Lies Of P First Impressions

One of the first things I thought when I started Lies of P was that if it weren’t a Soulslike, its environment would fit perfectly in a Resident Evil level. Anyway, the gist of it is that so far I find the game’s very basic and straightforward level design refreshing, and the combat—despite mistakenly setting it to an easier difficulty during my first hour—surprisingly forgiving.

But let’s dive into it.

Lies of P Gameplay

Combat

Compared to recent Soulslikes like Wuchang: Fallen Feathers and Black Myth: Wukong, Lies of P paces itself much more with slower combat and less fancy moves.

While I did say it is slow, it is not as slow as, say, Mortal Shell. If anything, I think it comes closest to classic Dark Souls games in terms of combat and its pace.

The main combat loop in this game are dodges, blocks, and attacks. Dodges are not as quickly responsive as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, where pressing it instantly moves your character—rather, there is some delay to which some say the dodge animation occurs after releasing the dodge button.

The reason for such design is assumed to be because holding on the dodge button without releasing it makes your character sprint instead of dodge. I found this part of the game the most frustrating as I truly felt the “delay” after playing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.

Aside from there being an input delay, there are no perfect dodges, and the i-frame window seems to be much tighter than most Soulslikes. On this aspect, I found Lies of P to be less forgiving than other Soulslikes.

Legion Arm

There are a few more “gimmicks” in the game, such as the Legion Arm, but so far it only acts similarly to the prosthetic tool skills in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Nothing too unique or new.

What about the rest of the combat loop?

This game is definitely the easiest Soulslike I’ve played so far with how many hits you can tank from most enemies.

Most Soulslikes can defeat you in just a few hits, but this game lets you tank a lot more—maybe even up to five. I don’t really complain much about it, but it is something that I must point at.

Enemies and Bosses

The same goes for the bosses. In Chapter 1, the boss does simple and slow moves. Since the movement is slow, I found it to be much trickier than I expected and got hit a lot of times—around 6 or 7. Still, I didn’t feel in danger at all and I was always safe to back away and heal up. Granted this is probably the tutorial boss, it felt very weird to not die after taking a few more hits.

Maybe things will change moving forward, but this is my verdict for now.

Lies of P NPC, Setting, and Design

Part of the Soulslikes formula is having simple yet interconnected levels with, sometimes, areas that show a reveal of the entire map, letting you take a peek at the next areas.

Level Design

This game is rather conservative with its level design, and it may come off as disappointing to most, but I found it refreshing. The setting of the game is a city named Krat, which takes heavy inspiration from the European urban area—at least early on.

As such, the levels are very stiff with straight paths and roads with a few twists and turns as you go in buildings, up the roofs, to another road. There are some paths that connect back to previous paths, but they are not that complicated.

Characters and Story

Across the city of Krat, you will find various NPCs and the story is very mysterious. You wake up as a blue butterfly approaches your “cold” body and you step out into the broken city of Krat. There seems to be a “Truth-or-Lie” mechanic, which I assume indicates your level of humanity based on the dialogue and consequences of choices.There’s nothing much to talk about the story in the early parts aside from puppets running rampant and you being a sentient puppet capable of lying.

Is Lies of P A Good Game? Is it Worth it?

So far, this feels very base Dark Souls. The combat is very grounded and simple. The story and NPCs are mysterious. The level design is very conservative. Some will find this boring, but it is refreshing to see such a simple Soulslike compared to the many that try to take the same formula and either fall short or overcomplicate its gameplay loop.

More Lies of P Screenshots

Lies of P FAQs

When is the Lies of P release date?

Lies of P was released on September 19, 2023.

How big is Lies of P?

It is only 59.26 GB.

Is Lies of P based on real life?

No, Lies of P isn’t based on real life. It loosely reimagines the story of Pinocchio in a dark, twisted way, set in a steampunk-inspired European city.

How long is Lies of P?

I have no clue. Maybe 60 hours, maybe 30. I literally don’t know yet.

Is Lies of P Multiplayer?

Haha, no.

What type of game is Lies of P?

It is a Soulslike action RPG inspired by the story of Pinocchio, set in the dark, steampunk city of Krat.

Is Lies of P open world?

It is not an open world. The City of Krat is a large map with interconnecting paths and regions.

Related Questions: What is the concept of Lies of P?, Is the Lies of P difficult?, Was Lies of P successful?, Is Lies of P like Dark Souls?