Lies of P (2023)

It feels like they decided the one glitch from DS2 that caused weapon durability to rapidly decrease on higher refresh rates was actually a really neat feature. It really pulls me out of boss fights when I have to keep stopping to grind my weapon halfway through as the boss continues to wail on me.

On a definitely totally unrelated note, I'm having a bad time on the second Black Rabbit Brotherhood fight, heh. A third boss fight in short time frame with next to no exploration in between is wearing me down pretty bad but I really want to finish this game out in spite of my issues with it.

Really just hopping in here (almost two years after my original playthrough/review) to gush about the Overture DLC. I played through the DLC over the last month or so and had such a great time with it. This DLC was amazing. It takes the best parts of the base game and runs with it. I'd say 90% of the bosses here are on par and even surpass the base game in some areas. The environments are such a joy to explore, and the atmosphere they create are wonderful. I really have a hard time thinking of issues I have with this DLC. The first main boss is kinda underwhelming and has questionable hit-boxes, but that's honestly my biggest complaint within this DLC. The added lore and story has me wanting to dive back into this world, and I think it serves as an excellent tie in/prequel to the main game. I loved every boss fight here, particularly Markiona, Anguished Guardian, and Arlecchino. The extra special critical attack P does on the Anguished guardian blew me away. I don't remember anything like this happening in the base, or another Souls like for that matter. Also, what an amazing final boss in a great boss arena. I beat him solo without Lea, even though it took me 5 hours to do so. It was honestly enjoyable learning his move set and being immersed in the aura he created. What a badass fight with an amazing design all around.

Overall, if you like Lies of P, you'll love Overture. I was so glad to return to Krat and experience more of this great souls-like. This is an amazing game, and although their are flaws (see main review), I see myself coming back to it for years to come.

One thing Lies of P doesn't crib from Souls is that series's careful consideration for low-HP characters, which allows even the frailest builds to take a single hit from most anything before dying. My poor, 8 Vitality Pinocchio is getting one-shot by just about every enemy and boss in the DLC.

But it's a problem born entirely of my own stubbornness, so it's hard to really fault the game for it.

I'm having a perfectly decent time with Lies of P so far, but it definitely feels like the absolute minimum viable product for a Souls game. None of its original ideas are interesting, none of the ideas it pilfers are especially well-executed, the basic movement and character-building mechanics are functional and little else. It's got no visual or narrative identity of its own, and the levels are bland expanses of nothing.

But it's mirroring just enough of the classic Souls formula that I'm still having fun.

Game 4 of Spooktober 2025 Complete!

This was just the Overture DLC, though I had to rush through a bit of NG+ to unlock it. Even just as a DLC, this is one of the longest games on my list for the month and given it's likely the most difficult, I was just trying to get a head start on it, but I was hooked and ended up blasting through it, mostly just today. Some of the new bosses are difficult in more annoying ways (endless combos, bad camera, etc), but overall, this DLC is great. I usually don't dig icy/snowy settings but it worked well here. I also appreciated the new bow weapon, even if it trivializes some of the basic enemy encounters a bit.