Lies of P

Gameplay

Lies of P is an action role-playing game played from a third-person perspective. The player controls a silent puppet referred to as P, who traverses the fictional city of Krat and fights hostile puppets, factions, and citizens disfigured by the petrification disease. At the game's start, the player chooses one of three combat styles, which determines the character's attributes and initial weapons. The player uses melee weapons and Legion Arms equipped with tools that include a grappling hook. Every weapon, except for boss weapons, consists of a blade and a handle that can be upgraded and combined with other similar components. Upon combining, the weapon gains a unique ability called Fable Arts, activated when the corresponding bar is filled up. Weapon durability decreases during combat and can be increased by grindstones, which also give weapons temporary power-ups. The player can perform light and heavy attacks, as well as parry or block enemy attacks. Parrying inflicts a staggering effect on the enemy and damages their weapon. Blocking causes P to lose a small amount of health, which is partially restored after a successful counterattack.

The player acquires and upgrades weapons at Hotel Krat, which also provides access to other activities as the game progresses. Items are purchased with in-game currency called Ergo, also used to level up P by distributing it among vitality, vigor, and other attributes. The game features a skill tree that gradually unlocks with Quartz obtained after either buying it from a shop or defeating bosses and minibosses. Skills have additional slots for passive bonuses. After reaching a certain point in the story, the player can use Wishstones that grant temporary power-ups, such as increased damage and health regeneration to either P or a spectre. The player can also equip Defense Parts that increase P's defense capabilities. Before a boss fight, which usually has two phases, the player can summon a spectre to provide support. When the boss is defeated, the player receives a Rare Ergo crystal that can be exchanged for boss weapons or amulets with bonuses.

Exploring Krat, the player encounters ringing phones that pose riddles. Correct answers reward the player with Trinity Keys, which unlock locations containing gear and resources. The player can also find Cryptic Vessels, hidden locations with chests that offer various rewards, as well as collectables. Checkpoints called Stargazers are located throughout Krat and can be used to restore P's health and resources. Stargazers also serve as fast travel and respawn points. Upon respawn, P loses Ergo, which is retrievable at the place of death. However, each time P takes damage on the way back, the amount of recoverable Ergo decreases.

Synopsis

Much of Lies of P's story is given to the player through optional dialogue and flavor text from items; when and if players learn of specific story elements can depend on their progress, although this section summarizes the story in a more linear fashion.

Premise

Lies of P takes place in the fictional city of Krat, made prosperous by "Ergo", a resource which the Order of Alchemists used to power autonomous Puppets designed by Giuseppe Geppetto. Puppets bound by the "Covenant" to never harm humans nor lie were integrated into many aspects of life, allowing Krat to thrive. Later, a mysterious illness known as the "Petrification Disease" swept through the city, slowly blinding people before killing them. As Krat failed to contain the crisis, a sudden phenomenon, the "Puppet Frenzy" turned most Puppets murderous in spite of the Covenant, causing a massacre of the population. It is during this state of chaos that the game begins, following a puppet called "P" who Geppetto considers his son and who, unlike other Puppets, looks exactly like a Human; untouched by the Frenzy, P has free will, unbound by the Covenant and is as free to lie or kill as a Human would be.

Plot

P awakens in an abandoned train at the Krat Central Station and hears the voice of a woman named Sophia, who directs him to Hotel Krat, a safe building he subsequently uses as his base of operations as he navigates Krat, rescuing innocents whom he brings back to its safety, fighting hostile Puppets who attack him on sight, and encountering various members of the "Stalkers", the Human armed forces of Krat whose allegiances and goals largely differ from individual to individual. He is guided by Sophia, who can communicate with him remotely, and a puppet named Gemini inside a lamp carried by P.

P rescues Geppetto, and later the inventor Lorenzini Venigni, leader of Krat's mechanical industry, before reaching the cathedral to which refugees fled from the Frenzy. However, most Humans in the area are either dead or have become "Carcasses", the Disease somehow mutating them into murderous abominations instead of killing them. He later explores the Malum District, but although he encounters two friendly Stalkers, Red Fox and Black Cat, he must fight the four members of the Black Rabbit Brotherhood gang, killing the eldest and finding evidence that they collaborate with the Alchemists. P travels to Krat's opera house, as Geppetto claims that the rumored "King of Puppets" who made it their lair must be responsible for the Frenzy. The King's true appearance, like P's, is strikingly similar to a Human's. The King tries to communicate, but as P cannot understand, the two fight to the death in a duel from which P emerges as victor. He later meets Simon Manus, the leader of the Alchemists, who reveals that exposure to Ergo causes the Disease, and that the mutations are a side-effect of concoctions the Alchemists offered to the afflicted as a cure, and which, although causing most to turn into Carcasses, turn a small percentage of subjects into a super race that the Alchemists consider the next stage of Human evolution. Before leaving, Simon also explains that Ergo is the crystallized form of the human soul that forms after death. During P's further travels, Hotel Krat is attacked by the Brotherhood, the Red Fox and the Black Cat, who abduct Geppetto under the Alchemists' orders.

Key optional plot points include: The discovery that Geppetto is behind the Frenzy, having added a secret directive into the Covenant allowing him nearly-unlimited control of most Puppets; "Sentient" Puppets whose "Ego" awakened, making them able to bypass the Covenants' restrictions, and who can be nearly-identical "revived Puppet" versions of the dead Humans who turned into the Ergo powering them; That P is the revived Puppet of Carlo, Geppetto's son, while the King of Puppets was the revived Puppet of Romeo, Carlo's best friend; That up until his death, the King had been trying to avoid further death and warn P of Geppetto's deception; That the man posing as the rightful treasure hunter Alidoro is an impostor who killed the original and was complicit in the attack on the hotel; And that the "King of Riddles" who has been contacting P by phone is Arlecchino, one of the first Sentient Puppets who went on a long-hidden killing spree where he murdered the parents of Venigni, who would design the Covenant to avoid similar incidents.

Overture

During his journey through Krat, P comes across an unusual Stargazer that transports him to past version of Krat, during the last winter prior to the events of the main game. He finds himself in Krat Zoo before it was destroyed in the chaos of the Puppet Frenzy, where the animals were subjected by the Alchemists to their concoction, turning into Carcasses slaughtering the guests and staff. P kills the Elevated Alchemist Markiona, and later unearths a conspiracy of corruption leading him to kill the leaders of both of the Stalkers' subgroups: Lumacchio, the corrupt leader of the Bastards who effectively acted as Simon's headhunter, and Veronique, the selfless leader of the Sweepers, whom Simon led into a trap, leading her group to be experimented on by the Alchemists and become incurably tainted by the concoction.

P's path leads him to follow in the recent trail of Lea Florence Monad, the "Legendary Stalker" who mysteriously disappeared before the events of the main game, and is both Sophia's sister and Carlo and Romeo's mentor. While Carlo is already dead in this recent past, Lea is currently looking for Romeo, still a living Human, and who has gone missing investigating the Zoo. She finds that Romeo was abducted by Arlecchino, the serial killer sentient Puppet whose previous murder spree she had ended, but who was recovered by the Alchemists and rebuilt more powerful before going rogue, slaughtering any in his path and taking Romeo hostage in an effort to bait Lea into seeking him. Secretly, Lea is dying, infected with the Disease and hanging on by will alone, refusing to let Romeo die as the loss of Carlo still haunts her.

Eventually, P catches up with Lea and join forces with her to explore the Rose Estate, the childhood home of Lea, Carlo and Romeo, where Arlecchino waits, having slaughtered all within. Eventually, they defeat Arlecchino and rescue the badly wounded but alive Romeo. Lea happily recognizes P as Carlo as he is sent back to his present, after which Geppetto arrives, preparing to kill the exhausted, helpless Lea and Romeo so that he can experiment by turning the latter into a Sentient Puppet, although Lea is at peace, knowing that Carlo lives on.

Development and release

Lies of P was developed by Neowiz and Round8 Studio led by Choi Ji-won. Round8 Studio, known for the free-to-play MMORPG Bless Unleashed (2020), was founded in South Korea as a mobile game developer, but sought to pursue larger projects. Together with Neowiz, known for developing games as a service, the companies saw Lies of P as an opportunity to diversify both their own portfolios and the South Korean video game industry in general, which is mostly focused on mobile games with microtransactions. Development began around 2020. Within two years, the team expanded from 60 to 100 people.

The narrative was inspired by Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, which is in the public domain. Choi stated that the studio chose a story with this status to allow for creative expression within the soulsborne subgenre. Having an established story foundation early in development allowed the team to focus on their own interpretation and execution. The game was also influenced by the Belle Époque, a period in European history at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries marked by progress in science and technology. The developers considered this period unique due to its lack of representation in other games. Choi noted that during the prototyping phase, the team experimented with various European architectural styles, but the Belle Époque caught their attention with its combination of "romance, turmoil, cultural resurgence, and prosperity." These elements reflected the studio's intention to depict the transformation of Krat, the setting of Lies of P, from prosperity to decline. Choi added that the design was generally inspired by the developers' travels throughout Europe.

The studio sought to create a dark and eerie atmosphere in the game, using the dynamic change of weather and time of day in particular. Choi stated that achieving this goal without compromising gameplay and performance was one of the most challenging tasks in the development process. The team considered introducing an open world and multiplayer features, but ultimately decided against both. The decision to add Soulslike elements was due to both fashion trends and the developers' personal passion for the genre. The team sought to combine elements from other Soulslike titles with their own mechanics. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4. Marvelous Designer was used to create fabric textures for characters and backgrounds. Although the game originally featured the Denuvo anti-tamper system, the developers removed it a few months after the game's release.

Reception

Critical response

Lies of P received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic, and 88% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic. It was praised for its visuals and sound design, performance, and implementation of Soulslike elements, though critics were divided on its narrative and gameplay. Liam Croft of Push Square praised Lies of P as a "first-rate experience," applauding its presentation and production values. George Yang of Digital Trends considered it "one of the most impressive" Soulslike games released at the time, while Richard Wakeling of GameSpot highlighted its originality and aesthetic compared to other games in the genre. Some critics drew comparisons between aspects of Lies of P and FromSoftware titles like Bloodborne (2015), with Wakeling suggesting that these similarities could make the game seem "overly derivative." Sherif Saed of VG247 argued that Lies of P's overall design was a "pale imitation" of FromSoftware games and deemed it one of 2023's biggest disappointments.

GamesRadar+'s Jasmine Gould-Wilson praised the narrative, particularly its interpretation of Carlo Collodi's original story, calling its elements "thoughtful and confluent." Travis Northup of IGN noted that "of all the distressing and enigmatic stories I've seen in [the Soulslike genre, Lies of P] is definitely among my favorites." Diego Nicolás Argüello of Polygon lauded P's character development, and Lincoln Carpenter of PC Gamer highlighted the dialogue. Conversely, TJ Denzer of Shacknews wrote that P lacks a clear personality. Finlay Cattanach of VideoGamer praised the atmosphere and immersive setting. While he found the narrative to be its weakest aspect, he acknowledged it was engaging enough to keep him interested. GameSpot's Wakeling wrote that despite some intriguing plot points, the story felt vague and disappointing until the third act.

Lauren Bergin of PCGamesN found the balance between game mechanics "genuinely impressive," while Push Square's Croft lauded both the combat system and skill tree. Denzer of Shacknews particularly enjoyed the weapon combination system. William Hughes of The A.V. Club appreciated the morality system and boss battles, though he noted a certain monotony in some of the encounters. PC Gamer's Carpenter lauded P's customizable appearance, and Kieran Harris of Gamereactor praised the level design. Conversely, Eurogamer's Caelyn Ellis called the level design a "theme park facade" and the game's weakest element. VG247's Saed felt the combat system was a "wasted potential" and relied too heavily on elements from other Soulslike games. Additionally, he described the morality system as "perfunctory." Rob Dwiar of TechRadar found the difficulty level to be inconsistent, while Digital Trends' Yang criticized the implementation of boss battles.

Sales

Following its release, Lies of P was the sixth-best-selling game on the Steam digital store. In the United Kingdom, it was the third-best-selling game in physical sales chart in its opening weekend. In September 2023, the game was the ninth-most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in both North America and Europe. In October, it dropped to fifteenth and nineteenth in these regions, respectively. Within that same month, Lies of P sales reached 1 million units. In March 2024, the developers stated that the game had accumulated 7 million players. Total sales were announced to be over 3 million in June 2025. As of March 2026, Lies of P has sold over 4 million units worldwide.

Accolades

Prior to its release, Lies of P earned several awards at Gamescom. Following its release, the game received nominations for its visuals at both the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards, the latter also recognizing it in the Best Role Playing Game category. Furthermore, its visuals garnered an honorable mention at the Game Developers Choice Awards. Lies of P appeared on numerous lists of the top video games of 2023, being ranked in sixth place by The Washington Post and ninth place by Vulture.

Sequel

In November 2023, Neowiz announced that a sequel was in development. It is expected to feature Dorothy as the main character, a character from the Oz novels by L. Frank Baum.