowledge its flaws and express mixed feelings. Some reviewers intend to replay the game to experience different endings or try different weapons, while others are hesitant due to frustrating aspects, particularly in the late game. - Overrated, frustrating, unpolished experience (weight 0.1): Some reviewers express strong negative opinions, calling the game overrated, frustrating, and poorly designed. They cite issues such as artificial difficulty, non-functional mechanics, and a lack of polish as reasons for their dissatisfaction. - Anticipation for future content (weight 0.05): Many reviewers express excitement for the upcoming DLC and potential sequels, indicating a strong desire for more content in the game's universe. They are eager to see how the developers will expand upon the existing story and gameplay. - Lacks originality, needs improvement (weight 0.03): Some reviewers feel that the game doesn't fully realize its potential, lacking originality and failing to step out of the shadow of its inspirations. They hope that future projects from the developer will be more innovative and less reliant on copying from other games. - Difficulty varies, assist options exist (weight 0.03): The game's difficulty is a point of discussion, with some reviewers noting that it is player-friendly and offers 'crutches' for those who struggle, while others find it extremely difficult even with summoning. Some recommend playing with phantoms or using throwable items to make the game easier. - Consider buying on sale (weight 0.02): Some reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing the game, indicating that the full price may not be justified. However, some reviewers also state that the game is worth the full price, especially for fans of the genre. - Unique Pinocchio story adaptation (weight 0.02): Reviewers appreciate the game's unique and dark twist on the classic Pinocchio story. The 'lie' mechanic, where choices affect Pinocchio's humanity, is also highlighted as a cool and interesting feature. - Compared unfavorably to Elden Ring (weight 0.01): Some reviewers compare the game unfavorably to Elden Ring and other FromSoftware titles, criticizing it as an uninspired combination of elements that doesn't work well. However, others highly recommend it for fans of challenging games and FromSoftware works due to its creative Pinocchio story, deep combat system, and impressive world. - Praise for developer Neowiz (weight 0.01): Reviewers express positive sentiment towards the developer, Neowiz, congratulating them on their first RPG and hoping they continue to release quality games. The game exceeded expectations, especially considering it's Neowiz's first RPG. - High numerical scores given (weight 0.01): Some reviewers provide numerical scores, with the game receiving ratings such as 9/10 and 10/10. - Persevere, adapt, be patient (weight 0.01): Reviewers suggest that newcomers should persevere and adapt to the game's challenges, taking their time to learn the mechanics and find their own play style. The game teaches players to accept losses, be patient, and persevere. - Gameplay tips: weapon choice, parrying (weight 0.01): Reviewers offer specific gameplay tips, such as avoiding ultra greatswords on the first playthrough and recommending medium-sized weapons for an easier experience. One reviewer recommends playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice first to prepare for the parry-focused combat. - Differing opinions, GOTY contender (weight 0.01): Some reviewers consider the game their personal game of the year 2023, while others state that it is hardly anything like Bloodborne. Other player notes: - Dark Pinocchio reimagining (weight 0.1): The game reimagines Pinocchio's story in a dark, steampunk setting, focusing on themes of lies, humanity, and the search for Geppetto. It incorporates familiar characters and plot elements while adding original twists and exploring the consequences of Pinocchio's choices. - Accessible, coherent narrative (weight 0.08): The game features a more accessible and coherent narrative compared to typical Souls-like games, delivered through cutscenes, dialogues, notes, and environmental storytelling. While easier to follow, it still maintains some mystery and hidden lore, with choices impacting the story's progression. - Unique steampunk setting (weight 0.07): The game is set in Krat, a visually striking city with a unique blend of steampunk, Victorian, and Belle Époque aesthetics. This setting creates a dark, gothic atmosphere filled with advanced technology and a sense of mystery and decay. - Inspired by Soulsborne genre (weight 0.05): The game draws heavy inspiration from the Soulsborne genre, particularly Bloodborne and Sekiro, with similar level design, combat mechanics, and aesthetic elements. However, it also introduces its own innovations and is considered one of the most successful Soulslike games outside of FromSoftware's titles. - Sequel/DLC teased (weight 0.04): The game's ending and post-credits scene hint at potential sequels or DLC, possibly exploring a 'Wizard of Oz' theme. Reviewers express excitement for future content and the developer's future projects. - Translation/voice acting issues (weight 0.03): Some reviewers found the English translation and voice acting to be lacking, detracting from the story's impact. Others felt the story and characters were generic or forgettable. - New Game+ replayability (weight 0.02): The game features a New Game+ mode with exclusive items and multiple endings, incentivizing replayability. However, some items can be missed if NPC interactions are not done correctly, requiring attention across multiple playthroughs. - Puppet frenzy and petrification (weight 0.02): The story revolves around a puppet named P, brought to life by Ergo, who must uncover the cause of a puppet frenzy and a petrification disease plaguing the city. The narrative explores themes of lies, humanity, and the nature of free will. - Collectible music records (weight 0.01): The game features collectible music records that can be found throughout the world and played in the hub area. These records are often rewards for completing NPC quests and add to the game's atmosphere. - Weapon combination system (weight 0.01): The game features a weapon crafting system where blades and handles can be mixed and matched to create unique weapons. This system allows for customization and experimentation with different weapon combinations. - Model viewing feature (weight 0.01): The game includes model viewing for NPCs, bosses, and enemies after completing the first playthrough. Bosses speak with distorted voices and blurred subtitles, which become clearer in subsequent playthroughs. - Average game length (weight 0.01): The game's length is considered average by reviewers. - Hardware/software settings (weight 0): This cluster contains specific hardware and software settings used by a reviewer, which is not relevant to the game's features or gameplay. - Personal purchasing decisions (weight 0): This cluster contains information about the reviewer's personal purchasing decisions and pre-release experiences, which is not relevant to the game's features or gameplay. - Personal opinions about reception (weight 0): This cluster contains the reviewer's personal opinions about the game's reception, which is not relevant to the game's features or gameplay. - References to other works (weight 0): This cluster contains references to other works, such as Batman, which are not relevant to the game's features or gameplay. - Personal character preferences (weight 0): This cluster contains the reviewer's personal preferences for characters, which is not relevant to the game's features or gameplay. - General statements about themes (weight 0): This cluster contains general statements about the game's themes, which are not specific or actionable. Emotions: No emotions}