Lies of P's initial reaction was definitely one of the more funny game announcements in recent memory. A soulsborne styled game in the world of Pinocchio. And the game's title is absolutely clunky. Lies of P is such a slapdashed title, I have to respect it. I, like most others, probably didn’t think much about it, other than knowing I’d likely play it at some point because I am a massive Pinocchio fan, so something like this, I got to check out. Yeah, can’t say I expected this game to actually get a ton of critical acclaim, which is really cool, and definitely made me more anticipated to check this one out.

This game is very cute, and very competent. It basically sets out on its main mission of making a solid playing Bloodborne clone. And to its credit, it does a decent job of differentiating itself gameplay wise, with a weapon mix and matching system, an arm replacing your gun, and most importantly, a Sekiro inspired parry and stance gauge. I don’t think all these functions marry into one another super well, which I’ll get into later, but the actual gameplay mostly works pretty well. Definitely scratched a Bloodborne itch after three years after it started my Souls like addiction that led to me playing all the Fromsoft titles.

The decision to make this entirely inspired by Pinocchio truly is what makes this game stand out however. Like it or not, this absolutely batshit decision is definitely the highlight of the game, and for me, it was definitely the best part of the game. Seeing familiar faces like Honest John become like for trade kidnappers is fun. It even made Jiminy Cricket as annoying as ever, truly dedicated to the source material! It is fucking stupid, the fact that the best ending of the game is titled “Rise of P” is a truly brainmelting moment, but it delivers in its self-serious spectacle with earnestness and I admire that a lot.

Now, I know a lot of people put this game in high contention with the other Fromsoft titles. Look, I wish I was there with them. I don’t see it. The second half of this game almost guarantees I wouldn’t. After you encounter the King of Puppets, I feel like the game completely hikes the difficulty in a way that I did not find enjoyable at all. As someone who has pretty recently played every title in Fromsoft’s catalog, there can be a lot to criticize in those titles, but even the most brutal stretches of Elden Ring or Dark Souls III did not feel like this. Lies of P is pretty easy in the first two thirds of the game, and then it feels like every fight is asking you to become Sekiro, when you were playing Bloodborne with training wheels. I do not think the levels give you the preparation needed for those boss encounters, and a lot of the last handful of fights especially are truly abysmal in terms of my overall enjoyment. The final boss did a lot to mitigate my irritation, and gamer rage, but I truly hated how nearly every fight in this game felt the need to have two phase two health bar spectacles. A trick that should be saved for twice per game at most, not nearly every mandatory encounter.

Lies of P is very messy, but overall, I did enjoy it! I wish I loved it. There is a lot here that is cute, and there is obviously a lot of competency on display here. I think this game could make for an excellent sequel, and I hope for this studio’s sake, they get that opportunity. Even if I don’t love the game, I’m more than glad it exists and that it made such a splash. Seeing absolutely over the top concepts like this get success is a net good, and I support the endeavor to make literary soulslikes from here on. I hope we can get a Humpty Dumpty boss fight where he turns into The Yolk of Life or some shit in one of these games soon.