Souls-like mecha Pinocchio looks so wonderfully edgy and I'm into it
There's only a story trailer so far, but I'm invested
I've played my fair share of games that call themselves "Souls-like"—the good, bad, and ugly all. This upcoming Souls-like sure does check lots of familiar boxes: grim fantasy 19th centry aesthetic, a bit of body horror involving rats, church choirs, and fellas lugging about objects much too large for them. By that description, I've played plenty of games like this one. But wait, hold on, This particular Souls-like is called Lies Of P and it's also about an edgy, mechanized, Pinocchio. Yes, the lad with the nose. I think I do actually want to play this ridiculous game.
The story trailer for Lies Of P here sets the mood with all those aforementioned elements. And gosh what a mood!
It's so unapologetically edgy—as are so many Souls-inspired games, I know—and I honestly just love that for P. It's inspired by the original Italian stories, not the Disney cartoon, in case that wasn't abundantly clear from the grim absolutely everything.
Lies Of P begins, according to the creators, when mecha Pinocchio wakes up in the city of Krat with a note telling him to find Mr. Geppetto. Doing so will of course involve fighting your way through the ruined city. You'll also alter your mecha puppet body to get new skills and other effects. The creators say there's a weapon crafting system as well.
The story trailer up there doesn't give a look at combat just yet. For a game that self-describes as a Souls-like, my guess is that it will be action combat, likely stamina management, and probably some biggo boss fights.
The particular Pinocchio parts are where things start to sound interesting. "The more you lie, the more human you become, with all the advantages and disadvantages that it entails," Neowiz say, though they aren't specific about what those advantages are. Lies Of P will also have "interconnected procedural quests that play out depending on how you lie. These choices will then affect how the story ends." I have my own guesses about how close the lying and questing bits will hew to things like hollowing and NPCs in yon Dark Souls games, but I'll wait to hear more before I speak my assumptions.
This hyper edgy mimicry may be too rich for some, but I'm genuinely having a nice giggle over it. I mean really, steampunk Pinocchio in an ascot. I'll bet just about anything they've given him an attractive face too, though it's obscured in mysterious shadows in the trailer. I'm almost always willing to give another Souls-like a chance, though. It's not like Bloodborne is coming to PC anytime soon, now is it?
Lies Of P is being developed by Round8 Studios and published by Neowiz, who are also collaborating on Neowiz's action RPG Bless Unleashed. There's no release date announced yet, but you can find it over on Steam in the meantime. It's also being developed for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.