The protagonist is ultimately a weapon built to be augmented and reassembled - and it’s exciting to actually be able to challenge this nature with your choices.Īs the Soulsborne genre continues its inevitable expansion, the entries that truly stand out are the ones that build their own identities on FromSoftware’s foundation. Later on, after finding out what they were seeking and for what purpose, I chose to help them again, expressing solidarity rather than opting for revenge. A pair of siblings took advantage of my skills to clear an area on their behalf, instead of banding together against me. And it was rewarding to see NPCs’ intentions change throughout the game. It was refreshing to have some agency over the course of Pinocchio’s character development, however binary it may be. However, once I found a combo that allowed me to stand my ground against several bosses, I was rarely compelled to change my play style at that point, it was experimentation for its own sake.įor all of the challenges and flexibility Lies of P offers, I kept coming back to the strengths of its story. It was exciting to experiment with these skills and attachments at first, especially in conjunction with the weapons I discovered throughout Krat. You use a Frankenstein’s monster-style chair to upgrade certain stats and actions (such as increasing your available number of health vials, or making enemy stagger periods last longer so you have more time to perform a strong attack), and your left arm can become a flamethrower, shield, or cannon, to name a few. Lies of P’s most gripping conceit gradually emerges over time: Pinocchio is, in effect, a weapon in constant iteration. This strategy is pretty much mandatory in later areas, as enemies attack relentlessly at an overwhelming pace - even compared to the genre standards. It leans heavily on Bloodborne nostalgia, but its combat is more akin to that of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: You have to treat bosses like Dance Dance Revolution stages, which encourage perfect parries that completely mitigate damage. It was a sorely needed hook because, outside of its vibrant art style, Lies of P is as derivative as Soulsbornes come. I spent most of my time lying - like the rest of the humans remaining in Krat - and the world reacted accordingly: Characters in the hotel expressed concerns about my autonomy a cat who previously pushed my hand away let me pet them as I gained more humanity and Pinocchio’s very appearance changed, aa his hair grew and he aged.ĭuring the first few hours of my 46-hour playthrough, the mystery surrounding this karma system of sorts kept me invested. Generally speaking, these decisions play on Pinocchio’s dual nature as a puppet and a (cough) real boy. Your choices can lead to specific item rewards, or even skip fights altogether by sparing the lives of characters who can aid you later on. Developer Neowiz puts this theme into action in the form of Telltale-esque, time-based conversation decisions. He’s able to pretend that he’s a human, which is necessary for blending in among the humans hunting his kind. Pinocchio, however, is different from most puppets. The people behind these machinations task Pinocchio with finding the root of the problem, all while staying safe from harm inside the hotel that serves as the hub for your travels. Now, an unknown frenzy has turned them against humanity. It powers the imposing structures and monorail systems that you plunge through, but it also fuels the puppets in the city, which once acted as butlers, police officers, and so on. The standout element is its narrative, which sets the tale of renowned lying apologist Pinocchio against the Belle Époque era.Įrgo, a powerful mineral found deep within the bowels of the city, has turned a coastal town into a mecca for luminaries. It’s a hack-and-slash game with obtuse mechanics challenging areas delimited by sweet, sweet checkpoints and dramatic entrances for each and every boss encounter. On paper, it definitely dresses the part. Lies of P is the latest addition in the ever-growing lineup of Soulsborne-inspired games. If you want curated lists of our favorite media, check out What to Play and What to Watch. When we award the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the recipient is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games, movies, TV shows, comics, tabletop books, and entertainment experiences.
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