The classic tale of Pinocchio has been retold countless times over the years. From the very first time it was published in the 1883 book The Adventures of Pinocchio, through to the Walt Disney movie of the same name in 1940, to the recent live-action release starring Tom Hanks, the story of the wooden puppet who came to life and wished to be a real boy is one of the most well known across the world. Lies of P, the upcoming title from indie developer Neowiz, promises to put a fresh spin on the story, introducing players to the dark, twisted city of Krat, which Pinocchio must fight his way through. This focus on narrative, with a protagonist who fans will already know, is in direct contrast to the usual approach taken in a Soulslike title.
For fans of FromSoftware and Bloodborne in particular, Lies of P caught the eye almost immediately. Footage of the game shows that everything from the fighting mechanics to enemy health bars looks reminiscent of the PS4 exclusive. Considering that many consider Bloodborne to be one of the finest games of all time though, this is by no means a bad thing. With the IP remaining disappointingly dormant at this stage, fans are craving something else to fill the void. Despite the visual similarities, in terms of narrative, the two games couldn't be further apart, with Lies of P seemingly having a focused story laid out clearly for the player to see, rather than cryptically being unveiled through item descriptions.
Lies of P is Breaking One Major Rule of Soulslikes
Soulslikes have exploded in popularity in recent years, and following the universal success of FromSoftware's Elden Ring earlier this year, this shows no signs of slowing down. Many developers are looking for a piece of that success, and as a result of this, games that copy one or several of FromSoftware's mechanics are popping up all over the market. One of a Soulslike's defining traits is usually its cryptic narrative. With very little explained to the player from the outset, games like Bloodborne, Mortal Shell, and Hollow Knight ask the player to discover the story for themselves, should they wish to.
Doing so usually requires the player to interact with a variety of NPCs, sometimes numerous times, in order to unlock dialogue threads that shed light on the plot. While FromSoftware is renowned for its complex NPC quests, other developers are beginning to explore this too. Players looking to understand the narrative will also need to take the time to browse their inventory regularly, in order to read the description of things they pick up such as weapons and items. Doing this usually helps players to put the pieces together for themselves.
Interestingly, a lot of the time it's entirely possible to simply ignore this though, and play through the game while being completely in the dark about what's actually going on. For players who play Soulslike games purely for their difficulty and combat, this is likely fairly common. Lies of P represents a fairly unique scenario for the genre then, given the fact that every single player who plays the game will already have a decent idea of the protagonist's backstory, not to mention his end goal too.
This puts Neowiz in an interesting position, and while the developer has confirmed that it will be a very different interpretation of the classic tale everyone knows, it remains to be seen just how far the game will deviate from the story's events. With it being recently confirmed that it will take approximately 30 hours to beat Lies of P, and double that for those looking to seek out all the game's challenges, fans can be sure that whatever the story looks like, there will be plenty to do and see when the game launches next year.
Lies of P is set to release in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.