Lögner, det var Pinocchio duktig på. I Lies of P har Pinocchios lögner en direkt inverkan på spelets handling. Dessutom måste han kämpa sig fram med specialvapen.

After the plethora of fighting games released recently it’s now the month of the Soulsborne, while there are hundreds of game in this genre Lie’s of P arrives with it’s new take of the classic fable, expanding on some of the classic traits on the genre, Lie’s of P takes heavy inspiration from specifically Bloodborne and while I take issue with some portions of the game itself I find it best to treat Lie’s of P as its own entity rather than trying to compared to for example Bloodborne. My recommendation is not to go into Lie’s of P with the same mindset as other main games of the genre as Lie’s of P has several unique features and a compelling story that sets itself apart from the norm.

My opinions aside please enjoy this review of Lie’s of P on Playstation 5.

Welcome to Krat

There are now hundreds upon hundreds of games released in the now Soulsborne genre, how does Lie’s of P set itself apart from the hundreds of other pseudo clones of the classics of the genre? Welcome to Krat and welcome to Lie’s of P.

Awakening in the middle of a Puppet led carnage isn’t exactly the best start for anyone and P is no different awakening to chaos is something everyone faces when it comes to this genre.

But something is different, why has P not fallen to the terrors of the Puppet Carnage? Why are you also the only Puppet that can actually Lie? As a classic retelling of the old fable you’ll quickly recognize some familiar faces in that of Geppetto and Gemini but that is where the similarities end while I may come across other classic characters these have been completely changed to suit the now war-torn dystopian setting of Krat, heavily inspired by Bloodborne in it’s features but with a clear take on 19th century France P must first venture onwards to the Hotel in order to figure out his purpose and why he’s just so different from everyone else in this strange and new world.

The World of Krat is full of many interesting and unique characters that have taken to surviving by whatever means necessary, not only will you face the dangers of whatever lurks through the street of Krat but also your own inner mortality, unlike other games in the genre Lie’s of P implements as morality system, which is quite an intriguing system as being a Puppet himself P should not be able to Lie.

With an extensive cast of characters to pull from you’ll be sure to find several references to other characters throughout your time in  Lie’s of P.

The Inner workings of a Puppet

Our little puppet friend has a long road to travel and many dangers to face, in order to achieve his goal. Much like any soulsborne title, character improvement is broken down into several different factors each holding a different determining factor in character progression. Let’s take a look at some of the key aspects that you’ll be returning to again and again throughout your time in Lie’s of P.

Stats

The be all and end all of soulsborne games, every game in this genre has some come of stat based boosting system and Lie’s of P is no different in the equation and while they may go by different names they generally follow the same trinity that has become synonymous with the genre as a whole.

First on the chopping block of stats is that of,

Vitality: Another haulmark of the genre, Vitality as the name implies determines your overall HP, having more HP affords you the ability to make more errors, however unlike most other games in the genre Vitality here actually has a more integral factor compared to previous instances. Vitality not only increases your HP but also increases your Guard Regain capabilities, what is Guard Regain? You may ask well this is another main feature of Lies of P that allows you to regain the HP from guarding and blocking attacks that were not Perfect Blocked. Lie’s of P puts a heavy emphasis on learning to Perfect Block only, but if you struggle getting the timing correct (I don’t blame ya) then having a high Guard Regain can save you more times than not, pair this with a fast weapon and you’ll be recovering a fair amount of damage that you sustain. This is very similar to that of the rally system in Bloodborne only further expanded and a much more integral feature in Lie’s of P.

Vigor: This is the standard increase to Stamina stat that again features as a main point in this genre, a larger stamina pool allows for more frequent attacks, further running distance along with more usages of your dodge abilities Vigor will be a good stat for first time players to invest in who are more used to dodging mechanics over just hard guarding them. Given the plethora of attacks and different timings for blocking and parrying attacks that plague this game more than the puppets themselves some players may find it far easier to dodge away from as many attacks as possible which is totally fine in most cases.

Capacity: A full on replacement for the standard Weight system within this genre, Capacity is one of if not the most important stat (before the Patch) In most cases a Weight system is used to determine your stamina recovery and well as ability to move around, so carrying heavy weapons and in Lie’s of P’s case defensive parts will slow you down overall and impact your stamina regeneration with all items having some kind of weight it’s key that Capacity is carefully invested in to reach your optimal weight for the best results.

However unlike other titles Capacity not only handles the classics but also incorporates its own spin on the stat. Capacity not only increase your weight but also afford you far more uses on another key feature of Lies of P that of the Legion Arms, I’ll cover Legion arms when I talk about the weapon system below but know that there are certain breakpoints much like the standard weight system that will also for extra uses and is not something to ignore if you choose not to handle a heavier weapon.

To close this section up I’ll cover the Trinity of Damage types, as these all do similar things I will break them down into the typical damage types with reflecting weaponry.

Motivity: This is the strength replacement and generally favours slow lumbering weapons with in some cases far limited reach, favouring charge attacks as well a hit and run playstyle vs that of it’s more speeder cousin of..

Technique: Here we have the Dexterity replacement, favouring nimble and multi-hit weapons technique weapons are more tailored towards precise dodge movements along with perfect parry windows, while Motivity favours that of pure blocking.

Finally we have the last and one of the more interesting stats of Advance:

Advance is a combination of what fans would generally see as Magic/Intelligence or Faith in some games, while Lie’s of P does not feature Magic, Advance is the only stat that not only increase different elemental type damage (which I will mention below) but is also the only stat that increases your resistances to many debuff effects that infest Krat and the surrounding areas, not investing into advance only to reach late game to die to a mechanic that’s just being introduced is more frustrating than it seems so make sure to at least invest a small portion into advance if you prefer the spellsword elemental wheel type archetype.

Overall Lie’s of P handles it’s stat system quite well, given the various different scaling on weapons along with the plethora of choices you can make throughout the game and while very similar to that of other titles in the genre Lie’s of P gives it an extra spin and flair that really makes building your own character far more enjoyable (due to patch changes) it’s become far easier to respec and change your build to suit whatever need you wish.

So I’ve mentioned this quite a bit but saved this for later as I believe these features are some of the most enjoyable factors in Lie’s of P and are things that really give it an edge over some of its other competitors in the genre, I’ll start by covering the Weaponry system before ending on yet another intricate system to the game, that of the P-Organs and how they impact and change the game on a fundamental level.

Weaponry

Before covering that of Legion arms I’d first like to cover that of the base weapon system, while other games might have transforming weapons (i.e Bloodborne trick weapons) or simply be giant stat sticks that provide buffs without being of any combat use (Morion Blade Demon’s Souls) Lie’s of P takes things in a different direction by allowing you to craft your own weaponry. Now before you blow a gasket I will mention that these are purely limited to the weapons that you find throughout the game and while not as extensive as potentially possible, Lie’s of P really goes above and beyond when it comes to the plethora of combinations you can make.

Lie’s of P’s weapons are broken down into two aspects, that of the Blade and the Handle, every normal weapon that you come across in Lie’s of P you’ll be able to disassemble and rebuild into any combination of your choice, this works so well with the story itself as it heavily reflects the nature of Pinnochio himself breaking himself down and rebuilding himself into something new each time he ventures out into Krat and the surrounding areas now while you’re not able to access this feature right from the start of your first playthrough, this system is unlocked extremely early which unlike other features (mentioned later) changes Lie’s of P up entirely. Do you have a preferred weapon but want to give it more reach? Change the handle for increased length, want to get close and personal with a one shot build? Go with a setup that implements buffs and high damaging Fable arts at the cost of speed and distance, the choices are frankly quite astounding and the combinations you can come up with will suit any player’s needs.

To break it down simply, The Blade of any weapon determines it’s damage type, along with the damage type it can inflict (ideal of Elemental builds) along with the majority of the finished products weight, the blade also determines that of the hitbox animation, you may pair a small dagger for example with a long handle for better reach however you’ll still only be hitting in a small area when compared to something larger.

Now the Handle is most likely the key feature in this weaponry construction, each weapon has different scaling based on the three mentioned above damage types meaning that not only do you have to factor these types into your build but also that the Handle itself determines the weapons moveset. I found it best to test out all the different weapons on offer throughout the game to land on a moveset that suited my needs based on the stats I was currently using.

As mentioned the combination you can make are staggering, and while some of the more interesting weapons are locked behind some rather irritating mini boss style fights or far later into the game itself you’ll easily find a combination that suits your needs, with how the scaling system works Lie’s of P heavily favours players that want to enjoy everything and a “Quality” style build is heavily supported unlike other games in the genre

Legion Arms

Being a Puppet we have access to some rather interesting tricks that come in from of the metallic arm known as the Legion Arm, the Legion arm is another defining feature unique to Lie’s of P, every different Legion Arm comes with it’s own different combat capability, and while starting out you only have access to that of the basic Left Arm of Steel, throughout your adventures in Krat you’ll be able to unlock further different arms to suit whatever your needs may be, be aware however that each arm has its own different capacity limit and will break after repeated used (this is determined as mentioned above by the Capacity stat along with that of the Advance stat) Legion Arms bring a new spin to combat as they can be fitted to suit the particular need and swapped out at Stargazers whenever needed, in total you’ll have access to eight different arms, although upgrading these arms will take quite a while so careful planning is required so as not to waste the very previous upgrade resources that you’ll come across throughout the numerous chapters.

While the Left Arm of Steel may seem weak overall it has some of the best scaling as well as highest damage capacity at the start of the game, I found this to be a good idea as it didn’t punish me too early into the game for not investing into this feature. However later down the line I did end up switching these constantly to suit the different bosses I encountered, each Legion arm brings a different spin to combat, do you favour that of blocking? Then the Legion Arm Aegis may be to your needs. Encountering mobs weak to fire? Than Flamberge has you covered, investing into these different arms also gives you further abilities as well as a pseudo “Ultimate” skill that can be used each under different circumstances, while I don’t want to ruin the experience I did find that while weak at the start the Puppet String an Arm I personally though wouldn’t be too great due to it’s featured ended up being my favourite arm of all due to its final ability giving me far better control and movement in combat compared to normal.
A well designed system that doesn’t overwhelm the player too much with choice, it’s the perfect compliment to the weaponry system mentioned above and gives Lie’s of P some of the most enjoyable combat encounters within the soulsborne genre.

P-Organs

The final combat related system within Lie’s of P is that of P-Organs, throughout the adventures in Krat, you’ll come across the interesting item called Quartz, these items once unlocked serve to improve the functionality of Pinnochio himself and this is where you can tailor your own little puppet to suit your needs.

While some of these P-Organ upgrades are very simple, with the overall bonus being more Pulse Cell usages or extra slots of items and Amulets I will highlight one of the earliest bonuses that really changes how combat is performed.

One of the earliest bonuses you can obtain from the P-Organs is that of the Link Dodge, upon unlocking Link Dodge allows you to dodge while in the middle of a dodge motion, for someone that favours faster characters and dodging rather than blocking this is a game changer, while how aggressive enemies and some later bosses can be being able to dodge twice is the best way to move yourself around the battle zone and avoid some of the more deadly attacks that you’ll face.

To unlock these features however you’ll need to pay Quartz, however with each quartz you’ll be able to unlock additional bonuses while working towards unlocking these abilities. While you’re working towards Link Dodge for example you can use these Quartz to choose from several different trees of abilities, while you can only use each tree once per organ you can really tailor make your little puppet to do anything you wish. Do you favour heavy weapons? Include that of some stamina reduction abilities to offset this, do you favour staggering mobs and bosses constantly? Then slot in some stagger boosting effects. There are quite a lot of choices to be made here.

I’ll leave it with this as mentioning anything further would be a disservice to anyone interested in one of the most extensive systems featured within this genre.

Conclusion and Patch Changes

In conclusion I very much enjoyed my time with Lie’s of P, while there are some fundamental issues that I’ll mention below that I would hope is changed in the future that didn’t detract from my enjoyment in the game.

The Story itself does take quite a while to get it’s footing into place and doesn’t really introduce the overarching villain upon very late into the game for the players that can handle the constant exposition dumps of story from the various NPCs you’ll find a story and morality system that could have been expanded further with different unique outcomes and reactions based on how you progressed. During my second playthrough I exclusively lied to everyone and everything possible.The lies were never hurtful and were more comforting which could have been further expanded on by NPCs responses and where overall very limited in the outcomes. However the visual spectacle of Krat and the various enemy encounters and bosses, (bar one particular one mentioned below) covered for the somewhat lacklustre story and morality system.

Now I’ll come some of the issues I faced during both playthrough of Lie’s of P while my responses below may come across as negative, know that these issues are easily fixed and while the recent Patch changes didn’t fix all of these issues some of these problems have been resolved very quickly which makes me hope that further patches will fix some of the other outstanding issues.

Now I’ll cover some of the issues that thankfully the latest patch has changed.

The most pressing issues that I found throughout watching others is how easy it was to glitch through doorways, even unintentionally it was extremely easy to skip the vast majority of areas accidentally before the patch by simply running into a locked doorway and interacting with it. This is most likely a frame-rate issue on the PC version only as it was not possible to recruit on PS5 to my knowledge. While this was a huge find for speedrunning, it did cut out a large portion of the game itself which was less than ideal, thankfully the patch has fixed these issues so PC gamers have a chance to experience Lie’s of P to the fullest.

As I was playing on the PS5 version of Lie’s of P I came across a plethora of other issues, most noticeably during my first playthrough, this became a huge frustration when challenged by one particular boss during the later stages of the game which some may say is the most challenging of them all. Not even the final boss as well as the hidden bosses ever gave me as much trouble as this one boss did and while some may echo the “Git gud” sentiment of all soulsborne this was not simply due to the boss being a hard encounter. No the issue came not from the boss itself but the arena itself, a good majority of boss fights have a reasonable space to fight in, this one however was very limited and with a boss with extremely random movements to boot. While I do think the boss in question could be toned down.. I’m fine with bosses having a charging Fury attack (an attack that requires perfect blocks), even fine that for some reason it can Fury attack into a Fury attack within an instance of taking a Fatal Strike. I’m fine with it having Multiple phases and status inflicting abilities. I’m however not fine with getting stuck in the limited terrain or having the screen completely covered by numerous terrain and boss obstructions. Noticeably while I did see other issues within Lie’s of P such as freezing, T-posing / Unable to die issues, getting stuck in terrain or inside the boss itself being unable to move is not something that’s enjoyable to say the least. Especially when the boss in question has insane tracking and aggressive movesets compared to the bosses previously. I had no issues even before the patch nerfs to any of the bosses after, nor any of the bosses beforehand but this one encounter was more than controller throwing annoyance levels of poorly designed, buggy nonsense. I would hope that the next patch targets this boss specifically as it is really a defining moment and a large spike in difficulty for no reason whatsoever. I’m thankful however that developers have already been quick to fix some of the issues presented in the PC version and allowing the respec feature to be implemented earlier than originally. So my hopes are high that these limited issues can be fixed quickly.

Finally, based on the after credits I would hope that any future sequels drop the “Lie’s of” portion in favour of something else, as can already foresee the resurrection of one of the most annoying internet memes if they continue to use the Lie’s of moniker for future games.

Overall Lie of P while taking heavy inspiration from Bloodborne as a whole (no matter what the developers say) follows the beats of its own drum and really expands on a classic fable while integrating new and interesting features that will hopefully be expanded upon in the sequel.

Skriven av: Steve Gilman