Count me among those who see Lies of P as their favorite non-FromSoft Soulslike. In pretty much every aspect, Neowiz pulled off an immensely well crafted game and put themselves on the map as developers to look out for henceforth. The setting that is inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, the beautiful visuals, the top tier boss presentations, the satisfying and varied combat and a satisfying resolution to the story made this such a joy to play through. If you're a fan of the genre, you definitely have to check this one out.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 8/10
The setting is Krat, a city where puppets were invented thanks to a power source called Ergo. Puppets can be police offers, porters at railway stations and all kinds of servants for the people of Krat. In what is called the "Puppet Frenzy", puppets have started to act out and kill the same humans they once served. In the midst of this, you (Pinocchio) awaken on a train. A voice calls out to you, the voice of a mysterious woman called Sophia. She tells you to meet them at Hotel Krat.
Not too long after, you get there and get your next task. Find Geppetto, your father. With the help of Geppetto, Sophia and a few other characters you meet along your journey, you are tasked with figuring out the cause for the Puppet Frenzy and with ultimately putting an end to it.
At the same time, a sickness called the "Petrification Disease" is spreading as well, which is deemed incurable and slowly kills its victims. As with many occurences and persons in this game, it too has an aura of mystery regarding its existence.
The story starts slow. As you make progress in the game and as you meet more of the characters, you can engage in mostly optional conversations where you will hear a lot of the same words. Puppet Frenzy. Petrification Disease. The Grand Covenant. The Alchemists. Ergo. These are all presented in a mysterious way and slowly but surely you uncover the fog. It's all done in a typical way, but thankfully, when the game reaches its conclusion, a lot of the mysteries in this game reach a really satisfying and partly unexpected conclusion.
There are three total endings and the ending you get depends on the choices you make. For this, the game has a unique LIE system, at least that's what I think it's called. Since you play Pinocchio, a puppet, you shouldn't be able to lie, just like every other puppet - but you can. So a lot of times, you will be faced with questions and two choices. Either lie or tell the truth. Lying makes you feel more like a puppet, while telling the truth brings out more of your humanity. There are also a few other, somewhat hidden ways you can increase your humanity, which were all pretty satisfying to figure out in terms of exploring locations and being rewarded for it in unexpected ways. From what I've seen online, I got the true ending and I can only say that I was really satisfied with that. Looking at the other endings, what strikes me is that they all appear pretty meaningful and make a lot of sense. This adds plenty to replayability, if you want to do a NG+ or just another NG run.
The story is told similarly to From Software games. You'll notice while playing this that Lies of P is inspired by From Software games A LOT. Bloodborne chief among them. Similarly to that, you explore a city in which all residents that survived hide in their homes. Lies of P has a similarly dark, gothic style. There are even residents here who you can't see and talk to through windows. And these residents, alongside many other characters, are the main ways you figure out the setting and the lore of Krat. If you've played any Soulsborne game, you'll be instantly familiar. What struck me though is that I found the writing in Lies of P to be a bit weaker and more simplistic than Soulsborne games. Obviously this plays second and third fiddle to the game's focus on combat and its visual style, but dialogue and writing can add a lot to the atmosphere, and some character dialogue, your voiced companion Gemini (who ultimately seemed like a pointless addition to me) and the numerous logs/notes/articles sometimes features writing that subtracts from that.
Again, the game ultimately pulls off its story conclusion satisfyingly, but engaging in dialogue didn't always keep me as intrigued as the games Lies of P is inspired by. When I say the story was concluded well though, I don't just mean the main story, but also many of the characters own little side stories. Sophia, Eugenie, Polendina, Giangio, Alidoro, Antonia and many more characters get their own moments to shine and I loved that.
Overall, even with the small complaints, Lies of P exceeded my expectations (a theme for this game) in terms of its storytelling and cast of characters.
GAMEPLAY | 17/20
Do you like Soulslikes for their gameplay? Then go play Lies of P, I really think it's one of the few non FromSoft Soulslikes that are exceptional in terms of combat. And I mean EXCEPTIONAL. If I didn't know, I would think this game was developed by From Software, truly.
At the start, you get to pick one of three weapons (I picked the Saber). Alongside your Saber blade, you also get the Saber handle. These things aren't tied to each other however. No, you can grab any of the dozens of blades in this game and combine them with any of the dozens of handles. What does this do?
Well, the blade is relevant in terms of the damage output. Blades do a certain amount of damage, can be upgraded by finding upgrade stones, reduce different amounts of damage while guarding and their damage output also scales similarly to Soulsborne games, but instead of Strength or Dex scaling, here it's called "Motivity and Technique" scaling. The handle you equip with the blade can change how the scaling for it works, it can change the moveset and handles have different "Fable Arts" equipped to them, which are special attacks or passives during combat.
I stuck with the Saber blade and handle for the entire playthrough and upgraded it to its max. I got its Motivity scaling to B, got Motivity up to 36 at the final boss and a +4 Motivity amulet (you can equip amulets in this game) and this setup was more than good enough to have a good chance during the final few boss fights. I'm definitely going to do another playthrough and be more experimental then, but having seen some combat clips from others, I don't think I saw the same blade / handle combo once in them, which should tell you how much replayability the game has in terms of its weaponry as well.
You might have picked up on it, but yes, there are no shields in this game. To be successful in battle, you have to play a style similarly to Sekiro, where parrying perfectly can give you a major advantage. Parrying will increase the "Stagger meter" on opponents, fill up your Fable Arts bar and therefore let you do more damaging attacks later on. There is also a "Legion Arm", which is a robotic arm you can equip to mix up combat some more. There are 6 or 7 options I believe, like an arm that can shoot projectiles, that can shoot electricity/fire or even one that can act as a shield. Personally, I didn't find it to be too useful, but I'm sure there are people who use their Legion Arms to make fools out of bosses. Ultimately though, the game introduces a lot of these features to you and succeeding in Lies of P will really depend on how well you can adjust to these mechanics, especially parrying. I've read that some think the game is really difficult, but as a below average Soulslike gamer myself, I can tell you that using all these mechanics will make the game challenging, yes, but very doable. There were just three bosses that I had to attempt 10+ times, but none more than 20.
There were many boss fights that felt impossible at the start. It didn't take long however for me to figure out what approach would work best, and I always found myself rewarded for it. Oh and on top of that, the bosses were presented amazingly well, so well that each time a new boss would show up, I'd put my controller down and just enjoy the show before the fighting starts. All of this is what makes great bosses in my opinion, and Lies of P does a phenomenal job. You might not always think so while you find yourself struggling, like I did, but thinking back, there wasn't a single boss fight I would call bad and all of them felt really different and, most importantly, fun and challenging.
One reward you often get in this game is called "Quartz", which is an item used to upgrade your abilities. There are a lot of choices for how you want to build your character. You can add to your Pulse Cells (healing items), you can make your Pulse Cells heal more, add amulet slots, make strong attacks deal more damage, make you regain more health when you guard, make your Fable Arts charge faster, add more consumable slots etc.
While we are on Pulse Cells, the undoubtedly best unique feature in Lies of P is recharging Pulse Cells. Once you run out of Pulse Cells, you can get another one by hitting your enemy enough times. And then another. And another. This means you never are out of a fight. An amazing incentive to not just throw in the towel. This mechanic saved me multiple times during boss fights and helped me sneak in a win.
In terms of itemization, here is what I didn't like. The game has tremendous amount of customizability in terms of weaponry, so I do appreciate that the devs gave the players a bunch of different consumables to use as well, but in the end, I just think there are too many items here and too many that don't feel very useful. They also are quickly consumed, so constantly switching equipped items didn't feel like something that felt all that fun, which is why I only stuck to abrasives (items that add status effects to your blade) and Fable Catalysts (which add to your Fable Arts meter). This doesn't stop you however from finding tons of items while exploring and being disappointed when 80% of them are not really useful. To add insult to injury, you can only sell them for 10-50 Ergo as well (the "Souls" of this game).
The worst offender would be the repair items and the system that comes with it. In Lies of P, there is the "Weapon Degradation" mechanic. Luckily, this mechanic rarely becomes an issue, but that is all the more reason why I wonder about its inclusion. As you use your blade, it degrades, and to repair it, you use your grindstone. That's it. There is no limits to how often you want to use your grindstone, and for like 90% of the game, you don't even need to use your grindstone, because by the time your weapon is at low durability, you find the next Stargazer ("bonfire") and your durability is back to full. Where it does get relevant however is for enemies and bosses that give you the "Decay" status effect, which drastically reduces durability. During boss fights in particular this gets annoying. Does it make one in particular harder? Sure. But unlike the rest of the game, that particular part of the boss was just annoying rather than anything else, and overall, I think the game could have definitely done without the degradation mechanic.
Overall though, let me reiterate that if you enjoy gameplay of Soulsborne games, then this game is almost assuredly going to be to your liking. Combat is great and can be customized in a lot of ways, which means you can tackle all the bosses in a lot of ways, which means you might just blink and find yourself at NG+4.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 10/10
It took a while for me to get warm with some of the voice acting in this game, but I liked it overall. Giangio is probably the one that left the biggest positive impact, and all the other ones were solid, but no other stood out. Gemini's voice actor does kind of feel out of place though, just tonaly, and that's worsened by the fact that the game doesn't really do anything with the character, which felt weird (maybe going to be done in DLC?).
Where the game truly, truuuly shines though is in its soundtrack. My god is it great. The tracks used during exploration are good. The theme of Hotel Krat is burnt inside my memory now. The boss fight soundtrack is filled with great songs that fit them really well. But the real MVP is the soundtrack used for the game's records. Vinyl records are collectibles in this game, and you can listen to them in the Hotel. "Feel" is already much beloved online, but I want to give a special shoutout to "Divine Service", which gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. This whole collection seems to have had one rule for one entry though: "Be a banger". And my god are they.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 10/10
Fantastic, beautiful visuals. The number of times I just stood on a cliff or some place with a great view and just appreciated the visuals the game threw at my face would be too high to count. There is a lot of Bloodborne-esque world building here, but I also got Resident Evil 4 vibes for some reason. Apart from that though, the game also has tremendous presentation, whether it's whenever new bosses are introduced (their design is also phenomenal) or often when you enter new areas. There were lots of moments like that that made me go "Wow" audibly. During normal dialogue, lip movement doesn't really match what is being said and for budget reasons (probably), a lot of cutscenes are cut short and turn into in-game conversations, but man does this game go above and beyond in every other way.
ATMOSPHERE/IMMERSION | 10/10
As I said, there are a lot of inspirations from Bloodborne and other Soulsborne games here, but also a hint of Resident Evil 4. Despite this, the game manages to feel unique anyway. The Pinocchio setting is used really well, the locations you visit all feel distinct and visually interesting and the Human-Puppet-dilemma takes center stage in many moments and is a theme that is well explored. This all culminates perfectly in all endings in my opinion.
CONTENT | 9/10
There is plenty of content in this game. It took me 30 hours to beat, which includes doing the majority of side content and exploring almost everywhere I could. Apart from the main bosses, there are many smaller, optional bosses which give you rewards such as new weapons (there must be 30+), new costumes, new masks and lots of Quartz to improve your skills.
Exploring areas also leads to many hidden chests, items and even characters and side quests. Doing these side quests can reward you with the above or even with collectible records. Unfortunately, you can't collect them all during one playthrough, but I suppose that adds to the replayability of this game. Side quests usually involve making progress, stumbling upon the item they are looking for and bringing them back to them, like some wine for a woman who can't leave her home because she has the Petrification Disease.
Then there are phone booths in many areas, through which the King of Riddles gives you riddles. These are usually very easy and giving the right answer gives you Humanity points and a Trinity key, which can be used to open hidden Trinity Sanctums, which give you Quartz, costumes or weapons. Finally, there are Cryptic Vessels, which a character in the Hotel can decrypt for you. These are usually pictures of areas you've visited and treasure marked on that picture. Go back to the area and grab the treasure.
Overall, there are a lot of fun activities apart from just following the main quest, and not distracting in any way.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 8/10
If there is one thing the game lacks compared to Soulsborne games, its clever level design. The levels look great, all of them have several branching paths which you can all explore to find optional areas, but they lack the interconnectivity and the overall complexity that Soulsborne games can and usually do possess. That's not a bad thing necessarily, especially for people who are fine with just going a laid out path to the next boss, but it's worth mentioning. The levels become more complex in the latter chapters (though the final one dragged a bit imo) and again, each of them does provide plenty of exploration.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 6/10
It's a Soulslike alright. It wears its inspiration on its forehead sometimes, for the whole world to see, but does so many things well and plenty of things differently that it doesn't really feel negative. At the end of the day, it IS a concept we've seen however. Lies of P does introduce many great things to the genre, such as interchangeable blades / handles and healing item recharges, and I'd love to see the latter concept being used more regularly in Soulslikes, and Lies of P's boss fight presentations are among the best in the genre, so there is a lot that Lies of P does that makes it stand out anyway.
REPLAYABILITY | 4/5
Amazing replayability. The main story stays the same for the most part, but you can do an entire playthrough lying or telling the truth, you can give multiple side quests unique resolutions, you HAVE to do two playthroughs to get all collectable records and you can use dozens of weapons and blade / handle combinations, as well as different builds by using Quartz, which will make a second playthrough feel plenty different. If there is one thing that holds the game back in this regard it's that the levels are pretty simple and you'll likely have found every corner during your first playthrough by just being thorough.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
Works well at all times.
OVERALL | 87/100
An amazing experience in pretty much every way and has reminded me why I love Soulslikes so much. Combat is fantastic, the story turns out great, visuals and bosses are stunningly designed and replayability is really high. Can't wait for the DLC.
STORYTELLING/CHARACTERS | 8/10
The setting is Krat, a city where puppets were invented thanks to a power source called Ergo. Puppets can be police offers, porters at railway stations and all kinds of servants for the people of Krat. In what is called the "Puppet Frenzy", puppets have started to act out and kill the same humans they once served. In the midst of this, you (Pinocchio) awaken on a train. A voice calls out to you, the voice of a mysterious woman called Sophia. She tells you to meet them at Hotel Krat.
Not too long after, you get there and get your next task. Find Geppetto, your father. With the help of Geppetto, Sophia and a few other characters you meet along your journey, you are tasked with figuring out the cause for the Puppet Frenzy and with ultimately putting an end to it.
At the same time, a sickness called the "Petrification Disease" is spreading as well, which is deemed incurable and slowly kills its victims. As with many occurences and persons in this game, it too has an aura of mystery regarding its existence.
The story starts slow. As you make progress in the game and as you meet more of the characters, you can engage in mostly optional conversations where you will hear a lot of the same words. Puppet Frenzy. Petrification Disease. The Grand Covenant. The Alchemists. Ergo. These are all presented in a mysterious way and slowly but surely you uncover the fog. It's all done in a typical way, but thankfully, when the game reaches its conclusion, a lot of the mysteries in this game reach a really satisfying and partly unexpected conclusion.
There are three total endings and the ending you get depends on the choices you make. For this, the game has a unique LIE system, at least that's what I think it's called. Since you play Pinocchio, a puppet, you shouldn't be able to lie, just like every other puppet - but you can. So a lot of times, you will be faced with questions and two choices. Either lie or tell the truth. Lying makes you feel more like a puppet, while telling the truth brings out more of your humanity. There are also a few other, somewhat hidden ways you can increase your humanity, which were all pretty satisfying to figure out in terms of exploring locations and being rewarded for it in unexpected ways. From what I've seen online, I got the true ending and I can only say that I was really satisfied with that. Looking at the other endings, what strikes me is that they all appear pretty meaningful and make a lot of sense. This adds plenty to replayability, if you want to do a NG+ or just another NG run.
The story is told similarly to From Software games. You'll notice while playing this that Lies of P is inspired by From Software games A LOT. Bloodborne chief among them. Similarly to that, you explore a city in which all residents that survived hide in their homes. Lies of P has a similarly dark, gothic style. There are even residents here who you can't see and talk to through windows. And these residents, alongside many other characters, are the main ways you figure out the setting and the lore of Krat. If you've played any Soulsborne game, you'll be instantly familiar. What struck me though is that I found the writing in Lies of P to be a bit weaker and more simplistic than Soulsborne games. Obviously this plays second and third fiddle to the game's focus on combat and its visual style, but dialogue and writing can add a lot to the atmosphere, and some character dialogue, your voiced companion Gemini (who ultimately seemed like a pointless addition to me) and the numerous logs/notes/articles sometimes features writing that subtracts from that.
Again, the game ultimately pulls off its story conclusion satisfyingly, but engaging in dialogue didn't always keep me as intrigued as the games Lies of P is inspired by. When I say the story was concluded well though, I don't just mean the main story, but also many of the characters own little side stories. Sophia, Eugenie, Polendina, Giangio, Alidoro, Antonia and many more characters get their own moments to shine and I loved that.
Overall, even with the small complaints, Lies of P exceeded my expectations (a theme for this game) in terms of its storytelling and cast of characters.
GAMEPLAY | 17/20
Do you like Soulslikes for their gameplay? Then go play Lies of P, I really think it's one of the few non FromSoft Soulslikes that are exceptional in terms of combat. And I mean EXCEPTIONAL. If I didn't know, I would think this game was developed by From Software, truly.
At the start, you get to pick one of three weapons (I picked the Saber). Alongside your Saber blade, you also get the Saber handle. These things aren't tied to each other however. No, you can grab any of the dozens of blades in this game and combine them with any of the dozens of handles. What does this do?
Well, the blade is relevant in terms of the damage output. Blades do a certain amount of damage, can be upgraded by finding upgrade stones, reduce different amounts of damage while guarding and their damage output also scales similarly to Soulsborne games, but instead of Strength or Dex scaling, here it's called "Motivity and Technique" scaling. The handle you equip with the blade can change how the scaling for it works, it can change the moveset and handles have different "Fable Arts" equipped to them, which are special attacks or passives during combat.
I stuck with the Saber blade and handle for the entire playthrough and upgraded it to its max. I got its Motivity scaling to B, got Motivity up to 36 at the final boss and a +4 Motivity amulet (you can equip amulets in this game) and this setup was more than good enough to have a good chance during the final few boss fights. I'm definitely going to do another playthrough and be more experimental then, but having seen some combat clips from others, I don't think I saw the same blade / handle combo once in them, which should tell you how much replayability the game has in terms of its weaponry as well.
You might have picked up on it, but yes, there are no shields in this game. To be successful in battle, you have to play a style similarly to Sekiro, where parrying perfectly can give you a major advantage. Parrying will increase the "Stagger meter" on opponents, fill up your Fable Arts bar and therefore let you do more damaging attacks later on. There is also a "Legion Arm", which is a robotic arm you can equip to mix up combat some more. There are 6 or 7 options I believe, like an arm that can shoot projectiles, that can shoot electricity/fire or even one that can act as a shield. Personally, I didn't find it to be too useful, but I'm sure there are people who use their Legion Arms to make fools out of bosses. Ultimately though, the game introduces a lot of these features to you and succeeding in Lies of P will really depend on how well you can adjust to these mechanics, especially parrying. I've read that some think the game is really difficult, but as a below average Soulslike gamer myself, I can tell you that using all these mechanics will make the game challenging, yes, but very doable. There were just three bosses that I had to attempt 10+ times, but none more than 20.
There were many boss fights that felt impossible at the start. It didn't take long however for me to figure out what approach would work best, and I always found myself rewarded for it. Oh and on top of that, the bosses were presented amazingly well, so well that each time a new boss would show up, I'd put my controller down and just enjoy the show before the fighting starts. All of this is what makes great bosses in my opinion, and Lies of P does a phenomenal job. You might not always think so while you find yourself struggling, like I did, but thinking back, there wasn't a single boss fight I would call bad and all of them felt really different and, most importantly, fun and challenging.
One reward you often get in this game is called "Quartz", which is an item used to upgrade your abilities. There are a lot of choices for how you want to build your character. You can add to your Pulse Cells (healing items), you can make your Pulse Cells heal more, add amulet slots, make strong attacks deal more damage, make you regain more health when you guard, make your Fable Arts charge faster, add more consumable slots etc.
While we are on Pulse Cells, the undoubtedly best unique feature in Lies of P is recharging Pulse Cells. Once you run out of Pulse Cells, you can get another one by hitting your enemy enough times. And then another. And another. This means you never are out of a fight. An amazing incentive to not just throw in the towel. This mechanic saved me multiple times during boss fights and helped me sneak in a win.
In terms of itemization, here is what I didn't like. The game has tremendous amount of customizability in terms of weaponry, so I do appreciate that the devs gave the players a bunch of different consumables to use as well, but in the end, I just think there are too many items here and too many that don't feel very useful. They also are quickly consumed, so constantly switching equipped items didn't feel like something that felt all that fun, which is why I only stuck to abrasives (items that add status effects to your blade) and Fable Catalysts (which add to your Fable Arts meter). This doesn't stop you however from finding tons of items while exploring and being disappointed when 80% of them are not really useful. To add insult to injury, you can only sell them for 10-50 Ergo as well (the "Souls" of this game).
The worst offender would be the repair items and the system that comes with it. In Lies of P, there is the "Weapon Degradation" mechanic. Luckily, this mechanic rarely becomes an issue, but that is all the more reason why I wonder about its inclusion. As you use your blade, it degrades, and to repair it, you use your grindstone. That's it. There is no limits to how often you want to use your grindstone, and for like 90% of the game, you don't even need to use your grindstone, because by the time your weapon is at low durability, you find the next Stargazer ("bonfire") and your durability is back to full. Where it does get relevant however is for enemies and bosses that give you the "Decay" status effect, which drastically reduces durability. During boss fights in particular this gets annoying. Does it make one in particular harder? Sure. But unlike the rest of the game, that particular part of the boss was just annoying rather than anything else, and overall, I think the game could have definitely done without the degradation mechanic.
Overall though, let me reiterate that if you enjoy gameplay of Soulsborne games, then this game is almost assuredly going to be to your liking. Combat is great and can be customized in a lot of ways, which means you can tackle all the bosses in a lot of ways, which means you might just blink and find yourself at NG+4.
MUSIC/SOUND/VOICE | 10/10
It took a while for me to get warm with some of the voice acting in this game, but I liked it overall. Giangio is probably the one that left the biggest positive impact, and all the other ones were solid, but no other stood out. Gemini's voice actor does kind of feel out of place though, just tonaly, and that's worsened by the fact that the game doesn't really do anything with the character, which felt weird (maybe going to be done in DLC?).
Where the game truly, truuuly shines though is in its soundtrack. My god is it great. The tracks used during exploration are good. The theme of Hotel Krat is burnt inside my memory now. The boss fight soundtrack is filled with great songs that fit them really well. But the real MVP is the soundtrack used for the game's records. Vinyl records are collectibles in this game, and you can listen to them in the Hotel. "Feel" is already much beloved online, but I want to give a special shoutout to "Divine Service", which gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. This whole collection seems to have had one rule for one entry though: "Be a banger". And my god are they.
GRAPHICS/ART DESIGN | 10/10
Fantastic, beautiful visuals. The number of times I just stood on a cliff or some place with a great view and just appreciated the visuals the game threw at my face would be too high to count. There is a lot of Bloodborne-esque world building here, but I also got Resident Evil 4 vibes for some reason. Apart from that though, the game also has tremendous presentation, whether it's whenever new bosses are introduced (their design is also phenomenal) or often when you enter new areas. There were lots of moments like that that made me go "Wow" audibly. During normal dialogue, lip movement doesn't really match what is being said and for budget reasons (probably), a lot of cutscenes are cut short and turn into in-game conversations, but man does this game go above and beyond in every other way.
ATMOSPHERE/IMMERSION | 10/10
As I said, there are a lot of inspirations from Bloodborne and other Soulsborne games here, but also a hint of Resident Evil 4. Despite this, the game manages to feel unique anyway. The Pinocchio setting is used really well, the locations you visit all feel distinct and visually interesting and the Human-Puppet-dilemma takes center stage in many moments and is a theme that is well explored. This all culminates perfectly in all endings in my opinion.
CONTENT | 9/10
There is plenty of content in this game. It took me 30 hours to beat, which includes doing the majority of side content and exploring almost everywhere I could. Apart from the main bosses, there are many smaller, optional bosses which give you rewards such as new weapons (there must be 30+), new costumes, new masks and lots of Quartz to improve your skills.
Exploring areas also leads to many hidden chests, items and even characters and side quests. Doing these side quests can reward you with the above or even with collectible records. Unfortunately, you can't collect them all during one playthrough, but I suppose that adds to the replayability of this game. Side quests usually involve making progress, stumbling upon the item they are looking for and bringing them back to them, like some wine for a woman who can't leave her home because she has the Petrification Disease.
Then there are phone booths in many areas, through which the King of Riddles gives you riddles. These are usually very easy and giving the right answer gives you Humanity points and a Trinity key, which can be used to open hidden Trinity Sanctums, which give you Quartz, costumes or weapons. Finally, there are Cryptic Vessels, which a character in the Hotel can decrypt for you. These are usually pictures of areas you've visited and treasure marked on that picture. Go back to the area and grab the treasure.
Overall, there are a lot of fun activities apart from just following the main quest, and not distracting in any way.
LEVEL/MISSION DESIGN | 8/10
If there is one thing the game lacks compared to Soulsborne games, its clever level design. The levels look great, all of them have several branching paths which you can all explore to find optional areas, but they lack the interconnectivity and the overall complexity that Soulsborne games can and usually do possess. That's not a bad thing necessarily, especially for people who are fine with just going a laid out path to the next boss, but it's worth mentioning. The levels become more complex in the latter chapters (though the final one dragged a bit imo) and again, each of them does provide plenty of exploration.
CONCEPT/INNOVATION | 6/10
It's a Soulslike alright. It wears its inspiration on its forehead sometimes, for the whole world to see, but does so many things well and plenty of things differently that it doesn't really feel negative. At the end of the day, it IS a concept we've seen however. Lies of P does introduce many great things to the genre, such as interchangeable blades / handles and healing item recharges, and I'd love to see the latter concept being used more regularly in Soulslikes, and Lies of P's boss fight presentations are among the best in the genre, so there is a lot that Lies of P does that makes it stand out anyway.
REPLAYABILITY | 4/5
Amazing replayability. The main story stays the same for the most part, but you can do an entire playthrough lying or telling the truth, you can give multiple side quests unique resolutions, you HAVE to do two playthroughs to get all collectable records and you can use dozens of weapons and blade / handle combinations, as well as different builds by using Quartz, which will make a second playthrough feel plenty different. If there is one thing that holds the game back in this regard it's that the levels are pretty simple and you'll likely have found every corner during your first playthrough by just being thorough.
PLAYABILITY | 5/5
Works well at all times.
OVERALL | 87/100
An amazing experience in pretty much every way and has reminded me why I love Soulslikes so much. Combat is fantastic, the story turns out great, visuals and bosses are stunningly designed and replayability is really high. Can't wait for the DLC.