Last Thursday we were pleasantly surprised because one of this year’s highly anticipated Xbox Game Passes, Lies of P, already has a demo so we can try it out before its final launch next September. The title shows us a murky and twisted way of telling us the fable of Pinocchio, in which the wooden dolls are replaced by metal appliances and nuts. And we call it that because that’s really one of the game’s greatest qualities, how dark its world seems, in which violence is the order of the day and bloodied bodies populate the streets of this Victorian town. very steampunk.
At the end of the Summer Game Fest, we launched to test the demo on our Xbox Series X and after downloading its incredible 20 GB, we were able to access this fragment available to play with which we could get a little idea of the technical production of the title, of part of its gameplay and of the structure that it wants to show us. And yes, there is certainly no doubt. It’s a Soulslike in its own right. Without restraint, he takes all elements of this genre and captures them in his own way.. And maybe that’s one of the downsides of Lies of P. That maybe it’s a bit late.
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A soulslike manual
Because, we admit, it has a certain air of Bloodborne, but there is a game that could well be a first part: Steelrising. If you’ve played these last souls, released last year, you can get a good idea of what we’ve played so far in Lies of Pi. Clearly a simple demo doesn’t “prove” all the depth, enemies, or dimension the title can achieve, but it feels very similar: robotic enemies, undeniable, undisguised souls, and even the decadent city that trades Paris. for a kind of London called Krat. That said, we also notice that Lies of Pi has perhaps a bigger quality point than the first one, which is conveyed above all through its beautiful animations and updated graphics. It goes without saying that even the first enemies are already far more mobile than the automatons of Steelrising, but it’s a good starting point for you to understand us.
Of course, several months before its launch, Lies of Pi works like a charm on Xbox Series X. In its performance mode not only does it look great but it also moves very well at 60 fps and we even observed in the options that there will be the option to activate a high performance mode, perhaps to achieve 120 fps. Although the most remarkable is the grandiose, elegant and overwhelming aesthetics of this decadent Krat, which offers us in the few minutes that the demo lasts, majestically disturbing landscapes. Fog and night will dominate an ensemble lit only by the streets and the light of the moon.
Superior to the rest? Probably yes.
But let's really get down to the basics, its gameplay. Combat keeps drifting away from the canons of the soulslike subgenre. There are so many things to compare yourself to that it's hard to rank or line up with one in particular. It might seem that the hook that P gets and his exposed mechanical arm will give us more versatile combat options, like in Sekiro, just as there is also the concept of unbalancing the opponent to open an "execution" window, to land a very powerful Automated Blow, but at the same time it also puts us in the position of having to continually sharpen our weapon to do the maximum amount of damage possible.
As always, the "souls" will have their own name (Ergo), the "bonfire" will have its own (Stargazer) and every time we visit it, all enemies will be reset. In this sense, we tell you seriously, there is no room for doubt. The really interesting thing when we accept that it is a soul is that it is quite difficult, with a dynamic that will force us to seek out the weak points of the strongest enemies, so that they do not not destroy us quickly, although I must admit that the amount of life is much more generous than in other similar titles. What we will have are perfectly designed scenarios, which in this case are very reminiscent of the structure of Bloodborne and even the characteristic "malevolence" of From Software, with many ambushes, enemies that shoot you from afar at the most opportune moments or the possibility of exploring in depth if you want. Of course, the demo gives you the opportunity to savor all this in a sublime way.
But back to the plot, which plays a strong role, since in the demo of Lies of P we have already been able to see some cutscenes, meet some of the main characters, even Geppetto himself or our particular "Jiminy Cricket" , and the truth is that we liked everything we saw. Its aesthetic is dark, gloomy, but at the same time, the architectures and the beauty of the decorations contrast with all this.
If you like the genre, you will enjoy it 100%
In short, Lies of P contains everything that can excite lovers of the souls subgenre. If you're one of those looking for some kind of Bloodborne 2 in it or something from From Software titles forget it, it's impossible. Many have tried and no one has succeeded. While that doesn't mean others like The Surge, Thymesia, or the aforementioned Steelrising aren't good and fun, that's a matter of taste. But with the almost 3 hours we were able to enjoy in the Neowiz title, we can almost say that it will be above average.
And we keep saying it might be a bit late, but only because it won't surprise any of the most seasoned of the genre, but for the rest of the mortals, we're sure they'll appreciate it a lot, since its concept of soulslike combat is appealing, the aesthetics are excellent and graphically it looks solid and very accomplished. Yeah, I'm going to devour it when it releases on Xbox Game Pass on September 19but I also tell you, I would have bought it anyway.
