Lies of P Critic Reviews

Being the best soulslike ever created, Lies of P is an absolute masterpiece that excels in all that it sets out to do; it boasts a captivating and intelligent reinterpretation of the fable of Pinocchio with magnificent and demanding combats where the level and bosses design is splendid. It also introduces a sublime and oppressive setting that makes you fall in love with each step you take, and the icing on the cake is a monumental soundtrack that boosts every single sensation. Never before has any video game captured the essence of FromSoftware with such prowess and personality, thus becoming one of the best titles of 2023.

My time with Lies of P was exactly the intense and gratifying experience that I hoped for. As one who holds Bloodborne in the highest regard as one of FromSoftware’s finest achievements, I found myself absolutely enamored with Round 8 Studio’s unique, clever take on the formula. While the game broadly functions similarly to the best the Soulslike genre has to offer, Lies of P‘s tweaks and refinements are so masterfully planned out and implemented that they make every moment of gameplay a pleasure. From the dopamine hits provided by exploring the labyrinthine level layouts, to the extreme elation of finally besting a challenging boss, there’s nary a moment of Lies of P‘s meaty campaign that feels wasted or unsatisfactory. With a post-credits teaser hinting at a second incredible twist on another literary classic lying in wait, the future looks bright for this new addition to the genre. Lies of P, welcome to the top!

Lies of P's greatest strength is how it rewards and empowers you at every turn to venture further through this twisted tale of puppetry and monstrous humanity, despite its oppressive world and formidable enemies. I struggled to pull myself away from Lies of P, even when it had me fuming. It delicately balances the fun of a Soulslike with the challenge the genre demands and only falters a few times. That it maintains that balance within the confines of a fairytale most know best because of Disney, flipping it on its head to tell something more in line with Carlo Collodi's original The Adventures of Pinnochio, is another achievement of Lies of P. But above all that, Lies of P uses the familiar, the highlights, and the lessons learned from the authors of the Soulslike subgenre to create something unique, fascinating, and exhilarating. Neowiz aimed for the stars, much like the ones its Pinnochio wishes upon, and hits them with machine-like accuracy.

Lies of P is a gorgeous, bloody, unforgiving game which builds off the well-tread souls template to create a wholly original adventure that never ceases being a joy to explore and experience. With top tier combat, fantastic enemy and boss designs, and intricate and often interweaving areas to explore, the game remains fresh despite the 30+ hours required for a first playthrough. I may be a sucker for these types of games, but Lies of P hit absolutely every note needed to draw me into its often grotesque yet surprisingly emotional world. Lies of P may be based on a well-known and over told fairy tale, but watching it unfold in a mature setting with a likable cast of characters and dire stakes made the story that much more enthralling.

For Neowiz’s first big AAA-caliber game, they have done a bang-up job with Lies of P. The story, characters, combat and RPG systems, controls, enemy design, level design — there’s a lot here that is done with excellence and the summation of these is a great game that I’d happily recommend to anyone that enjoys the tough-but-rewarding Soulslike genre.

This feels like the spiritual successor to Bloodborne, and if you had sold this as a sequel to the FromSoftware story, you could get away with it. If you're a fan of Soulsborne and want to add a spice of rewarding difficulty to your gaming career, you must check out Lies of P.

Within this sentiment is perhaps a microcosm of Lies of P – a large majority of it is meticulously and impressively crafted, only held back slightly by unsurprising annoyances. It has the all-important "tough but fair" gameplay soulslikes live and die on, supported by a compelling story and gorgeously rendered world filled with memorable characters. Lies of P is not perfect, but it's shockingly close, and is perhaps the best-case scenario for a soulslike trying to pay such diligent homage to the genre's beloved cornerstones.

Smooth combat, seamless exploration and a set of well-executed mechanics makes Lies of P an excellent Soulslike. When you add in the gorgeous visuals, desolate world design, stark sound design and engrossing story, it raises the experience above a lot of its contemporaries. All in all, although Lies of P is essentially Bloodborne featuring Timothée Chalamet, it does more than enough to mark itself out as a unique title worth your time – and I’m not lying.

For a game based on a story that's been told what feels like an endless number of times, Lies of P feels one of a kind.

Lies of P joins the list of this year's great releases and is a must for all soulslike fans. While it takes many of the elements already known in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, it manages to have its own identity with a great character design, a unique setting and a narrative that knows how to grow through the whole experience.

Lies of P may not be Bloodborne 2, nor was it ever trying to be, and to say it’s the game to tide you over until we get a true sequel to Bloodborne feels like a massive disservice to the incredible game that it is. It is a worthy addition to the pantheon of incredible Souls-likes and in the same way I fell in love with Bloodborne only moments after playing it, I’ve fallen in love with Lies of P. It does everything right, minus a few technical hiccups, and carves a name for itself wholly its own. I’d say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this isn’t immigration. This is elevation...Lies of P exceeds its SoulsBorne inspirations and is easily one of the best games of the year.

Out of all the games that have attempted to master a Soulslike, Lies of P stands in a league of its own and should be experienced by anyone who is a fan of the subgenre.

Neowiz took something well-known and really made it their own with stunning results. Lies of P is a game you can easily get lost in - provided you don't lose your cool.

Lies of P has a horror aesthetic that makes this iteration of Pinocchio unique. The subtle world-building is great for those who look for it, but those who try to just rush through the story can miss out. The truly scary part of Lies of P is the combat. Boss battles can be cruel and frustrating sometimes, even feeling unfair due to the controls that are hard to master. But if you stick through it, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience. Souls fans shouldn’t sleep on Lies of P.

Despite its undeniable use of core FromSoftware mainstays in building its foundations, Lies of P emerges as so much more than a simple imitation. The game’s origin points, both expected and strange, belie the clarity of vision that is found throughout almost every aspect, whether borrowed, adapted, improved upon, or wholly original. Round8 proves itself more than capable of pulling the strings, which makes the game’s absolutely fucking wild post-credits tease all the more exciting and hilarious. A delightfully mean world inhabited by equally spiteful creatures and a bevy of sharpened tools with which to go hunting, Lies of P is a tremendously fun surprise.

Although Lies of P takes heavy inspiration from the more successful leaders in the genre, this is one souls-like adventure that also dances to its own tune in many ways. The freedom afforded by its crafting system, the excellent and dark storytelling, and the intensity of its combat are great ingredients for a classic tale and makes it easier to overlook some of the niggling issues that affect the puppet show. While there may not be a Bloodborne sequel to quell the thirst, Lies of P is the closest one can get to a dark, fantastical adventure that is bloody brilliant.

Lies of P sets foot in a realm that many studios have ventured into and failed, and even though it’s still not at the level of the works by the great Miyazaki, it is one the best Soulslike games ever made.

Lies of P succeeds in almost everything it sets out to do. Not only do we get a wonderful new setting in the form of Krat to explore and dissect, but we also get some great gameplay to go along with it. While the story sets up some interesting things, it takes too long to get it rolling. The game ultimately relies too heavily on the gameplay to keep you intrigued. Not that we’re complaining.

Lies of P is a very good souls-like and it is undoubtedly the game of this type that comes closest to From Software perfection. Its demanding and racy gameplay offers an experience where extreme precision and patience will be your best allies. It’s a shame that the city of Krat, extremely elegant, offers a playing field with a somewhat flat level design. Beyond that, this rewrite of Pinocchio is absolutely terrible.

Lies of P certainly evokes the likenesses of the game we all know it is trying to emulate — that’s right, Nightmare Creatures 2 (j/k, it’s Dark Souls). However, it is polarizing to me; it marks a step backward in several ways from the design of its inspiration. However, it also offers a few alternative modes of stepping forward from those designs, such as robust weapon adjustments, streamlined cosmetic options, and a fun new skill tree in Quartz upgrades. It also offers a more obvious central story, one that does a good job of recognizing its ancestry while gracefully appropriating it for the present cultural moment. It is just a bummer that, from a gameplay standpoint, Lies of P fails to remember where it came from.