Since I played it, my unpopular gaming opinion has been that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a bad game. I have tried to play it twice, with around 15 hours of play time, but, as far as I am concerned, it is simply not a fun game. It is unfortunate, because it is so widely acclaimed and loved, particularly for its parry-based combat system. I have long lamented the fact that I could not find as much enjoyment in it as others have, despite how much I tried. This is not a review of Sekiro, however, but one of Lies of P, which despite its many explicit influences, is not only a great game on its own, but I believe it to be everything that Sekiro could and should have been.

Even the premise of the game, a reimagined version of the story of Pinocchio, causes the game to stand out for its quality. This very easily could have been a cheap cash grab in the vein of the Winnie the Pooh horror film we got last year, but in this case, we were granted a glimpse into the positive effects of a well-known character entering the public domain. In many ways, these two creations are similar; dark and twisted perspectives on household children's stories. The difference is that the Winnie the Pooh film was made with the sole intention of shock factor to bring in a quick payday, whereas Round8 Studios clearly set out to use the character of Pinocchio to increase the marketability of their incredible souls-like.

That is probably a little unfair, as the studio have also clearly put a great deal of thought into how they wanted to tell the story, and although it may have some puppet-like qualities to it on its own with stiff and stilted moments, I was surprisingly invested in it and its endearing cast of characters. Not only that, but the aesthetic of the game is both unique and familiar, effortlessly bounding between dirty, rusty scrapyards and regal, elegant European architecture. The mechanic of choosing between telling the truth or a lie, while simple, remains effective. It is always pretty clear what the game considers to be the "correct" answer, but this does not detract from the experience, in fact, I believe it greatly adds to it, further distancing the game from the rest of the genre by forgoing the standard complex lore which is communicated through eight total lines of dialogue plus one random statue asset (not that that is always a bad thing, I actually also enjoy this style greatly when it works). Knowing what you are meant to be saying allows for the impact of rejecting it to be more effective, as well as keeping the primary focus on the moment-to-moment gameplay and emphasising the point the developers want to make about the morality of the children's tale they are adapting.

And boy, is that moment-to-moment gameplay good. Where (again, at least to me) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game that seems to hate you for playing it, Lies of P seems to be built around both accommodating and challenging the player at once. The game leans further into the A side of ARPG than others, restricting your gear to basically just some charms and a sword, but this is arguably the best thing about the game. It keeps the mechanics focused, the rewards pool relevant, no matter your build, while making it possible for you to pursue a huge range of playstyles. The ability to customise your sword, combining almost any blade and handle, creating a combination that suits you, makes finding new weapons endlessly exciting and makes your weapon feel far more personal. It is nothing short of a stroke of genius, combined with the fact that the variety and style-factor of weapons was clearly given a great deal of consideration during development. The game does not just want you to have a good build, but a cool build.

The other highlight to me, and where the comparison to Sekiro really takes hold, is the game's emphasis on parrying your opponents attacks. This, combined with the way staggering works, allows you to have some incredibly cool moments, while maintaining the challenge of the combat and giving the developers the means to mess with the player. Attempting to hit the heavy attack on the boss who is currently in the middle of a crazy combo as you can see their stagger window disappearing can be the making of - or the end of - a run. It is truly a brilliantly implemented design choice. This, along with other changes such as the mechanic of your last health item recharging after you have used it, gives the player the sense that any run, no matter how scuffed, has the potential for the clutch of all clutches. It feels great to play.

I will not go into any specific bosses here, since they are undoubtedly best experienced blind, but I will mention that the game stumbled towards the end with a boss that gave me flashbacks to the "Elden Beast" in Elden Ring. Rest assured, however, that it stuck the landing, ultimately delivering one of the most satisfying, fun and memorable souls-like experiences I have ever had. Even if you have never played a souls-like before, I would strongly recommend this game to you. This is your chance to see just how much fun this genre can be.

Since I played it, my unpopular gaming opinion has been that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a bad game. I have tried to play it twice, with around 15 hours of play time, but, as far as I am concerned, it is simply not a fun game. It is unfortunate, because it is so widely acclaimed and loved, particularly for its parry-based combat system. I have long lamented the fact that I could not find as much enjoyment in it as others have, despite how much I tried. This is not a review of Sekiro, however, but one of Lies of P, which despite its many explicit influences, is not only a great game on its own, but I believe it to be everything that Sekiro could and should have been.

Even the premise of the game, a reimagined version of the story of Pinocchio, causes the game to stand out for its quality. This very easily could have been a cheap cash grab in the vein of the Winnie the Pooh horror film we got last year, but in this case, we were granted a glimpse into the positive effects of a well-known character entering the public domain. In many ways, these two creations are similar; dark and twisted perspectives on household children's stories. The difference is that the Winnie the Pooh film was made with the sole intention of shock factor to bring in a quick payday, whereas Round8 Studios clearly set out to use the character of Pinocchio to increase the marketability of their incredible souls-like.

That is probably a little unfair, as the studio have also clearly put a great deal of thought into how they wanted to tell the story, and although it may have some puppet-like qualities to it on its own with stiff and stilted moments, I was surprisingly invested in it and its endearing cast of characters. Not only that, but the aesthetic of the game is both unique and familiar, effortlessly bounding between dirty, rusty scrapyards and regal, elegant European architecture. The mechanic of choosing between telling the truth or a lie, while simple, remains effective. It is always pretty clear what the game considers to be the "correct" answer, but this does not detract from the experience, in fact, I believe it greatly adds to it, further distancing the game from the rest of the genre by forgoing the standard complex lore which is communicated through eight total lines of dialogue plus one random statue asset (not that that is always a bad thing, I actually also enjoy this style greatly when it works). Knowing what you are meant to be saying allows for the impact of rejecting it to be more effective, as well as keeping the primary focus on the moment-to-moment gameplay and emphasising the point the developers want to make about the morality of the children's tale they are adapting.

And boy, is that moment-to-moment gameplay good. Where (again, at least to me) Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game that seems to hate you for playing it, Lies of P seems to be built around both accommodating and challenging the player at once. The game leans further into the A side of ARPG than others, restricting your gear to basically just some charms and a sword, but this is arguably the best thing about the game. It keeps the mechanics focused, the rewards pool relevant, no matter your build, while making it possible for you to pursue a huge range of playstyles. The ability to customise your sword, combining almost any blade and handle, creating a combination that suits you, makes finding new weapons endlessly exciting and makes your weapon feel far more personal. It is nothing short of a stroke of genius, combined with the fact that the variety and style-factor of weapons was clearly given a great deal of consideration during development. The game does not just want you to have a good build, but a cool build.

The other highlight to me, and where the comparison to Sekiro really takes hold, is the game's emphasis on parrying your opponents attacks. This, combined with the way staggering works, allows you to have some incredibly cool moments, while maintaining the challenge of the combat and giving the developers the means to mess with the player. Attempting to hit the heavy attack on the boss who is currently in the middle of a crazy combo as you can see their stagger window disappearing can be the making of - or the end of - a run. It is truly a brilliantly implemented design choice. This, along with other changes such as the mechanic of your last health item recharging after you have used it, gives the player the sense that any run, no matter how scuffed, has the potential for the clutch of all clutches. It feels great to play.

I will not go into any specific bosses here, since they are undoubtedly best experienced blind, but I will mention that the game stumbled towards the end with a boss that gave me flashbacks to the "Elden Beast" in Elden Ring. Rest assured, however, that it stuck the landing, ultimately delivering one of the most satisfying, fun and memorable souls-like experiences I have ever had. Even if you have never played a souls-like before, I would strongly recommend this game to you. This is your chance to see just how much fun this genre can be.