© ROOT-NATION.com - Use of content is permitted with a backlink.
It’s hard to believe it’s been so long since NEOWIZ and Round8 Studio unleashed Lies of P upon the world in September 2023. Arriving amidst a sea of Soulslikes, its dark, Belle Époque reimagining of the Pinocchio story immediately caught the eye. Now, in April 2025, with the highly anticipated expansion, Lies of P: Overture, set to release this summer, it feels like the perfect time to look back. With countless other challenging action RPGs having come and gone since the original’s debut, the question is: does P’s journey through the ravaged city of Krat still hold up, and does it leave us eager for more?
Revisiting Lies of P today, its core mechanics remain incredibly solid. It wears its FromSoftware inspirations proudly – the deliberate combat, the intricate level design packed with shortcuts, the punishing bosses, and the cryptic lore are all here. Yet, Lies of P never felt like a mere clone, and that distinction has only become clearer with time.
The combat, centered around timed guards (Perfect Guards) and recoverable health, still feels crisp and demanding. It rewards aggression but punishes recklessness, a balance many Soulslikes strive for but few perfect. However, this heavy reliance on Perfect Guards, with a timing window that feels overly strict, especially during certain infamous difficulty spikes, can lead to major frustration. Furthermore, the initial effectiveness of the dodge ability felt somewhat lacking compared to genre contemporaries, strongly funneling players towards the parry mechanic, which might not appeal to all playstyles. Despite these hurdles, the stagger system, allowing for powerful Fatal Attacks, adds a satisfying rhythm to encounters. While the genre has continued to evolve, the fundamental loop here remains deeply engaging, even if the path through Krat is more guided and linear than in some other Soulslikes.
Read also: Lost Records Bloom & Rage Review: An Ambitious but Uneven Successor to Life is Strange
Where Lies of P truly carved its niche, and continues to shine, is in its unique systems. The Weapon Assembly feature remains a standout, offering a staggering degree of customization by allowing players to mix and match blades and handles. This lets players fine-tune weapon scaling, reach, speed, and special Fable Arts, encouraging experimentation in a way that still feels fresh; even now, few games offer this level of build flexibility tied directly to crafting.
Complementing this are the Legion Arms, prosthetic attachments providing diverse utility – from grappling hooks and shields to elemental attacks and deployable mines – adding another effective layer to combat strategy. Meaningful progression comes via the P-Organ, an upgrade system using Quartz found throughout the world for significant passive buffs and ability enhancements that shape gameplay beyond simple stat increases.
Finally, The Lying System, while mechanically simple with its often binary choices, adds undeniable narrative impact. Deciding whether to lie or tell the truth subtly shapes P’s journey and ending, adding thematic weight drawn from the Pinocchio source material that still feels distinct despite the prevalence of narrative choice mechanics.
Krat remains a stunningly realized setting. The rain-slicked cobblestone streets, opulent opera houses turned death traps, and grimy factories crawling with rogue puppets create an unforgettable atmosphere. The enemy design – a grotesque menagerie of clockwork horrors and mutated monstrosities – is still top-tier, although we noted repetition in certain enemy types later in the game. Visually, while newer titles running on the latest engines might boast higher fidelity textures or more complex ray-tracing, Lies of P‘s art direction ensures it hasn’t aged poorly. Its cohesive, dark fairy-tale aesthetic is timeless.
Read also: Monster Hunter Wilds Review – A Refined but Flawed Evolution
Verdict
Looking back from 2025, Lies of P isn’t just a fond memory; it’s a game that confidently holds its ground. Its masterful execution of core Soulslike tenets, combined with genuinely innovative systems like weapon assembly, ensures it remains relevant and highly playable. While its specific approach to combat, particularly the demanding Perfect Guard system and occasional sharp difficulty spikes, wasn’t universally loved and its overall structure is quite linear, the challenge generally feels earned and the tools provided are robust.
Has the genre moved on? Yes, in some ways. New mechanics and narrative approaches have emerged in other titles. But Lies of P established itself not just as a competent entry, but as a standout title that understood the spirit of the genre while forging its own identity. Its blend of familiar mechanics and unique twists, wrapped in a compelling world and narrative, was exceptional in 2023, and despite some valid criticisms regarding difficulty tuning and linearity, it remains a highly recommended experience for fans of challenging action RPGs today. If you missed it back then, it’s absolutely still worth diving into the dark, mechanical heart of Krat, especially with new adventures on the horizon.
