Lies of P

This is the best non From Software souls-like I have played. It really holds up to them very well. If you like the more linear story style like Dark Souls then I can't recommend this enough. If you're coming from only Elden Ring, this game should still be very enjoyable to you, but it's not just open world. The story itself is engaging and the gameplay is fun. If you're a souls fan you should definitely play this one.

I actually tried this game twice before on GamePass but due to a tragic affliction known as a 'skill issue' I really struggled with the perfect guard/block style of combat. However I decided to buy the game and stick at it and I am glad I did.

These devs clearly love FromSoft games as this is a pure souls-like through and through, though based loosely on the fable of Pinocchio which gives it a unique vibe all of its own. The setting of the fictional city of Krat is fantastic, particularly enjoyable (to me) are the early parts of the game where they really give you the sense of a world destroyed by a puppet uprising (robots really) and a deadly disease outbreak that wreaked havoc on the world.

The combat relies more on Sekiro like blocking than souls style rolling and parrying etc and while this can be great, it often is hard to read enemies and get the timing and rolling is not effective until you upgrade it and you won't have enough resources (Quartz) to upgrade rolling until at least a second playthrough. This is where I think Lies of P limits its audience to an extent - the combat is punishingly difficult at times and you pretty much have to master the perfect blocking style of combat or you're going to have a difficult time. Once you do however, you can stagger enemies for critical hits or backstabs and much like the Dark Souls games, satisfying backstabs on unaware enemies are perfectly implemented here and feel very familiar. Stamina management is also essential here and probably the most unforgiving of any souls game I have played so far.

I really enjoyed the early levels of this game but found the last levels starting to get tedious and on my second run through I found myself simply running past a lot of enemies just to get through areas where I didn't need any items to fully complete my run. Getting knocked off of thin platforms and having to fight tough mini boss level enemies while being ranged attack spammed is something I will never enjoy in souls-like games.

I did find some of the voice acting absolutely awful but it is something I notice a lot of these Asian/Korean games do. Like in Final Fantasy games (in my limited experience), where the characters talk in a weird way that is not at all how people actually talk to each other. Though overall it still is passable as it kinda adds to the unique vibe of the game and I don't primarily play souls-likes for the voice acting.

Worth mentioning the game runs incredibly well and (mostly) bug free, while not pushing the limits of graphics tech it still looks really nice for an Unreal 4 game and I had a constant 120 FPS without any stutter and I think this will be pretty unforgiving on even older systems. The sound was nice too and I actually decided to leave the music on (I usually mute music in games) and I liked the dreamy music that plays at the central hub of Hotel Krat - the games version of Firelink Shrine. Oh and thinking of Firelink, the game does some classic FromSoft level design things like linking levels back to the central hotel area, along with the obligatory shortcuts and secrets you expect in a souls game.

Overall I highly rate Lies of P but the big problem it has that will put off a lot of people is the difficulty. For me personally, this game is the hardest souls-like I have tried other than Sekiro, which I just could not get to grips with (though I plan to try that again too). It is a shame too as these souls-likes are also great RPGs and I encourage anyone curious to look at mods to make these games easier if they want to play them, as they are well worth experiencing.

A flawed gem of a souls-like and the best non FromSoft souls game (I have tried) in my opinion.

This game cured me of my workaholism. Smashing bosses with a twink does wonders for your mental health. Also petting the cat will for sure boost your serotonin levels. 10/10 would recommend!

Steampunk is one of those settings I love, and Lies of P utilizes it brilliantly in both its environments and enemies. I loved exploring all the game's chapters and never felt like ideas were being recycled lazily.
The weakest point of the game for me is the main bosses, although I still enjoyed all of them. Some bosses can make you feel unfairly punished due to weird telegraphing. However, they are all visually cool and provide the rewarding sense of achievement you're accustomed to if you've played a Souls-like before.
The way you build your character allows for a lot of creativity. Non-unique weapons can be separated into two parts: blade and handle. You can mix and match different weapon blades with different handles, enhancing them to better complement the stats you're investing in. Stats function like a traditional Souls-like—you earn points by defeating enemies and allocate them to attributes such as health or stamina.
For a first entry into the genre, the studio has done an incredible job, and I can't wait for either a sequel or the upcoming DLC to refine the formula further. The developers seem receptive to player feedback on social media, which is a strong positive indicator to me that they'll address this game's flaws in future titles.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☑ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☑ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

if you waiting for Bloodborne to be released on PC (don't know when that will happen), this game would be a great alternative...
this game is quite difficult for me who has played various souls-like games. dodge doesn't seem to be made purely to avoid enemies and the range of movement is very small. the parry also annoying (at least for me). the parry/perfect guard window is very tight and it's hard to predict enemy movements. this makes the combat challenging, make you more masochistic.
the story in this game is presented implicitly (similar to Sekiro), no complaints, overall good.
conclusion: this game may not be for everyone. but if you're a fan of souls-like games, this game is a must play. 100% recommended.
for the developer: you guys make a great game, good job!
im waiting for the DLC. Lies of P was a great start to the genre, and i look forward to you guys making more games like this in the future.

Just for perspective, I have over 1000 hours in the dark souls trilogy, and I am a huge fromsoft fan. I usually avoid most souls-likes because they can feel like cheap copies, but this game was special. I thoroughly enjoyed my three playthroughs of it, and for me, it had captured that magic feeling that so far, only fromsoft could. Special shout-out to the boss fights. Attacks are telegraphed well, no delayed attacks, and fights can be learnt and executed to perfection with enough tries. The OST is quite enjoyable too, which just adds to the souls experience since usually only fromsoft has nailed good music so far. Highly recommended to souls-fans, especially if you like the games for their fair challenge and the satisfaction that comes from overcoming them. Eagerly looking forward to more from this dev