Info about Lies of P: Overture:

Official game description:
**Cross the Bounds of Time**
Lies of P: Overture is a dramatic prequel to the acclaimed soulslike action RPG, Lies of P. It transports you to the city of Krat in its final days of haunting, late-19th-century Belle Époque beauty. On the brink of the Puppet Frenzy massacre, you follow a legendary Stalker—a mysterious guide—through untold stories and chilling secrets. As Geppetto’s deadly puppet, you’ll journey through Krat and its surroundings, uncover hidden backstories, and face epic battles that shape the past and future of Lies of P.
**“Geppetto’s puppet… We need your help.”**
**Return to the City of Krat.**
**Discover Its Unexplored Horror and Splendor.**
Venture into a past Krat when its Belle Époque elegance faces impending ruin. Explore majestic, never-before-seen locations, from extravagant landmarks on its outskirts to opulent mansions and eerie, haunted ruins.
Confront formidable new enemies and uncover secrets hidden within the city’s decaying grandeur.
**Travel Back in Time.**
**Meet the Legendary Stalker.**
Before the awakening lies the truth. Join Lea, the Legendary Stalker, on her relentless path of vengeance. A veil is lifted to reveal a hidden chapter of Krat's dark past.
Discover untold stories behind both new and familiar characters as you explore the gripping drama and mysteries that shape this rich and haunting world.
**Forge New Weapons.**
**Master New Combat Styles.**
Cunning enemies lurk within unfamiliar labyrinths and treacherous terrain, waiting to end your story. Ruthless, punishing, and even majestic, these adversaries will test your mettle. Only the most resourceful, doughty, and daring will prevail.
As you delve deeper into its expanded world you'll unlock powerful new armaments, including a brand-new arsenal of weapon combinations and Legion Arms, giving you unprecedented freedom to forge a combat style uniquely yours.
**Overcome Treacherous Odds.**
Face intense, high-stakes encounters through Krat’s labyrinths and various surroundings.
Confront powerful new bosses and enemies as you fight to uncover the mysteries of a world teetering on the edge of collapse.

Release date: Jun 6, 2025

Categories: Soulslike Combat, Action RPG, Dark Fantasy, Boss Fights, Parrying, Exploration, Single-player Story

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 10; verdict: Fair / Traditional Paid DLC; summary: The reviews discuss a paid DLC expansion with substantial lore, challenging bosses, and post-update technical problems. The only monetization-related feedback concerns DLC pricing relative to the base game. There is no evidence of in-game purchases, gacha, loot boxes, currency obfuscation, battle passes, paid convenience, or pay-to-win mechanics. Under the rubric, traditional DLC pricing complaints do not count as predatory monetization, so the score remains in the fair range.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: For the Windows 12-15GB VRAM cohort, the available performance reports are positive, with no technical issues described. The one negative snippet addresses gameplay rather than performance or stability.
  - Sample size: 94 (8% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is heavily weighted toward Windows PCs with 10GB+ VRAM.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (positive, 34 reports): The available performance feedback reports no issues with bugs or performance, and the negative comment focuses on gameplay rather than technical problems.
  - Caveats: 94 of 1233 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is heavily weighted toward Windows PCs with 10GB+ VRAM.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $50.00 - $60.00
  - Reasoning: The community consistently praises the base game as a complete, high-quality experience ('10/10 Worth every cent') and notes it offers roughly double the playtime of the DLC (40 hours vs 20). The DLC is described as half a game and still considered worth its full price by many, which implies the base game's fair full price should be at the premium end of the AA/AAA range. Therefore, the community fair base-game price range is approximately $50-$60.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 18.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 5.5h
  - Reasoning: The Italian reviews give total DLC length/content estimates of 15-20 hours and 18-20 hours, supporting a gameCompletion value of about 18 hours. For endgame, one reviewer reports spending 6 hours on the final boss Arlecchino, while another reports the final boss taking 5 hours, so averaging these supports an endgame estimate of about 5.5 hours. No review clearly separates a story-only completion time from total DLC completion, and no review provides a reliable typical session length, so storyCompletion and sessionLength are left null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Early hours are widely described as hard, frustrating, and slowed by caves and reused enemies, but several players say the DLC becomes excellent once they get past the initial difficulty curve and one particularly bad boss fight.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Getting past the single bad boss fight
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: First few hours are very hard and frustrating; Initial difficulty curve of learning boss patterns; Boring caves and cliffside areas; Reused enemy types and boring enemy designs; Stun-locking group gank enemies
  - Unlock drivers: Getting past the initial boss-pattern learning curve; Getting past the single bad boss fight; Distinct identities of DLC areas
  - Conditions: Playing the DLC on NG+ first; Tolerance for increased challenge; Ability to learn boss patterns; Patience through the first few hours; Tolerance for caves and reused enemies; Whether the final boss's NPC dependency bothers you; Use of the difficulty slider; Whether early-game issues are cut down
- Player Archetypes:
  - Soulslike Veteran Challenge Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastering brutally hard, well-balanced boss fights and re-experiencing the soulslike sense of achievement
    - Playstyle: Solo boss attempts with heavy parry timing, pattern learning, and repeated playthroughs
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Souls veteran
    - Reference games: Sekiro; Bloodborne; Dark Souls 3; Elden Ring
  - Story and Lore Devotee (buy)
    - Motivation: Continuing the base game's story and uncovering the lore and characters behind Krat's origins
    - Playstyle: Exploration- and narrative-driven, soaking in atmosphere, locations, and callbacks rather than chasing difficulty
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: fan of Lies of P
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Accessibility-Minded Newcomer (buy)
    - Motivation: Experiencing the game's world and story without being blocked by a punishing difficulty barrier
    - Playstyle: Uses the added difficulty settings and may lean on NPC or coop help instead of pure solo challenge
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: newcomer
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Parry-Skeptic Value Critic (sale)
    - Motivation: Preserving flexible, methodical combat and getting fair value instead of being forced into parry-only mastery
    - Playstyle: Cautious and methodical, favoring builds, tools, and problem solving over pure reflex-based parry timing
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Souls player
    - Reference games: N/A


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:
- DLC surpasses base game (weight 0.83): Many reviewers consider the DLC superior to the base game in multiple aspects, including challenge, story, and map design. It is often described as the definitive way to experience the game.
- Exceptional overall quality (weight 0.64): The DLC is frequently praised as one of the best ever played, with sensational, phenomenal, and brilliant quality. It is a must-play for fans of the base game.
- Challenging and fun bosses (weight 0.5): Boss fights, especially the final boss, are highlighted as excellent, challenging, and satisfying. They provide a real test of skill and are memorable highlights.
- Engaging and emotional story (weight 0.43): The DLC's story is often described as interesting, touching, and emotional, with many finding it even better than the base game's narrative. It effectively expands the lore and resolves loose threads.
- New weapons are fun (weight 0.38): The addition of new weapons is highly appreciated, with many noting they are cool, unique, and fun to use. This adds significant variety and excitement to combat.
- Great value for money (weight 0.32): Reviewers widely agree that the DLC is worth the price, offering substantial content and high-quality experience. Many state it is worth every penny, even at full price.
- Expansion enriches base game (weight 0.26): The DLC is seen as a fantastic expansion that complements and enhances the base game, often elevating it to new heights. It is a perfect addition that adds significant value.
- Superb music and atmosphere (weight 0.16): The music is consistently praised as awesome, wonderful, and perfect, greatly enhancing the atmosphere. It remains a strong point of the experience.

Common complaints:
- DLC Difficulty Widely Criticized (weight 0.18): Many players report the DLC is excessively difficult, featuring artificial difficulty and unfair scaling compared to the base game. The challenge often feels forced rather than well-designed, frustrating a large portion of the player base.
- Boss Quality Considered Poor (weight 0.18): A significant number of reviewers find the bosses lackluster, with mediocre design, unremarkable mechanics, and sometimes outright bad encounters. This detracts from the overall experience and is a common complaint.
- DLC Too Short and Mediocre (weight 0.13): Many players feel the DLC is too short and mediocre, especially when compared to the base game. It is often not recommended on its own due to lack of substantial content.
- Overpriced for Content (weight 0.12): The DLC is widely considered overpriced, with players feeling it offers insufficient content for the cost. Some even label it a cash grab, especially at full price.
- Enemies Overly Tanky and Damaging (weight 0.12): Enemies and bosses are criticized for having excessive health pools and dealing extremely high damage, making combat feel unfair and tedious. This contributes to the perception of artificial difficulty.
- Camera Issues During Boss Fights (weight 0.07): Camera problems frequently occur during boss encounters, becoming janky and hindering gameplay. This technical flaw exacerbates the frustration with already difficult fights.
- Tedious and Unfair Boss Fights (weight 0.06): Several bosses are described as tedious, annoying, and unfair, particularly near the end of the DLC. This adds to the overall negative reception of the boss encounters.
- Lazy Difficulty Scaling and Boring Enemies (weight 0.06): The DLC is criticized for relying on maxing out numbers and adding boring enemies that can kill the player in two hits. This approach feels lazy and fails to create engaging gameplay.

Gameplay feedback:
- New Weapons and Bosses (weight 0.63): The DLC introduces a variety of new weapons with unique movesets, inspired by base game bosses, alongside new boss fights. This is a core content addition frequently praised by players.
- Expansive Story and World (weight 0.37): The DLC expands the base game's narrative, lore, and world with new areas, equipment, and characters. It continues and complements the main story, resolving teases and adding substantial content.
- Final Boss and Multiple Phases (weight 0.37): The DLC features a final boss with multiple phases and combos, serving as a climactic challenge. It has extensive buildup and is a highlight for many players.
- Soulslike Action RPG (weight 0.3): The DLC is for a soulslike action RPG, featuring parry mechanics, enemy attack patterns, and boss fights. It retains the core genre elements loved by fans.
- Increased Difficulty and Challenging Bosses (weight 0.29): The DLC is significantly harder than the base game, with bosses that are hyper-aggressive, require learning mechanics, and can cause frustration. The final boss is especially tough but fair and polished.
- Difficulty Settings and NG+ Support (weight 0.23): The game offers multiple difficulty options and supports New Game+ and NG+2, with increased challenge. This provides flexibility and replayability for different player preferences.
- Boss Fights with Parry Mechanics (weight 0.2): Boss encounters emphasize parry timing mechanics, adding skill-based combat. Players appreciate the tense and rewarding fights.
- Exploration and Level Design (weight 0.14): The DLC adds new regions, snowy environments, and levels to explore, with music and scenarios enhancing the experience. Players enjoy the visual and atmospheric variety.
- Specific Boss Encounters (weight 0.08): The DLC includes notable bosses like Markiona, Arlecchino, and a giant crocodile, each with unique designs. These fights add variety and memorable moments.
- Access and Progression (weight 0.08): The DLC can be accessed after completing Chapter 9 of the main story, with NG+ allowing earlier entry in Chapter 5. This integration encourages continued play.

Performance notes:
- Mixed PC performance reports (weight 0.09): Some players report solid optimization and stable framerates, while others describe stutters and FPS drops. The overall technical experience appears inconsistent across different hardware and sections of the game.
- Stability praised by some players (weight 0.06): A portion of feedback highlights a lack of technical issues, with no bugs, crashes, or freezes experienced even on average hardware at ultra settings. These users consider the PC version well-optimised.
- Crashes and errors reported (weight 0.04): Several users encountered crashes, freezes, or frequent errors during play, with one describing the issues as catastrophic. This contrasts with others who experienced no crashes at all.
- Late-game performance degradation (weight 0.02): Near the end of the game, specifically around Rose Estate, performance reportedly deteriorates significantly with stutters. This suggests optimization may vary by area rather than being uniformly good or bad.

Recommendations:
- Must-buy for base game fans (weight 0.41): The overwhelming majority of reviewers state that anyone who enjoyed the base game should purchase this DLC without hesitation. It is repeatedly described as mandatory, essential, or a no-brainer for fans of the original.
- Outstanding value and quality (weight 0.34): Many reviewers consider the DLC to be an exceptional purchase, calling it one of the best DLCs ever and worth every cent. It is frequently described as completing the game and being an absolute steal even at full price.
- Essential for Lies of P fans (weight 0.17): Reviewers specifically recommend the DLC for those who enjoyed Lies of P, stating it offers more of what made the base game work. It is considered an easy recommendation for fans of that title.
- Play timing and difficulty advice (weight 0.16): Several reviewers advise on when to start the DLC, suggesting it be played before the final boss or after clearing the main story for the best narrative fit. Others warn about difficulty spikes, recommending a first playthrough or NG rather than later cycles.
- Early boss difficulty warning (weight 0.06): Some reviewers caution that the first boss fight, particularly due to camera issues, can be frustrating, but urge players not to let it ruin the overall experience. The rest of the DLC is still considered good.
- Targeted at Souls veterans (weight 0.04): The DLC is especially recommended for players who are deeply familiar with Souls-like games and enjoy a challenging, punishing experience. Fans of the Dark Souls series are specifically mentioned as the ideal audience.
- Difficulty accessibility options suggested (weight 0.04): For players who struggle, reviewers recommend playing on medium difficulty and summoning help, or switching to easy mode if needed. This ensures the DLC remains enjoyable for less skilled players.

Other player notes:
- Substantial Expansion Content (weight 0.27): The DLC is widely described as a full expansion with new lore, outfits, voice acting, and weapons. Many reviewers feel it could stand as a separate game and surpasses the base game in scope and quality.
- Story Surpasses Base Game (weight 0.21): Multiple reviewers consider the DLC's narrative better than the base game's, with more intriguing exploration and storytelling. It is described as amazing and way better than the main plot.
- Lore and Story Integration (weight 0.18): The DLC complements the base game's story, fills gaps in lore, and connects to vanilla events. Reviewers appreciate how it expands the narrative and adds missing details.
- Pricing Divides Players (weight 0.17): Opinions on pricing are mixed: some find it worth the money or well-priced, while others consider it expensive or overpriced relative to content. The DLC is often sold at half the base game's price.
- Playtime Rivals Base Game (weight 0.16): Reported completion times range from 10 to 20 hours, with many reviewers noting the DLC offers roughly one-third to half the length of the main game. This substantial runtime is frequently praised.
- Sequel Anticipation High (weight 0.12): Many reviewers express excitement for a potential sequel or the developer's next game. There is strong hope for another installment in the franchise.
- NG+ Viable for DLC (weight 0.07): Players report starting the DLC on NG+ or playing it twice on NG and NG+. It is considered a viable way to access the new content.
- Compared to Old Hunters (weight 0.06): The DLC is frequently compared to Bloodborne's The Old Hunters in terms of story and quality. Its setting and elements are reminiscent of that acclaimed expansion.
- Story Not Main Draw (weight 0.05): For some, the DLC story is not as good as the main storyline and is not the reason to buy it. It is balanced around main story progression.
- Soundtrack Expansion Notable (weight 0.05): The DLC adds 51 new songs to the official soundtrack, with some tracks replacing favorite base game music. Reviewers note the inclusion of music records.
- Inherits Base Game Flaws (weight 0.05): Some reviewers note that the DLC shares the same weaknesses as the base game. Its quality is comparable to the original, building upon disliked aspects.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.14): The extreme difficulty of bosses and enemies, often requiring perfect parries and summons, creates immense frustration. Unfair mechanics such as erratic hitboxes, camera problems, and artificial difficulty spikes make many encounters feel cheap rather than challenging.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.12): Overcoming very challenging bosses after many attempts provides a strong sense of accomplishment. The DLC's substantial content, new weapons, and emotionally resonant story also make it feel worth the money.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): The DLC's unreasonable difficulty, poor level design, and lack of meaningful innovation compared to the base game were major letdowns. Many felt the content was too short and overpriced for what was delivered.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Intense boss fights, inventive new weapons like the gunblade and bow, and an epic story filled with lore generate strong excitement. The challenge and spectacle of the final boss especially make players eager for a sequel.
- Admiration (weight 0.09): The DLC's exceptional storytelling, artistic direction, music, and boss design elevate it to a masterpiece for many. It surpasses the base game in several aspects, with the final boss often praised as one of the best in the genre.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): The DLC offers fun and engaging gameplay with great bosses, interesting locations, and creative new weapons. The expanded story and atmospheric world provide a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
- Sadness (weight 0.04): The tragic and emotional storyline, particularly the fates of beloved characters and the inability to save them, evokes deep sadness. The ending's bittersweet nature leaves a lasting, melancholic impact.
- Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players value the DLC's expansion of the lore, well-told story, and excellent presentation including music, voice acting, and environmental details. The addition of meaningful new content and callbacks to the base game is highly regarded.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Repetitive dialogue from characters like Gemini and frustrating boss arenas with camera issues are common irritants. Hitbox problems and excessive knockback also add to the annoyance.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): The DLC is enthusiastically praised as a fantastic and substantial addition with great bosses, weapons, and story. It matches or exceeds the base game's quality, prompting high recommendations.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Unfair boss designs, forced playstyles, and tedious mechanics such as stamina-draining combos or endless enemy spam generate anger. Forced New Game+ requirements and perceived cash-grab tactics also provoke strong negative reactions.
- Joy (weight 0.02): The DLC brings joy through its fun boss fights, beautiful music, detailed environments, and charming character interactions. The satisfying challenge and rewarding exploration contribute to a delightful experience.
- Love (weight 0.02): Deep affection for the game's atmosphere, characters like Pinocchio and Romeo, and the touching story is evident. The DLC strengthened this love, making it an all-time favorite for many.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): The quality of the DLC and unresolved story threads leave players eagerly awaiting a sequel or future titles from the developer.
- Awe (weight 0.01): The DLC's breathtaking environments, monumental set pieces, and emotionally powerful music inspire awe. The challenging final boss and haunting atmosphere contribute to a sense of wonder.
- Amazement (weight 0.01): The overall quality, beautiful new locations, and engaging content of the DLC leave players amazed. The presentation and expansion of the base game exceed expectations.
- Relief (weight 0.01): Beating particularly tough bosses, especially after many hours, brings a sense of relief. For some, the feeling was more about the ordeal being over than pure accomplishment.
- Exhaustion (weight 0.01): Long, grueling boss fights and the punishing Legendary difficulty leave players physically and mentally drained. The DLC's intensity can become exhausting rather than enjoyable.
- Delight (weight 0.01): Exploring the rich lore, finding hidden details, and using creative weapons like the shotgun arm provide delight. The poetic and melancholic universe is a joy to immerse in.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Malicious enemy design, unfair attack patterns, and grotesque bosses like the crocodile evoke disgust. Some find the overall design low-quality and tedious.}