Lies of P: We tried the promising Korean Soulslike inspired by Pinocchio
Lies of P
There is absolutely no risk of being proven wrong after two days spent entirely in this Gamescom 2022: Lies of P is undoubtedly this year's game. In a not so rich year, with a small show floor and with few stands, witnessing the incredible line that surrounded the NEOWIZ stand and even the single, sparse station present in the Xbox stand, gave us this important confirmation. Thanks to a surely disturbing announcement trailer and then the first gameplay reveal that was the undisputed protagonist of the Opening Night Live on Tuesday evening.Obviously on these pages we did not miss the opportunity to analyze in far and wide this last video in an attempt to focus on the mechanics of a title that undoubtedly belongs to the genre of soulslike, but thanks to the experience and a vision disconnected from the archetypes and standardizations of the genre of the Round 8 Studio team , what is brought to the screens seems to offer a minimum of originality compared to the clichés to which we are now addicted.
It is not just a question of setting, artistic style or charm of the protagonist: in Lies of P the system is of combat seems to treasure a series of mechanics that in the past we have already found in other titles and, although the inspiration towards FromSoftware titles is very strong , there seems to be here and there some sprinkles of other more or less classic action (did someone say Devil May Cry?) and perhaps even a narrative system more adherent to the tradition of western adventure.
Now we will try to go into the details of what we have experienced since this year's Gamescom allowed us to get our hands on a pad connected to a PC station where Lies of P ran in all its glory like this to allow us to face 2 different chapters of the game, the second and the third, in a demo apparently unlocked in terms of the depth of the scenario, but limited for reasons of time and to avoid that the line could reach disproportionate dimensions.
Everything that follows is therefore the result of the considerations of the writer and the proof of Lies of P that we were able to do with the aim of capturing every single element of the combat system and the movement of the avatar. We may certainly have missed something, or maybe we may not have perfectly focused some dynamics, but you will surely be there to point it out in the comments. And above all, do not venture into the rest of the article without first reading this special about the setting, the protagonist and the dynamics of Lies of P.
Bloodborne or Sekiro or maybe Devil May Cry ?
Factories capable of producing automatons are on the agenda in Lies of P In reality, none of the 3: Lies of P is certainly an original experiment as far as all the aforementioned titles are concerned, to which it is clearly mandatory to also add Dark Souls, serve as inspiration for the game's combat system.The demo opened with the selection of a sort of pre-set build with the possibility of choosing between 3 possibilities: a setup based on balance, one on agility and one on heavy hits. What changed was mainly the main weapon equipped, but we are convinced that some differences were also inherent in the characteristics of P. Characteristics that, unfortunately, it was not possible to visualize during the demonstration. In terms of movement we can expect all the most classic repertoire: dodges including rolls, heavy attack, light attack, the possibility of ringing some combos, but also of jumping by holding down the run button and pressing when needed, the left analog.
The first, true, variation on the theme is represented by the mechanical arm of the avatar. In the demo it was possible to choose between four prostheses, modifiable only in conjunction with the Stargazer, the personal interpretation of the bonfire by Round 8 Studio. Through a dedicated menu it was possible to alternate between an electrified appendage capable of loading a shot to be made at close range to make opponents more vulnerable to subsequent attacks; a grappling hook capable of attracting the most distant enemies to us; a portable cannon capable of firing projectiles capable of exploding a few seconds after impact; an arm wrestling useful for making close shots loaded with great power. Each arm determines a different activation behavior with the electrified one which, for example, allows you to move slowly while we are loading it and the cannon which instead involves an approach of the view without any possibility to move to focus instead on the management of the sight. However, consider that it is very likely that in the course of the game we will acquire many other mechanized arts. All prostheses insist on a specific energy bar, the battery, which does not recharge over time, but only when resting at the Stargazer or using a specific consumable.
In the modernized bonfire it was also possible to upgrade weapons on the fly and this leaves us particularly curious in terms of any non-player characters dedicated to the sale and improvement of our equipment.
The Victorian imaginary is strong in Lies of P Obviously, there is also the parade that can be carried out with the weapon equipped and which becomes perfect if used with the right timing. By doing so, the opponent's attacks are immediately blocked even if in the middle of a sequence and the latter will be stunned, at the mercy of our best shots. It is also possible to equip 2 weapons to be changed on the fly with the pressure of the digital cross, but it does not seem possible to use them at the same time or to hold them with 2 hands. It seems, so to speak, that the mechanical limb cannot be used to manage "normal" weapons.
There are 2 further mechanics that come into operation when the fight becomes more intense. First of all there is a kind of stun that can only occur in conjunction with medium and main bosses, those with the energy bar that is positioned at the bottom of the screen, so to speak. Following a series of blows inflicted in rapid succession, the bar begins to flash white and, at that point, by holding the trigger of the heavy blow, we can stun the enemy by making him fall to the ground or to his knees. A very short attack window will then open in which we will be able to perform a special blow using the right backbone, that of the light attack, but only by positioning ourselves laterally or behind the opponent.
Who knows if we will find out what happened to the world of Lies of P The other "original" idea of Lies of P is represented by the Fable Arts, a sort of sequence of shots that we can inflict with our main weapon or with the mechanical arm, as long as you have filled a blue bar positioned just below the energy and stamina indicators. This bar fills up by making attacks and is divided into 3 parts with the power of the blows depending on the number of spaces filled entirely before unloading the combo.
It does not seem possible to attack opponents from behind to kill them with a single well placed shot, while the cures are determined by some vials that can be refilled by resting as usual Stargazer, but there is an interesting variation on the theme: once all the vials are finished, it is possible to recover only one by successfully fighting the opponents. The indicator will fill up as the shots hit and once the maximum is reached, we will return to having a single vial available and then reactivate this mechanism when we have consumed it again.
A peculiar artistic style
The charm of the protagonist of Lies of P is beyond question Even on the artistic front the numerous similarities with Bloodborne that we have heard and read around do not really do justice to Lies of P. Clearly the setting Victorian is a point of contact between FromSoftware's game and the new work of Round 8 Studio, however P appeared to us extremely brighter, completely away from the Lovecraftian demonic spirit that animates and populates Yharnam. Here we are much closer to a steampunk imaginary made of out of control automata, robots, gears, factories and puppets. The very characterization of the protagonist with his mechanical prosthesis, clothing and attitude seem to reflect belonging to a world which, although it may have escaped human control, maintains its own "livability".Tra the other, as also hypothesized in the previous article published here on sportsgaming.win, it is possible that Lies of P can propose a narration far from the style of FromSoftware and much more adherent to Western canons or in any case much more evident and explicit. It even seems possible that there are real traditional secondary missions if what we happened to see represents a clue of what we will find in the final game: at a certain point of the exploration in fact we came across a public phone that made us interact with a sort of riddle ready to submit a riddle. Having solved it correctly allowed us to get our hands on a useful key to open who knows which door.
The setting of Lies of P is only obscure in appearance But to find out we will have to wait for the final game to be released scheduled for a generic 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S, including the Game Pass where the title will arrive already at launch and Google Stadia.
Having been able to play Lies of P there has allowed us to investigate a fighting system that appears promising and that seems to have been inspired by different Soulslike and action to propose a personal interpretation of the genre. If the result is really valid and satisfying, we will be able to find out only with a more in-depth test, but for the moment we can be quite satisfied, net of some imperfections typical of a title still in development that must find the tare for what it is. it concerns the fluidity of the frame rate and the accuracy of the hitboxes. But the guys in Round 8 Studio should have time and the potential for a great title seems to be there.
