Lies of P: Overture – Review

Neowiz surprised us when they announced the idea of Lies of P, a soulslike game based on the lore of Pinocchio. While it seemed like an unusual idea, it soon earned them a healthy cult following, with fans calling it one of, if not the best soulslike game not developed by FromSoft. Now, after a surprise shadow drop, it’s time to pick up the strings once again with Lies of P: Overture, a DLC prequel to the action RPG.

I’m a Real Boy

Lies of P: Overture sends Geppetto’s puppet back in time to just before the events of the “Puppet Frenzy” which was the main focus of the base game. This gives players a brief look into life on the cusp of chaos as the Puppet and Gemini explore Krat Zoo and, as if almost driven by fate, find themselves following the path of the legendary Stalker.

There is a surprising amount of lore in this DLC not only about Puppet Frenzy and Petrification Disease but also about the Puppet, Romeo the King of Puppets, and Geppetto. While I’m hesitant to share too many details about the story as I don’t want to spoil it for you, I found myself once again absorbed in the world of Lies of P, Pinocchio, and the mystery of Krat. It ties up a few loose ends, is well-written, and naturally fits into the story despite being based around time travel.

Once Upon A Time There Was a Piece of Wood

Lies of P: Overture requires a certain level of familiarity with the game. While it’s not quite post-game, you can only access this content from Chapter 9 of the main game or Chapter 5 if you’re on your second playthrough. The earlier start for those on New Game+ is ideal for those like me who have long finished the base game. That said, I would highly advise against going into this DLC without at least one full playthrough under your belt though for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the Overture DLC sheds light on a few things from the narrative that would be considered huge spoilers. It would also massively dampen the significance of the revelations, which I feel were some of the most impactful moments of the whole game, not just this downloadable content.

Secondly, this DLC feels like it was designed to be a challenge for people who had no strings to hold them down and have already rolled the credits in Lies of P. Regardless of what level you stroll into this content at, it hits like a truck and reminds you of how vulnerable you once were back when Pinocchio first emerged from the train back in Krat Central Station.

Along with the release of the Overture DLC, the base game also saw a massive patch with many quality-of-life improvements. In a rather controversial move for some, it also introduced difficulty levels for the game. At the time of writing, these feel more effective in the base game than in the extra content, which as mentioned hits hard. The developers have mentioned they are looking into rebalancing the difficulty, so those who want a more relaxing experience can look forward to that. I can see the argument from both sides of the coin, but personally that sharp reminder of how tough the game can be only increased how rewarding it felt to take down this challenge.

Woe To Those Boys Who Rebel Against Their Parents

I’ll be upfront with you dear reader, Lies of P: Overture isn’t a game changer. It doesn’t do anything “new” to the game. This DLC adds a few new weapons, a couple of new areas, and new enemies and bosses. The new bosses I should mention are some of the best fights in the game. If you were expecting some grandiose change with this DLC then you’ll likely be disappointed. Instead, this game is to be taken as an additional challenge with some fantastic rewards for returning puppet masters.

Talking of boss fights, the second main one you come across is a fantastic indicator of what you’ll be facing in both terms of quality and difficulty. Markonia, Puppeteer of Death, is a two-on-one boss fight where you take on the named character and her Puppet. It’s an intense fight that at first seems like a giant brick wall of pain, but after a few fights you’ll have the parry timings down and know when you should attack Markonia or when to take on her Puppet. She’s an excellent introduction to the level of boss fight this DLC has to offer and quite often the game exceeds the high quality already found here.

Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide

Lies of P: Overture takes the adventure of Pinocchio through the locales of a recently wrecked zoo, a carnival, and a frozen tundra before visiting a few more familiar areas including the safety of Hotel Krat. The zoo area was a real standout and I wish that it lasted longer. I felt like hobbling over from the dangers of infected animals into the familiarity of another carnival area made up of puppets dulled those first few hours where the content felt truly new.

The Krat Zoo also features the most “original” enemies, including infected kangaroos, gorillas, and even a boss battle against an alligator that would make the big boy from Resident Evil 2 tremble. These all felt like brand new and genuinely intriguing threats. Unfortunately, the game is quick to fall back on familiar enemies from the base game with a different color scheme and a new attack or two. I expected some reuse as so so many soulslike DLCs are guilty of this, but I feel Lies of P: Overture plays its best tune far too early into the show and relies on the tried and tested classics too heavily.

Verdict

Lies of P: Overture is priced at half the cost of the base game and will provide first-time players with moderate skill and familiarity with around 15 to 20 hours of fun. This may of course be reduced with any future difficulty balancing changes.

I really enjoyed the excuse to load up Lies of P again and consider it my favorite non-Fromsoft title of the genre. The new areas in the Overture DLC are fantastic and the boss fights are easily on par with the best ones from the base game with a fantastically emotional final boss fight. Admittedly, the playtime vs cost might not be for everyone in this post-Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree world, but as someone who loves the world of Krat, Pinocchio, and the Stalkers, I found it to be well worth the wait and the price.

LIES OF P: OVERTURE IS RECOMMENDED

If you like action games with a theme, you might want to check out our review of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.

Many thanks go to Neowiz for a PlayStation 5 review code for Lies of P: Overture.

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