Just One Little Lie Won't Hurt... (Lies of P, in review)

     At the beginning of this year, I set a goal for myself that I really wasn't sure if I'd be able to complete. I really wanted to take down a good Soulslike game, since I've never been able to do that. Before I go any farther, I guess I should explain the term "Soulslike," which basically means that it follows the conventions of Dark Souls and other very challenging games like that. The main guideposts in this RPG sub-genre are that you lose all of your currency when you die, and once you get to save points, all of the enemies will respawn. I'm happy to report that I've already been able to achieve my goal, thanks to a game that came out a few years ago, Lies of P. This game does a pretty awesome job of taking a classic fairytale story and twisting it slightly to create the world of a creepy Bloodborne-esque steampunk setting, and one that was pretty difficult, though maybe not as rough around the edges as most of them are. This a really cool game, and today I'll discuss some of the neater aspects of it.

I've Got No Strings!

    Lies of P very loosely follows the story of Pinocchio, as written by Carlo Colodi. The team behind this game was very passionate about this being an adaptation of the original stories as opposed to the Disney film, even going so far as to dedicate this game to the memory of the original author. The story of the game, of course, follows a very different route, because instead of a fairy tale (even a dark one), it's an M-rated game (not safe for kids, parents!) known for its difficulty. The game takes place in the kingdom of Krat, a run-down land covered in disease and madness which was once promised to be a futuristic city of tomorrow. In this land, the humans created animatronics to do all of their heavy lifting for them, and called them puppets. Eventually, however, madness swept through through the land and made the puppets turn on the humans. On top of this devestation, there was a disease corrupting the people of Krat and turning them into monsters as well. In this game, you play as Geppetto's Puppet, who is awakened suddenly by a mysterious blue butterfly. The presence speaks to the puppet, but makes it clear that they have a will of their own, and over time reveals that he contains a special trait that other puppets don't have, the ability to lie. The blue presence reveals herself to be Sophia, a girl who has the ability to use Ergo (which functions as the "souls" of this game that you collect to upgrade yourself) to speak to puppets and understand what they're saying, as well as unlock some hidden potential within them. Sophia tells you that Geppetto, the famous inventor who created you, is in trouble, and you need to help him out. You're not alone in this quest though, you of course have your handy Cricket puppet, Gemini (pronounced Jiminy) to guide you along and give helpful advice if you ever need it. This starts off the game, but it really goes wild places past this point.

    Honestly one of the main reasons I enjoyed this game so much was just because of how the adaptation was of the original story of Pinocchio, and though I've never read the book, I have seen the Disney movie which I assume isn't so far off the mark. Obviously in this game, you play as the Pinocchio character, Sophia is the Blue Fairy, Gemini acts as your conscience, like Jiminy Cricket, and Geppetto is the puppet maker, just like in the story. Obviously in this game, the puppets are robots, but it's not too hard to make that adjustment in your mind. The first boss of the game is even a pretty clear nod to Stromboli, the owner of the puppet show that Pinocchio runs away to join. We have a boss pretty early on called the "Mad Donkey," a clear reference to the kids on Pleasure Island that turn into donkeys after doing bad things. These references are all over the place, but one of the coolest systems in this game is the importance on becoming human, or at least humanesque. Because you're the only puppet that can lie, you have the ability to gain emotions and some semblance of humanity throughout the game. During your playthrough, you're constantly upgrading with ergo and learning how humanity works, reacting differently and becoming more impacted by different musical records that you collect and listen to, which causes the Ergo inside you to resonate. At one point in the game, you find a portrait of yourself, which you hang in the library (the game's central hub, if you will). But as your humanity goes up, and you lie more often, many times due to making others feel better about something, the portrait begins to change and the nose begins sticking out of it. Once it gets long enough, you're actually able to take it and use it as a weapon. It's honestly one of the coolest references, and is a really strong weapon, made even better because of the context.

    Speaking of weapons, this game is full of cool weapons that you get, as well as different ways to customize them by combining different blades with different handles, allowing you to unlock different abilities than they would have otherwise. There were a few times where I consulted a guide in this game just because I really didn't know what sorts of stats would be best to boost when I was leveling my character up, and I realized by looking on forums that there are so many different ways to play through this game, and that many people would go back every now and then and do a different run relying on different types of weapons and strategies. The weapon I ended up using the most was this massive trident that you could get by trading one of the items that you got from beating a boss to a treasure hunter, and I was able to handle most of the fights in the game with that, but later on, I did change to a faster build. Both were really fun ways to play the game, and I loved that the game gives you the freedom to find whatever feels best to you. In some games, it feels like there's one right way to handle things, and if you're not doing that, then you're just wasting your time.

    I don't want to get too caught up in the weeds about this game, but I will say if you're a fan of Soulslike games, definitely give Lies of P a shot, not just because it's another game in that sort of niche, but because the story is genuinely interesting. There were some twists that came in towards the ending that I did not see coming, and that combined with the lie mechanics jumping in almost right after, I was so worried that I was going to make the wrong decision all through the game. There are at least two different endings that you can go for in this game, though I think there's a third one that can be achieved on the third playthrough if you've taken different steps properly. I don't think I would play through this game again all the way through, just because I have so many other things to play, I can definitely understand the thought of some doing that. It's a really cool game and one that I'm so glad I had a chance to play all the way through. I'm also excited for the DLC coming out, called Lies of P: Overture, where it looks like your character goes to an area inspired by Pleasure Island. I hope these developers will continue this idea of worlds like this based on different fantasy properties, and I'm sure they'll do a great job with whatever their next idea is, if they choose to go about that.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends. Have you ever heard of Lies of P? Upon seeing the first trailer, I was excited, but I definitely was put off when I realized the obvious gameplay mechanics of Dark Souls. I'm glad that I was able to push through that, because I had a really great time with it! I hope you're all having a great week, and I hope you're doing well. Until next time, I'm Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed liar, and I'll talk to you again soon!