I have not generally been a fan of 3D Soulslikes, because I often feel like the additions they make to FromSoftware's formula just end up muddying the waters and lead to the feeling of playing a knockoff. And while Lies of P doesn't fully escape that feeling, it's by far the peak of what any non-From dev has managed to achieve in this formula — and probably the closest thing to a direct Bloodborne sequel we'll ever have.

First, the pain points. Lies of P falls victim to a bit of systemic overload, with its first several hours featuring system after system after system stacked on top of each other like a precarious layer cake. There's your standard DnD leveling system, then a multifaceted weapon customization system with its own upgrade tree, then a durability system, then a skill tree with two separate dimensions, then a set of customizable consumables, then a real-time currency that accumulates like an idle game, and the list goes on and on. More than just that, it takes essentially every combat mechanic from every FromSoft game and tries to incorporate them all evenly in its already-complicated combat structure. The result is a game that feels almost too free, with so many methods of approaching fights that sometimes it's hard to figure out which a boss is most suited for. (And this wouldn't be an issue if each boss wasn't clearly best-approached in a certain way, but they very much are.) The Sekiro-esque parrying system, though satisfying enough to learn, never quite feels consistent enough to match that game's highs; boss attacks often have long windups, inconsistent timing, and muddy visual effects that tend to require memorizing timings over reacting to what's actually in front of you.

But for all that, Lies of P still manages to build a suitable facsimile of a FromSoft Souls game, and it hits the genre staples in a way that — while not ever particularly innovative — satisfy the little part of my brain that's always craving the experience of playing these games. The level design is focused, directed, and often sublime, even if the overabundance of shortcuts and checkpoints works against any real feelings of hostility or danger. While the narrative could have definitely gone in weirder, stranger directions than its BioShock via Bloodborne take on the Pinocchio story, it manages to generate memorable characters and moments of pathos that make the story worth seeing through. The world design and art direction, while never quite matching the scale or creeping horror of Bloodborne's, do hit on some strange and unsettling designs. Best of all, the soundtrack is absolutely sublime: both the in-game music and the collectible records it scatters around as quest rewards that make up part of the game's hidden morality system. It's a worthwhile play not because it does anything particularly innovative with the Soulsborne formula, but because it executes that formula with a level of quality and panache that comes very close to the heights of the genre's tentpoles.