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Photo: Xbox
Photo: Den of Geeks
You will encounter multiple enemies that
need to be defeated to obtain experience
points you can use to level up. Every new
enemy type comes with different attack
patterns, health bars and strategies. What
makes the game difficult is how unabashedly
hard it can be to read the attacks, and if
you misstep, the game does not hold back
punishing you, and is not forgiving in the
slightest. Lies of P copies this formula to
almost perfection, retaining most of the rage
inducing elements of previous Souls-likes,
while mitigating some frustrations with a
few helpful improvements, like regaining
extra charges on your healing item based on successful attacks
or leaving accumulated experience points outside of boss arenas
instead of inside. In Lies of P, whenever an enemy attacks you have
the option to either block or dodge, depending on your playstyle,
enemy or whatever strategy you employ. This gives you a plethora
of options to deal with enemies and bosses in different scenarios,
however, since it allows for both playstyles, it means the game is
not as finely tuned around these mechanics like Bloodborne and
Sekiro. Sometimes you are forced to block as enemies perform
attacks which cannot be dodged (which is a blatant lie, they can
be, they just do not give you invulnerability frames, like a usual
dodge does). Thus, choosing a playstyle isn’t always as viable, as
preferably, you should employ both. That said, I mainly dodged
and was able to get through most of the game, except for one pesky
clown boss, but after looking at other playthroughs realized that I
did it in a less than ideal way. If you’re too late to block you will also
take damage, you have to perfectly time it, however, this gives you
a window to regain some of the lost HP if you attack back quickly
enough, much like the system in Bloodborne.
Lies of P incorporates a unique element which helps to distinguish it
from being a mere FromSoftware copycat. Each weapon can attach
a unique handle, which both alters some stats, attack animation in
general and Fable attacks. Fable attacks are special attacks which
can only be used once a certain amount of successful attacks have
been landed, akin to Elden Ring’s Ashes of War. By mixing different
handles you can alter your playstyle and also decide which stats
you’d want to focus on, as every handle works better with certain
stats, and the damage can scale of that. Changing up your playstyle
may be beneficial as some enemies and particular bosses may
require a different approach than what you’re used to, although
everything dies in the end to a good whack.
Speaking of bosses, the main attraction of any Souls-like are the
grandiose boss battles and Lies of P does not disappoint. They
are big, feral, and as dangerous as they come, and let’s not forget,
incredibly infuriating. You will die, numerous times, and that’s
why we masochists return time and time again to this game genre.
Because the exhilaration and thrill of studying a boss’ moves and
overcoming fierce adversity is a rush that cannot be compared.
The bosses are well designed, with a few particular standouts that
I fell in love with and felt slight disappointment that we didn’t see
more with the same gothic-horror vibe. But they are a magnificent
sight to behold, and luckily, just as fun and maddening to beat too.
Accompanying the exploration of Krat and combat is a delicious
soundtrack, that in my opinion stands as one of its stronger,
and original, points. It’s epic and monumental during bosses,
heightening the already striking battle taking place, and somber
or even creepy during exploration and fighting standard enemies.
The voice acting too is quite decent, some characters feel a bit
flat though, but overall, the cast does a good job of portraying the
characters stuck in this horrifying scenario.
The game looks absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. The city
of Krat feels like a real place, fallen to the tides of tragedy, and
other areas feature the same striking style and influence from the
Belle Epoque era. The graphics are working overtime, and if you
play on PC, I hope your computer won’t implode from rendering
the beautiful scenery. Some areas are better than others, and
occasionally a few areas feel a bit recycled where they could
have changed it up. They do on occasion, however, the feeling of
repetitive use of ideas occur, yet it doesn’t stifle the experience. I
also want to note that the final area is most likely the most lackluster
and visually boring, which is a sad climax to an otherwise fantastic
journey.
What receives a lukewarm reception is the story. There’s nothing
wrong with it, the worldbuilding is fine, the characters fun, but
often the characters feel a bit one-dimensional, and their quests
OKTOBER 2023 UNIKUM NR 8 29