I didn’t have moments where I was dying due to unexpected interactions or a mindless third-person camera. But what I noticed is that I always felt like deaths were my own fault.

Once I started encountering denser packs of enemies, the game thoroughly kicked my butt, constantly sending me back to the nearest checkpoint. Since the gameplay is no joke, I’m more than willing to play more when it launches.Īt first, that pace made the game feel like it might be easier than your typical Soulslike.

Considering that Souls games tend to be about maintaining a safe distance from enemies, I appreciate that Lies of P encourages players to get more aggressive and rewards those who want to fight up close. My favorite tool was a grappling hook arm that would pull enemies toward me like Mortal Kombat’s Scorpion. By pressing the left trigger, Pinocchio can use different weapons tied to his mechanical arm (this game is as fun to play as it is to write about). After spending so much time watching characters slowly trudge around in Souls games, that speed is a breath of fresh air.Ĭombat isn’t just a matter of dodging, blocking, and performing light or heavy attacks. By holding down the right trigger, I could charge up a quick flurry of jabs that would shred a foe even quicker. I could quickly poke at standard enemies, slicing them up in just a few hits. I chose an agility-based class for my demo, which turned Pinocchio into a graceful fencer. For one, combat feels much faster and to the point compared to the slow, deliberate pace of FromSoftware’s games. I wouldn’t blame someone for thinking it’s a little shameless, but Lies of P does set itself apart in some key ways. Runes earned from enemies that could be used to upgrade my stats, but that I’d drop and have to recover if I was killed? Check. A map filled with shortcuts that would make it faster to move forward each time I died? Check.

The similarities only stacked up from there. I was loaded into some dreary European streets and immediately activated what was ostensibly a bonfire checkpoint (a text splash that accompanied it looked identical to what you’d see in a FromSoftware game). Right from the opening moments of the demo, it was clear that developer Neowiz isn’t trying to hide its Bloodborne inspiration.

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