Recent reviews by eggrik

This is my first time writing a review on Steam, but I think Neowiz did such an amazing job with this game that they deserve it. Neowiz set themselves up as an amazing and promising company with this masterwork of a debut. Even though this is their first major release, Lies of P matches, maybe even surpasses, the gameplay, optimization, level design, passion, polish, and beauty of AAA games in its genre. You can tell the developers really love the Souls-like genre as Lies of P is a beautiful love letter to its predecessors.

Speaking of predecessors, I think Lies of P is a fantastic amalgamation of Sekiro and Bloodborne while proving its own worth without leaning too much on its inspirations. I think it's easy to pick up and enjoy Lies of P as a Souls-like fan because Neowiz did an amazing job of mirroring the beloved formula from FromSoftware in terms of gameplay loop, controls, and UI. At the same time, they have their own unique mechanics that separate it from other games. At first, some mechanics might be seen as unnecessary and easy to dislike, but I ended up really enjoying them. For example, one mechanic is weapon durability. At first, it seems totally unnecessary and annoying, but it becomes something you have to be mindful of, especially during later boss fights when debuffs like Decay exist, which eats away at your health and weapon durability. I think having to decide if you want to punish, heal, or repair your weapon creates a wonderful dance of managing resources while fighting bosses.

A familiar yet distinct mechanic in Lies of P is the Perfect Guard and staggering mechanics (parrying and posture from Sekiro). In Lies of P, poise/posture is an invisible bar that must be built up with strong attacks or Perfect Guarding enemies' attacks. Enemies do not get immediately staggered and able to get Fatal Attacked. Instead, their HP bars get highlighted with a white border, and you have to hit them with a fully charged strong attack to get that punish off. Although parrying is not as rewarding as it is in Sekiro, it is still very satisfying to learn a boss's moveset and parry everything in their combos to build towards that stagger state. Although having to hit a charged attack is harder, I think that is exactly why getting Fatal Attacks is just much more rewarding and satisfying in Lies of P. Another nice benefit of Perfect Guarding is even being able to destroy some enemies' weapons, even bosses. This reduces their reach and damage, although this happens less often than I would like to be honest. Keep in mind that parrying is a LOT tighter in this game compared to others, which is good in my opinion. While this game primarily encourages parrying, dodging still has its uses and benefits.

Besides the combat, the atmosphere, scenery, music, sound effects, and animations of Lies of P are just beautiful. Neowiz did an amazing job of turning the fairy tale story of Pinocchio into their own world rampant with puppets, corruption, and madness. Moreover, the lore and plot of this game are much easier to follow and enjoy. There are many cutscenes, character interactions, side quests, and collectibles that help build the world of Lies of P. Players don't have to search up what the real meaning of X or Y is, which can only be found through cryptic bits of lore or scrounging every word in item descriptions. Lies of P's beautiful atmosphere is only enhanced by its beautiful music, and its combat only improved by the visceral and satisfying hit sounds and effects. I am looking forward to Neowiz's next game as it is clear they want to continue their dark yet beautiful interpretation of fairy tale magic.