Lies of Pwas just announced as a brand new soulslike action RPG from developer Round8 Studio, and publisher NeoWiz. Interestingly,Lies of Pis inspired byPinocchioand follows a player-controlled Pinocchio who embarks out to find his creator, Geppetto. However,Lies of Phas leftPinocchio’s usual setting behind and replaced it with a Belle Époque town in Europe where all of humanity is gone, leaving the city to rot. The game also features a unique mechanic focused on players lying to NPCs about their actions throughout the game. How players lie throughout the game will influence quests and dynamically change them.
Little has been shown ofLies of Pbeyond its cinematic trailer, but there are already some comparisons that can be made betweenLies of Pand some of the biggest soulslike games on the market. Of course, players know some of what can be expected from a soulslike action RPG. One can expect massive boss fights, high difficulty, stamina-based combat, and lots of dying. Of course, there is also a lot of variety between soulslike titles; some focus more on parrying over dodging, some feature slower or faster combat mechanics. HowLies of Phandles its own spin on the genre remains to be seen, but there is still a lot that can be compared to other soulslike games.
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Comparing Lies of P to Dark Souls
Of course, theDark Soulsseries are some of the biggest soulslike titles out there, and are largely responsible for the genre’s popularity. One of the biggest features of theDark Soulsseries thatLies of Pcould be similar to is the subtle nature of its storytelling. TheDark Soulsseries features some extensive lore, delivering it to players in an unconventional way.
Players are left to piece together the story ofDark Soulsthrough cryptic hints from item descriptions and conversations with the few NPCs players come across. While the story ofDark Soulshas been pieced together by dedicated members of its community, it is likely thatLies of Pwill require similar effort for players to understand what the story of the game really is.
This could very well be a consequence ofLies of P’s lie system. If the player has to lie to the characters they come across, it would make sense that other characters in the game would lie to the player as well. With how much a player’s lies impact the quests throughout the game, it could also be difficult for the game’s community to decipher what the canon story is.Lies of P’s lying could also make interacting with characters similar to the experience inDark Souls, with lines often being hard to understand or driven by madness. This could also lead to players having to parse through the lies they are told to figure out where to find valuable items orweapons like inDark Souls.
Comparing Lies of P to Bloodborne
One ofBloodborne’s most remembered characteristics is its world of Yharnam. Yharnam is a sprawling city filled with Victorian and gothic architecture. The entirety of the game takes place within Yharnam, which allows layers to become intimately familiar withBloodborne’s Yharnam and all of its secrets. It seems thatLies of Pcould be going for something similar with its setting.Lies of Pfeatures the city of Krat, which has its design also deeply rooted in the architecture of a particular period. While Krat features architecture from Europe’s late 19th century, which is long after the gothic architecture movement, it could have an impact on the game similar to Yharnam.
With players spending all of their time in Krat they will likely become extremely familiar with its locations and streets.Lies of Pwill have players exploring the streets repeatedly, and it would make sense for the city to be filled with shortcuts and secrets similar to that ofBloodborne’s Yharnam.Lies of Palso says that it will feature a variety of unspeakable horrors for players to fight, which could very well be similar to the host ofterrifying monsters present inBloodborne. It could also turn out thatLies of P’s weapon combining system could create some very creative and unique weapons similar toBloodborne’s diverse suite of weapons.
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Comparing Lies of P to Thymesia
Despite it not being released yet,Thymesiahas already been compared a lot toBloodborne. WhileThymesia’s atmosphere and aesthetic do look similar toBloodborne, there is also a lot that it could have in common withLies of P. The most immediate comparison between the two is that both games have a plague as part of the setting. The plague inThymesiais a big part of its world, with even the player character donning an instantly identifiable plague doctor mask. It is not clear how much the plague will impact the gameplay ofLies of P, but it will undoubtedly influence its world significantly.
Another comparison between the two comes from their combat systems.Thymesiahas an interesting plague weapon systemthat allows players to customize their playstyle by equipping attacks that feature different large green weapons that the player summons and attacks with. Likewise,Lies of Pallows players to customize their Pinocchio character by modifying the clockwork parts of their body.Lies of Phas not released any official information on how that system will work in practice but seems as though it will offer a similar level of customizability for players to find their own playstyles and approaches to combat.
Of course, there is also a lot aboutLies of Pthat seems unique and makes the game stand out from other soulslike titles. Not only does it feature a great aesthetic with clockwork mechanical influences, but its dark spin on the familiarPinocchiostory could be very interesting for players to experience when it launches. There is no news regarding what release windowLies of Pis aiming to hit, but hopefully players will get a greater look at the title during the upcoming E3 and Summer Games Fest events.
Lies of Pis in development for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
