A Commentary on Lies of P (and Soulslikes)

He's my thoughts on the newest, hottest Soulsike, Lies of P. I sure hope ya enjoy the video.
00:00 - Intro
05:28 - Source Material
09:15 - Story Intro
19:23 - Soulsborne Similarities
22:23 - Core Combat Mechanics
24:45 - The Perfect Guard & Enemy Animations
32:33 - Is the Game Unfair?
38:23 - Weapons, Fable Arts, and Legion Arms
46:23 - Level Design
53:07 - Voice Acting & Dialogue
55:35 - Lie Mechanic
57:08 - Story (Cont)
01:06:58 - Conclusion

[@emoemo247]

Hey you may have realized this, but you need to HOLD down the block button when perfect deflecting to get full parry frames, if you only TAP deflect like in Sekiro you get fewer frames and it is MUCH harder. Just thought I would leave this here for anyone who still doesn't know this.

[@CosmicEye597]

I actually came back to this video because I think Lies of P is wonderful and it was interesting to go back in time and hear how difficult the game was. I actually never minded how hard the game was, I enjoyed it most of the time. Also, I laughed when you were talking about how you summoned for the Gank squad and you simply said, "I summoned for both of these fights because I hate them." It was a simple and well-done delivery that got a nice chuckle.

[@Josh.JustJosh.]

Lies of P completely caught me off guard. I hadn’t heard of it until the demo dropped. I played thru it and knew there was something special about it. I’ve been in love since launch

[@stephenmclemore7614]

I heard about a game with a dark take on Pinocchio was coming out and thought that could be a cool idea. Then I read it's a soulslike and thought dang it they won't do it right and ruin it. Glad I was so wrong.

[@hollycox4390]

I also feel like people miss how much the story and specific story mechanics are pulled from the NeiR games . The language only being understood in NG+, the souls of people in machines , so many things . This game feels like someone played NeiR and BB back to Back and I’m not mad at it tbh .

[@FlopsyJChristianson]

Yes, when the King of Puppets was having his play I was thinking of Nier's scene with the stage.

[@rbelljr29]

Yep. When the parade master started talking, I'm immediately thought of NieR: Replicant, and how i probably wouldn't be able to understand the puppets until ng+.

[@nighthawkviper6791]

The idea of it is deeply esoteric, which comes from the Ancient Mysteries studied heavily by Freemasons. The Mesons (French Masons) believe in what's depicted in The Book of Lambspring; Body, Soul, Spirit/Physical, Psychophysical, Soul. Mind/Body/Spirit. Which in Lies of P is depicted by Ergo emanating from a human body after death. In which the petrification disease trapped the ergo(soul), as it leaves the body gets transmitted to the Relic of Trismigestus Tower where it is channeled into puppets. The Square & Compass, Sofia(Sophia), Trinity, Illumination, Trismigestus, etc all tell a very different story to Fellow Travelers with Lies of P. But most ppl will miss that, and instead just be enamored by the stabby stabby, slash splash Soulslike which is okay too.

[@PBart7]

​@FlopsyJChristianson Bro when phase 2 of the Puppet King started I literally pointed at the screen 'Yo this game is NIER!' 🫵😳

[@xiggles]

I was unsure about whether this game was worth my time but this comment convinced me it is. Nier + Bloodborne is like my dream game lol

[@davismorgan7955]

I’ve beaten lies of P three times already. I absolutely love the game and it is now a staple of my fromsoft rotation of games that I play over and over again

[@IcedEdge17]

You beat this fantastic game so many times and you didn't upload anything to honor it in your channel? Damn...

[@liszt646]

I platinum'd (required 2 playthroughs) and I'm still playing it. Currently on my 4th run. I love this game

[@AC-hj9tv]

​@@liszt646wowowow

[@AC-hj9tv]

​@@IcedEdge17yea bro has vids with like 3 views max. Bro is cappin 🧢

[@charaznable8072]

This is probably thee most polished "soulslike" that I've ever played and I pretty much own all of em.

[@AC-hj9tv]

How was that French one w the robot

[@charaznable8072]

@@AC-hj9tv Just a horrible mess that I don't wish upon anyone not even my enemies, you can call it one of thee worst unpolished soulslike I've ever played.

[@agbrenv]

@@charaznable8072 you mean Steelrising? I played through it, it is far from being as bad as you described

[@charaznable8072]

@@agbrenv It's like opinions don't exist in your universe.

[@agbrenv]

@@charaznable8072 felt more like overexaggeration presented as fact, rather than just stating your opinion also, I was stating my opinion as well, since I had a very different experience than what you described

[@audricburris6946]

I can't believe you dissed on Gimini, he's my spirit animal

[@The_Onefinger]

Didn't Pinocchio kill Gimini by stepping on him in the original book? There were a few times when i wanted to aswell xD

[@WickedWeaseification]

​@@The_OnefingerI think he actually threw a hammer at him or something, but yeah, and I actually appreciate LoP version because it's closer to the book. The cricket was supposed to represent the nattering of elders towards kids that gets pretty incessant. The killing of the cricket of the book was Pinocchio's first step towards rebellion. Gemini is supposed to be annoying. Disney got that shit backwards.

[@hashenone]

Great video. Wanted to mention that the Level 3 Puppet String jumping attack is REALLY powerful, pretty much changes the game. Makes most mini-bosses a joke. Also gives a nice new flair to the combat. I love the game

[@edophoenix92]

Great video. Every time I thought I was getting good at the game, there was always a boss (Andreus, Swamp Monster and Laxasia to be precise) that basically told me to sit back down. I enjoyed Lies of P all in all but it was pretty hard going. Also the Code Vein mention, FFX music and Simpsons clips show some great taste.

[@Tosted]

Currently listening while playing my 5909309430th playthrough of Dark Souls 3. Love what you do friend!

[@candletype1a447]

Yep, I see you there on Steam haha.

[@liszt646]

Yes indeed

[@JamesCastle-vd1lc]

the fact that this studio is so unknown and it's their first souls like gives me serious hopes for what they'll do next. i honestly think from soft has some competition rising up finally

[@robertstimmel1100]

It feels like we are entering a new era of Souls-like games. Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen are at the top of my (non From Soft) Souls style games. I am honestly blown away by how good they both are.

[@Aarkwrite]

I’m glad to hear Lords of the Fallen is good. I have the original and was hoping the new one is better. I haven’t gotten the new one yet because I’ve decided not to get any new games anymore because I have a ton that I don’t even play. If it eventually goes on GamePass or PlayStation plus I’ll check it out but until then I’ll keeping my wallet safe and just watching from the sidelines 😂

[@TheReclaimers]

@@AarkwriteIts definitely not perfect but it isn’t the steaming dumpster fire I see people treating it like. My biggest criticisms are some bosses aren’t great, and there’s very poor enemy variety. However I love the general grim aesthetic of Mournstead, the lamp mechanic is interesting, and holy shit the magic system in Lords I feel is so amazing

[@AscendantStoic]

Oh, and another thing, Souls games themselves aren't really as "original" as some people think (because god help me some people tend to treat "original" as some kind of holy grail of quality when it isn't, and look down on anything that they deem "unoriginal") ... before Demon's Souls and Dark Souls there was the King's Field series also by Fromsoftware but created and directed by different team of devs inside the company that predate Miyazaki, this is the series which the souls games borrowed a lot of ideas from and were basically the inspiration and foundations for the Souls games, that and Berserk of course in terms of visuals and enemy/weapon designs, since Miyazaki seems to be a huge fan.

[@kickingmagpie]

Honestly? While playing this game I wasnt feeling like it's a souls-like. I felt like it's a proper souls game on the same level as the ones made by fromsoft. It's THAT good.

[@IcedEdge17]

It's THAT good that you don't even have footage of this incredible Lies of P game in your channel 😂

[@kickingmagpie]

@@IcedEdge17 congrats! That's the stupidest online comment I've ever read, and that takes effort!

[@IcedEdge17]

@@kickingmagpie Because your own opinion about this game was clearly super important hahaha loser

[@Slavic_Snake]

​@@IcedEdge17braindead comment

[@jengaaaaa]

From games nail me to the screen for months and I never want to play anything else. Lies of P definitely doesn't do that for me. Game just isn't that interesting to me.

[@thesecondopinionTSO]

Wow I'm very impressed by your takes and opinions from this video. Especially around the discussed on difficulty and perfect guarding. It has to be the most fair take on the subject I've seen so far on the matter. This is my first video I've seen of you. Great work.

[@stikkykikZ]

You're amazing brother! Pumping out these videos and quality everytime. Love your channel my man, keep it up!💪

[@nextgenwarrior]

Looking forward to giving this a watch when I get to it. Was hyping Lies of P up for years, only just now able to pick it up this coming weekend so been avoiding content on it.

[@madeemhategaming5815]

For years ?

[@nextgenwarrior]

@@madeemhategaming5815 yeah, was announced back in 2021.

[@Aarkwrite]

Omg same. I was looking forward to it ever since it was revealed and hoping they would do a great job with it especially since quite a lot of people were dismissing it off hand. I’m not big on souls likes but some games just intrigue me right off the bat.

[@jay790962666]

One thing I found that helped me is to just regular guard the first attack in a combo. It was difficult for me to predict the first attack, but easier on subsequent ones. Also perfect guarding the subsequent ones will then get you the health you lost on the initial guard

[@Mercury71.]

i don't normally watch videos this long, but your commentary really is great and kept me watching from beginning to end

[@livchamps9573]

your affect is very appealing. genuinely, good luck on leaving your real job. you're on the way if the algorithm is any indicator, this is the first video of yours I watched but your Darkest Dungeon one has also been recommended. Will be watchin

[@Josh.JustJosh.]

To the argument of “Souls-likes” and games seemingly “ripping off” FromSoftware.. Look, I’m old. So some of you might not be aware, but some gaming genres just didn’t exist until they did. Back in the 90’s, we referred to any FPS as “Doom Clones” or “Quake Clones.” Every fighting game was either a “Street Fighter Clone” or “Mortal Kombat Clone.” Now first person shooters and fighting games are pretty standard. No one calls new first person shooter games “Doom-Likes” or “Quake-Likes.” No one calls new fighting games “Street Fighter Clones.” FromSoftware are amazing. They have created a new sub genre of RPG. Just like ID invented the first person shooter genre, just like Capcom invented the fight game genre. That’s why they still are recognizable companies today that still deserve respect (or at least the original dev teams) Just because a game is Souls-like, doesn’t mean it isn’t good or doesn’t offer a new experience. Years from now, this genre might actually have a name and it won’t be a talking point.

[@TheReclaimers]

Exactly, games that take inspiration from Fromsoft like Thymesia, Blasphemous, Mortal Shell, Lies of P, Nioh, and Lords of the Fallen 2023 all have their own things to offer to make them stand out.

[@Gesundheiterkeit]

Interesting that you mentioned how the chacter is called P, as opposed to Pinocchio, because he was never referred as such. I don't remember anybody calling the character anything other than "son" "boy" or "puppet". As far as I am concerned, he might as well be the "Nameless puppet", because the one we fought at the end is technically Carlo. But maybe that is the whole point.

[@longphan7656]

yeah leaving it ambiguous to which one is the real Pinocchio is a pretty neat idea. people already theorize that the MC is gonna be the heartless robot accompanying Dorothy of Wizard of Oz

[@TheFondalizer]

Seeing as you have the memories and all of Carlo then at that point you are him. And the lifeless body in front of you is simply the puppet now. Least that's how I see it

[@CptDuck]

But your character could be and should be called Pinocchio since Gepetto refused to name the Nameless Puppet even tho its his first puppet after the dead of his son and supposed to replace him. Who else deserved to be called Pinocchio if the first puppet of Gepetto is nameless?

[@Gesundheiterkeit]

@@CptDuck The game draws inspirations from the orignal novel, but nothing seems 1:1. I personally believe that there's a reason why the game was so hellbent on hiding the main character's name the entire time, and that is why I do not want to subscribe to the idea "because we all know he is pinocchio, duh" . But that's just my two cents.

[@madeemhategaming5815]

@@CptDuckhis sons name is Carlo not Pinocchio

[@Tostilocos.]

You’re awesome at making these videos, I seriously listened to your 5 hour elden ring video when I was at work. Made the day go quicker :)

[@stephenwhite1852]

I’ll be honest. I’m a hardcore fromsoft fan and this is up there with my absolute favorite souls games, those being bloodborne, ER, sekiro and DS3. It’s not as important or as visionary as games like dark souls 1, elden ring, sekiro or bloodborne, but it might be the most polished souls/soulslike game. Incredible game, amazing boss designs and really perfectly digestible story.

[@ChrisVoiceman]

Never clicked on a video faster, I've been absolutely in love with this game. You're quickly becoming one of my favourite creators on here. Just subbed to your Patreon, excited to see what you talk about next.

[@candletype1a447]

Thanks so much for becoming a patron mate, I really appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoy my stuff!

[@NeverduskX]

I love Code Vein - but I was really surprised to hear you give it a shoutout since no one ever talks about it. It's certainly not perfect, but Code Vein had a sort of magic I hadn't felt in the Souls series or Souls-Like games since Dark Souls... at least until Elden Ring. Though, to be fair, I haven't played Bloodborne or Sekiro yet. Code Vein had a very strong sense of ambience that really sucked me in, and it's surprisingly emotional story and fascinating world kept me wanting more. As silly as "magical anime vampires" was as a premise, it completely ran with that idea and even got me to take it seriously. Not unlike how Neir Automata's "android maid soldiers" premise also blew my expectations two years earlier.

[@BHM_Productions]

Absolutely love your content more and more. Genuinely appreciate your praise for Code Vein, don’t be afraid to keep being vocal about it! I feel code vein is a master class souls like and I have felt that way about it ever since I first played it in early 2020. Its combat, build variety, characters, lore, magic abilities, soundtrack, bosses, and visuals are all just so damn good to me. I have replayed it countless times and even beat up to new game +7 on it. I almost always play solo but playing online is really fun. It will always be my favorite souls like, but I really need to try Lies of P already.

[@l0rdfr3nchy7]

I like your choice of background osts, good taste

[@jamesgoodwin4060]

Well my day just greatly improved

[@connorsimpson9423]

Fantastic video, perfectly encapsulates how I feel about this game.

[@legitwhitebelt8353]

Awesome vid. I got through first playthrough today and enjoyed the clarity of some more obscure plot points in this video. I got the ending I wanted...the alternative one looks horrifying 😂

[@Melody1x23]

I love the concept of flipping fairytales on theirbhead, and lies of p is just incredible I love the creative ways they've taken elements from the story like the black rabbits, the fox, Gemini etc

[@aliasv6964]

Sekiro was flow chart the game was the easiest for me. What limited it was you only had one set of things to use. There was ONE correct option at all times. Lies of P let me approach things in a variety of ways which is why it hooked me. I could dodge even fury attacks if you want to put on a charm. Could parry god or use quick hits vs big heavy. It all felt solid to me and let me be creative with my build which is gold for me.

[@yourboybigs]

Didn't need to break any barriers because they did so much right with this game that makes it great!! Great video

[@dpokan]

I also didn't think much of LoP until the demo was released and ONGBAL showed off the perfect block mechanic. It looked too much like Sekiro to pass up. Played the demo and loved it. I played the full game love it. I did use the specter on the pre-patch King and Black Rabbit rd2. I now know that throwables are very potent so if I had used them during my first run I probably would not have needed to summon. Everything else I was able to do after many deaths. Story notes: I think what happened to Geppeto's son Carlo was that he died of the petrifaction disease outbreak that happened at the Monad House where he was staying. This event also killed the previous head of the Alchemists Valentinus Monad. I am assuming that this was Manus using bio weapon to kill of his rival. Geppeto because of his close work with the Alchemist knows what ergo really is. He collects his son's ergo and installs it into an unrestrained puppet he calls his son. P resembles his son not just for sentimental reasons, an appearance close to the ergo's past body help awaken its ego.

[@agbrenv]

47:14 technically there is one, you can find decoders and give it to Lorenzini and one of them leads to an underground cave system, it's rather short and not a seperate level, but it is the size of half a regular level and is optional

[@d00dnicee]

definitely need to jump back into this one again but lords of the fallen is also about to come out and looks pretty decent too

[@nighthawkviper6791]

Also make sure with the Joker and Pinnoccio Bots to get them to fight Carcasses. In the wine cellar, those cages will bust open & the Joker will fight the carcasses. The Pinnoccio bot can be lured into the cave with the carcass bear. & the Joker in the Abbey, will fight the Carcasses in the area if you don't kill them first.

[@AppleIndianFTW]

One thing I disagree with is the enemy animations being unreadable the first time around. I was absolutely able to intuit the flow of most enemy attacks, and even red attacks with slightly off-timings like Archbishop's standing slam. I beat him specifically on my fourth try, but I think I should have engaged with his never half on the second phase--I'd usually only get an attack or two in while running around to the other side, so I'd only have to deal with a couple new attacks at a time before getting heavy damage in on the beast-half. I also had a great deal of success with staggering enemies--not the white bar stagger, but the staggers most enemies have when you hit them with a couple charged heavies. I focused on doing fully charged heavies when I could after punishing regular attacks with sidesteps or perfect blocks, and it almost always led to success. Especially against Romeo--his flame-dance combo is the longest attack I can think of, but it's somehow really easy to deal with by side-stepping to your right. You can't spam it--which is the usual case for these games. But boy, does he stagger often. That was my favorite boss and, I really wish LoP "stole" *more* from From in this way, because I actually felt less inspired to keep playing after seeing you can't refight bosses without playing through a new game. I killed Romeo too soon. To my original point though, LoP feels more like a rhythm game than any other souls game. The element of attack rhythms are present in all the games, of course, but here I felt I could predict the cadence of attacks *the first time* seeing them. Ping, ping, slam. Dink, dink-dink, dink, slam. The mad clown actually works really well in this way, too, especially his whirlwind; ding-ding-ding-ding, ding... slam. It won't get old. Much like Malenia from ER is designed to be parried, the clown is designed to be perfectly blocked. That make sense? I mean to say I found the animations to be one of the best things about LoP, because they're very telling. Most games only have half as much attention put into just animations. Do any of the From games even have the player's idle animation change at any point? I love how in LoP there are like, four different idle animations as you slowly become human. I've already written too much but I have one more contrast between your experience and mine. I learned about LoP's story, *before* the actual Pinocchio story. I hadn't read or seen any adaptations of the story in media, until seeing how cool Lies of P's story was. A game so good, it made me want to see the source material. And I honestly found the parallels to be way more then just being reference-deep. In the same way that Lynch's Blue Velvet can be seen as a Wizard of Oz story, Lies of P is definitely a Pinocchio story. P and Pinocchio go through very similar journeys, even if the locations and context is wildly different. It's all still there--Romeo ends up as collateral in part due to Pinocchio's naivety, both protagonists get lost at sea, they both lose their blue fairies at least once, they both get lost at sea, a character learns why their behaviour was a mistake at the end of the story--except in LoP, it's not P who learns their mistake, but Geppetto, it's an interesting reversal. It doesn't have to be exact, or even only half-exact, to still be a Pinocchio story. It's the same reason people say Elden Ring is just another Dark Souls story. It is, but it is *also* so much more. LoP is like that to me. I liked your video. Thanks for letting me write a comment too long for capital letter G Gamers to handle. I love talking about the things I enjoy. I'm glad you ended up liking Lies of P too! It really came out of nowhere. If the team ends up making another soulslike but with a story influenced by Wizard of Oz in the same way... Lies of Oz... it would be phenomenal. Even if it doesn't happen, doesn't it just get the imagination rolling?

[@mic01851165]

The handle change works wonder when you start using the crit weapon and lifepuppet hammer Those things can be monstruous with the right weapon combination.

[@Alex-fb5ec]

The Main Character is actually never referred to as P. It’s arguable that you aren’t even Pinocchio but that’s actually nameless puppet, the P from the title is actually Paracelsus and the big theory is he’s loosely the mad hatter and the main character is the Tin Man

[@HadoukenX]

Got the rise of p ending on my 1st playthrough last night. Started up ng+. This is a game I will platinum. Really enjoy the game.

[@AscendantStoic]

34:23 I was waiting for this part since the start of the video, I'm glad you reached that conclusion lie I and few others did, because sadly there are still people stuck in the Dark Souls, Sekiro or Bloodborne mentality and just want one solution to all enemy attacks (basically to dodge/parry/roll through everything). But that's not how this game works, it borrows elements from several soulsborne games but it creates its own thing, yeah Perfect Guarding the usually the most optimal route if you have godly reaction time, but most people don't, so the solution is to simply figure out a different reaction for each boss attack, some are easier to parry, some are easier to dodge, some are even avoided by simply circling the boss or moving away, and some you don't even have to deal with AT ALL, remember the 20 hit fire scythe combo of Romeo, guess what .. you don't have to deal with that at all, just flinch him out of setting his scythe on fire and you are good to go (use the throwable item Shot Put). The game devs knew that not everyone will be able to parry/perfect guard everything so they created a several ways to deal with enemies, block, dodge, move away, circle, use throwables, use Fable Arts and Legion Arms ...etc ... the problem many people have is not even a skill problem, it's their bone-headed approach to the game and wanting it to be something it's not, I have seen many people dying dozens of times to some of the bosses without touching their throwable items, Legion Arms or even Fable Arts ... absolutely bizarre really. Also there is one hidden area (which is quite small), the Hermit's cave is an optional area in the Barren Swamp that you can choose to go explore or ignore completely, you need a cypher to enter it and it does have some lore bits, a couple of elite enemies and few items.

[@OnwardToMail]

If you want to know the real reason the game is called Lies of P, do a Google Translate of the English word "blood" to Korean, then listen to it's pronunciation.

[@AC-hj9tv]

Pee in English

[@bobloblawesq.5533]

Throwables are insanely powerful to, to much in most cases. But you mentioned the enemy stagger, and like you I died many many times getting greedy trying to get that charged R2 for the fatal ATK, or just missed the window completely waiting on an opening. Then I discovered the Shot Put throwable which will always get the stagger when their health bar is highlighted, even tho it scales with motivity, on both a technique and advance builds it will get you the full stagger for a fatal ATK. It became an Item I made sure to never run out of.

[@candletype1a447]

Damn, I collected a bunch of Shot Puts throughout my playthrough but never actually tried them out!

[@bobloblawesq.5533]

Yea, in preparation for NG+ I cashed in a ton of those ergo crystals and chunks to buy enough to get me to the Malum district where the vendor sells an unlimited supply. The throw animation is fast and has good range, it became maybe the most important item in my inventory late game and in-general making the game easier(especially the final boss). I'm an older non-god tier gamer so I tend to brute force these games with attempts. Plus I didn't say it before, but I really dig the videos dude. You do great work. @@candletype1a447

[@MarceloAbansMabans]

I always find it interesting how people have complete missed the Westworld aspect of the game. It takes the Pinocchio story and weaves in Westworld. You have Dr. Robert Ford, who is Geppetto and the Host Uprising as well as using people's memory to input into robots, similar to ergo. They make them into little orbs for the anroids. P was also given the ability to carve his path like Dolores.

[@muto7825]

Super interesting stuff, I wonder what made the developers choose Pinocchio as an inspiration

[@emoemo247]

If you told me this game was made by Fromsoft I would believe you. Honestly this game ranks higher than DS2, DS3, and maybe even bloodborne. Sekiro is a step above, and DS1/ER has the exploration that you can't really find in a more linear game like this but JUST in terms of BOSSES it is probably the 2nd place after Sekiro. One of the most consistently impressive parts of this game is that it doesn't just borrow, it improves upon the mechanics it borrows. Here's some examples: You use "Souls" to level up, but when you have enough it highlights the number blue to let you know you can level up. You use "Estus" to heal, and its limited but when you run out you can earn one more by continuing to play well. Weapons can be found through level exploration and defeating challenging encounters, but the weapon crafting system is FAR more in depth, with you being able to seamlessly exchange any weapon blade with a completely different moveset/range/special move and scaling from any of the handles. You can dodge, and it works like in BB but you can also parry the world like in Sekiro, and if you block you will recieve chip damage but you can regain the missing health by attacking like in BB.z People say its just a straight rip off but honestly these mechanics are BETTER than in the souls games (arguably parrying is still better in Sekiro but that game is entirely built around it).

[@Eladelia]

Those are things you prefer; not things that are inherently better. Things like this are only better or worse in terms of how well they serve a specific purpose. e.g. Sekiro would not have been better at delivering the Sekiro experience if it gained an elaborate weapon crafting and upgrade system.

[@emoemo247]

@@Eladelia "Those are things that you prefer" Yes that is why I wrote the comment. Subjectivity is implied. I never said they should add the weapon crafting system to Sekiro, I thought it was obvious I was comparing that more to the weapon systems in the Souls games. Feel free to let me know which parts of what I *did* write that you disagree with. However, stuff like highlighting the souls blue when you have enough to level up, and having a marker at the blacksmith to indicate the weapons you have enough materials to upgrade are things I would classify as simple QOL improvements. All of the Souls/Elden Ring games would simply be better if they implemented these systems. There are plenty of examples of these types of straight up improvements in Lies of P and those aren't subjective (in my opinion lol).

[@jengaaaaa]

​@@emoemo247I think the combat has way too many hoops you have jump through to get a fatal blow that doesn't even kill the bosses. Amount of estus in the game is also very low compared to Bloodborne or Souls. Doesn't work well with long multiphased fights with ridiculously tight parry windows and weird holding mechanics after the parry. Dodging is also worse than many games. Sekiro has even worse dodging though. I also prefer straight weapon variety to just altering handles. Also handles have their own scaling and my motivity build could only have around 3 handles with A scaling when cranked.

[@emoemo247]

@@jengaaaaa There is one hoop, you just have to charge a heavy when their healthbar is glowing. The amount of estus is about the same as DS1 with the added bonus that you can infinitely restore up to 1 heal when you run out. Parries aren't actually that tight you just have to hold block instead of tapping the button like in Sekiro, and the dodge works fine with plenty of s. Weapon handles add way more effective weapon variety because they allow you to mix any moveset with any other blade, plus they have boss weapons on top of that system if you prefer not to experiment with weapon crafting.

[@painhurtssometimes2185]

Earned a subscriber. I love videos like this. Keeps me sane at work lol Edit: Also your humor is top notch man

[@Dookiefists]

The perfect guard in Sekiro is very different to Lies of P, in Sekiro the enemy has the window for when pressing the perfect guard works so provided you tap guard in that window you will achieve a perfect guard, in Lies of P you are the one with the window so in order to more consistently perfect guard you need to press and hold the button momentarily longer than in Sekiro - Someone told me this on facebook and it made a huge difference to the game, though it was still very challenging (especially Laxasia on NG+) .

[@zachanier]

Yea they never said his name was Pinocchio in-game, i really think he isn't even called P and thats just the way the fanbase calls him, because the story of Pinocchio is referenced by a dialogue Gemini has when interacting with the bookshelf behind the piano at the Hotel, AND if you get the Golden Lie weapon, the description says that Carlo loved the story of the mischievous puppet (and that at least the father of that puppet was actually a good father unlike the Geppetto from this game) In the game they just call him boy, son, puppet, child or clever one i think? and later on we discover he's a puppet made to look like the dead son of Geppetto called Carlo, so i like to think he's also Carlo, but he doesn't know that untill the end when he gets his memories back and all that

[@TheExcavateable]

Personally I found fitting in charges heavys as much as possible the best way to counter stagger timers, pre patch. Now it is much more forgiving. But hitting as much charged heavys can lead to automatic fatal openings where as of their health were to turn white they would immediately be ready to fatal.

[@ethanebonhart6705]

fantastic commentary as always, thank you! loving lies of P!

[@wadewilson4018]

I really like the 'FOORKEN EYEZ' too..

[@agbrenv]

54:09 I legit thought at first, that it was the phone booth guy talking to you through a speaker in the tram

[@TheExcavateable]

What were your thoughts on the nameless puppet? That's my favorite for sure.

[@soberbandana02]

Excellent review.

[@Squidaniel]

I don’t mind using the specters. They are there for a reason and I want to enjoy the game and get through it. I care more about out my enjoyment more than some invisible clout from Beating a boss without it But I will say they are a bit OP because me and the specter flattened King of Puppets on the first try. I couldn’t believe it haha

[@nighthawkviper6791]

Also with perfect guards, you can still get stun locked after a perfect guard so don't rely on parrying to win. Don't be afraid to use Fable-Arts to parry. They only consume 1 bar & come back quickly. There's also a perfect parry grindstone. You can use that plus perfect guard fable arts to cheese Laxasia & the Mad Clown.

[@Skye-xj3bx]

Or hear me out…. You learn how to fight them properly instead of cheesing them

[@jengaaaaa]

I actually found the Clown incredibly easy to parry and beat him second try. Other enemies not so much 😅

[@Guwd208]

29:25 "Near integral to the combat experience" he says speaking of parrying, as I dodged through everything in the game. I (almost) never parried anything, dodging gave me distance away from danger to get attacks on stuff that I wouldn't have with parrying. I was surprised when I heard how many people think parrying is crucial to the game's mechanics. When well, I've pretty much never parried and had a much easier time than it seems other people did lol. Good video 👍

[@grafitiend]

I feel like parrying is way to risky

[@jengaaaaa]

I think only sweaty tryhards push the parry god playstyle to everyone. Had very little issues just blocking, dodging and smashing. Most bosses and minibosses were easy until I tried to parry them and got smoked right away 😂

[@topical6574]

I just don't think Soulslikes can beat Nioh 2. That game is honestly (please don't hurt me) better than DS1, 2 and 3. I adore looter games, as I'm unfortunately a Destiny player, and I love the indepth combat system of Nioh. Also, the game is just brilliant in art design. Yokai look absolutely amazing, and as a mythology and history geek, seeing bosses like Shuten Douji pop up in a souls-like just gets me excited. Edit: Also the "dying multiple times to a boss and checking the name on reddit" is absolutely me too. I've spent YEARS, months of gametime into every souls game combined. But these soulslikes always made me feel like I was being cheated, sometimes. As you say, maybe i'm just bad, but I beat sekiro with 0 issues and every gauntlet. Soooo..

[@SpitSomeThinGood]

True Team Ninja is way better

[@jengaaaaa]

Nioh 2 is a masterpiece for sure. I prefer it over Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1 too. I play Diablo so looters are my thing from there.

[@Legendary-legend.]

personally i think the weapon system is the most succesful thing bout lies of P, that besides the the actual combat experience also. Since its a mixture of souls, bloodbourne and sekiro

[@aaronatkinson177]

I to think the weapon system is very good and fun to experiment with 😊

[@JC-kl3uc]

The weapon system is so good, that I'm shocked noone else came up with it before. It fits so naturally for this type of game.

[@misterG2006]

Replace puppets with robots and the story feels kinda familiar. Think "I robot" but Will Smith didn't save the day. I summoned the spectre too much in my 1st playthrough so when I reached Simon (and wanted to do it solo) I struggled because I hadn't needed to really learn the combat mechanics too deeply. So I started a new playthrough and won't use the spectre and, like your experience with the Scrapped Watchman, I have a new appreciation for the challenge.

[@nighthawkviper6791]

Nah that's what the summon is there for. If you want an extremely difficult playthrough that's not fun, you can try it with no throwables and no summon. 😂 But you're just wasting your own time doing that crap. Even Lobos Jr. Was struggling doing that with Lies of P.

[@zacharydobbins6267]

Oh someone else that loves code vein, nice

[@declancrawford8799]

Goat video

[@anwvererere]

keep up the vids type 1b supernova :D

[@oitzserj1234]

The part in “Lies of J” when Big John said to Wee John: “Love ye wee man” hit so hard it made me forget his name wasn’t John.

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

i really enjoyed lies of p but on my first playthrough i only found the last two bosses difficult then on my second playthough i couldn't even beat the third boss. i think i may have accidently used an op build the first time

[@Migerk1]

I’ve tried many souls like games and usually have to put them down into maybe an hour playing, but unlike lies of P this is the perfect soulslike game and I just beat the final boss and just started my NG+

[@pozertron]

Challenge is not an indicator of whether you completed the content or not. Phantom or no phantom, it's all good.

[@nighthawkviper6791]

I'm not a Soulshead and I picked up the combat quickly. Use everything at your disposal if you want a fair or even cheese runthrough. If you try to parry & dodge everything in a weapons only run, you'll spend 40-100% more time in the game trying to beat bosses & minibosses. Use throwables, consumables, grindstones, wishtones, legion arms, and specter summons with the appropriate dmg type for each boss and you won't struggle. Even Laxasia can be beaten fairly easily by using acid damage, & imbibing your specter with fire/acid wishtones.

[@valgdeluca]

As an actual italian, I do want to comment - venigni's accent is actually impeccable as far as prononuciation goes, it sounds exactly like one of my old highschool classmates during english class absolutely butchering every word, lol. The actual cadence is the issue - the exaggerated "super mario" lilt to the phrases makes it sound odd and cartoonish, so if he'd just spoken exactly as he is but reading out the phrases like a normal conversation it would've sounded exactly like an italian who knows written english but can't pronounce it that well.

[@BlondeMcGuinn]

Dude the quality of your content is S-tier, and then you upload consistently like this. I don’t know how you do it. I have Nioh, Nioh 2 and Code Vein and haven’t played any of them lol. I’ll have to fix that. Big Ups Candle! You’ve officially surpassed Ewan McGregor as my favorite Scotsman.

[@desertedham37]

this was the first souls like i ever played and got my ass beat over and over and loved it

[@user-kw9id8mo3t]

the character you are playing is Carlo, the name of gepettos son who died. if you follow the lore, the lies are of pistris, or giangio the achemist as he calls himself when he sells you things for gold coin fruits. "Giangio" signs his letter with PP after he has left the hotel.

[@rafabuda0]

Giangio isn't Pistris, that's one of Simon Manus's last names. Giangio's name is Paracelsus. So unless you're putting up the theory that Paracelsus is Simon's father, I think you misremembered the name.

[@user-kw9id8mo3t]

you are absolutely right. i put pistris instead of paracelsus. thanks for the correction!@@rafabuda0

[@ts7901]

There exists a universe where everyone in this game is named John or something close to it.

[@TheMartens]

33:10 this is exactly me lol

[@sagaevan9641]

as someone who doesn't find sekiro too difficult anymore (at least on vanilla difficulty), i have been struggling with this game lol. i've already gotten up to 48 hours, just beat laxasia who i really struggled with. i just can not get used to the parrying. to master the game's combat, it really means mastering every enemy's parry window. a wider window would certainly help, but i do think most of it comes down to the animations being awkward. like the animations look good! but they don't always play well.

[@stephenmclemore7614]

I'm 8n the same boat. The 2 inspirations for this game I see the most are sekiro and bloodbourne. Those happen to be the only two games I feel like a parry God in .. this game not so much, definitely a work in progress. But I am absolutely loving this game. The pacing of new upgrades and weapons makes me wanna keep going.

[@Zer0_Ph34r]

Can't say I agree with the comments about summoning the specter. I summoned the specter for every boss they were available for, but I also fought every boss without using the specter so I could gauge the difference. There were also times I wanted to face a boss alone so I could learn its move set and not waste the star fragment items. In addition to this, there are several bosses that don't allow you to summon in the specter. With all that laid out, I have two major things to say: First, any method of beating a boss is valid, and the specter does not change the difficulty of most of the boss fights as much as you might think. First and foremost, to ever claim that using a games intended mechanics invalidates your accomplishments is a prudish and close-minded way of looking at games. What gives you the right to say that if you engage in intended mechanics you aren't playing the right way? I'd even go so far as to say that even people using cheat engines to beat the game are still valid. You CAN claim that you believe the game is better by ignoring certain mechanics, and I think that cheating does diminish the fun and satisfaction you get from beating bosses in these kinds of games, but if it's between cheating and ending your time with a game, I can't say that cheating to continue is the wrong answer. Second, having faced every boss using the specter and not using the specter, it's not really as different as you might believe. Now, this will likely largely be based on how you actually engage with the game, but the specter more or less just draws agro from the boss. This is a doubled edged sword; on the one hand, it does give you the potential for some free hits, but on the other hand it takes away opportunities for perfect parries and staggering. When I used specters in battle, I always performed worse than when I fought solo because it was more difficult to predict boss attacks and gauge when I was going to be the target. I literally fought a boss hitless during it's first phase going solo, but had to use two pulse cells when using the specter because the boss attacked me when I wasn't prepared. Look, if you think using the specter ruins the bosses, then don't use them. If you want to get through the game a little quicker, feel free to use them to speed up boss battles. Either side you're on, recognize that you cannot beat the game without defeating several bosses and mid-bosses solo. Also know that you cannot fight the final boss with a specter, so you cannot complete this game without proving yourself.

[@candletype1a447]

🤌

[@necropig]

Holy fuck that fur reference had me lol

[@robertpayne6781]

I feel like only souls nuts, (I mean people that have played through every modern fromsoft game multiple times) realize just how good... even special this game is.

[@Nhileishere]

33:19 LITERALLY SAME LOL

[@grobariza]

For a studios first game they absolutely nailed it. Its mini bosses and general enemies are way harder than Soulsborne. LOL

[@jengaaaaa]

I actually found all of the regular enemies and minibosses really easy. Bosses on the other hand were not. Even the Clown I beat second try.

[@JerdMcLean]

This game is easily the best soulsborne wannabe I've played. Was very pleasantly surprised.

[@revolversnake126]

what game is that at 2:20?

[@candletype1a447]

It's The Surge 2.

[@Aarkwrite]

I can’t wait for it to come out on psplus so I can play a few minutes of it and give up 😌 Also Dorothy!!!! Aaaahhhh

[@lanceelopezz223]

Summons = part of the game. Deliberately designed by the game developer.

[@nickfucciolo1322]

I summon a helper for every single boss more fun for me. Beat king of puppets on second chance with one

[@mrgreenguy5193]

Omg, I also totally seek emotional support on reddit when I'm really struggling with a boss

[@creatureslim]

Thymesia was a decent little game i enjoyed it

[@kdjets]

I liked all the characters. I hope they don't tone that down for the sequel or DLC

[@hermesbird]

great video! loved it, but with one exception: venigni is a chad, your ears just aren't strong enough to handle him :(

[@charlylmaoo5953]

Playing Lies of P just made me want Sekiro 2.

[@FlopsyJChristianson]

Sekiro is both the hardest and easiest game FromSoftware has made because once you've embraced parrying the game's diffculty drops drasically. Lies of P's focus on blocking is similar but I noticed that when I perfect block I got more aggressive and my potential for damage sky rocketed. In my opionion Lies of P is less forgiving with it's mechanics but is collectivley not as hard as other. I consider Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3 dlc, and parts of Nioh harder. Lies of P is brilliant though and and I'm glad it was able to takes steps to form it's own thing.

[@MildsandThatYac]

I think honestly Elden Ring is the easiest from software game created

[@RIBAYRO]

I'm not sure lying has anything to do with the "best" ending at all. My humanity wasn't maxed out and I still managed to achieve it. The trigger is probably either a combination of enough humanity and "saving" Sophia or straight up just "saving" her.

[@rafabuda0]

You do need humanity, just not all of it. From what I've seen you can either be on high enough on "You Feel Warmth" or "Your Heart Is Pumping". The deciding factor then becomes giving Sophia peace, if you let her live then you'll get the neutral ending no matter how much humanity you have.

[@mleon21the1]

The spectre didn't do much for me in the second half of the game, but the aegis sheild was broken.

[@nighthawkviper6791]

Eh yes and no. It only had like 3 charges. But if you leveled the Legion Charges in the P-Organ I could see it cheesing bosses.

[@mrbean5840]

It took me late into the game when lies of p's combat clicked for me, before that i used to mainly parry everything making the game unnecessarily harder. Overall great game, though i do have some complaints like the very small parry window and the bosses and mini bosses having very erratic movements that can throw many people off. You obviously put a lot of effort into your videos so i'm glad to have found your channel.

[@SpitSomeThinGood]

No one reads this trash

[@jaytailee6167]

I've played the entire game without pretty much ever trying/doing a perfect guard lol

[@ChristianDooley]

I prefered it to ds3. gorgeous game

[@user-pq9kb3fi3h]

i will never get used to the scottish accent