Over time, we often see smaller developers emulate the patterns created by a breakout hit or a game that stands out in some way, building on ideas of the past across the gaming industry. That’s very much the case with Lies of P, a new action-RPG that is a very unusual retelling of the story of Pinocchio.Â
Due to the seemingly unlikely focus of this game, as well as the flashy style that draws another fast-paced RPG to mind, Lies of P has garnered a fair bit of attention, so if you want to learn more, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about Lies of P so far.Â
What is Lies of P?
Lies of P is an action-RPG being developed by Round8 and published by South Korean gaming company Neowiz. Lies of P is loosely based on the story of Pinocchio, a puppet that comes to life and wants to be a real boy. Players will step into the wooden feet of Pinocchio for this story, instead of creating their own characters.
That’s where the differences start to come in. This version of Pinocchio’s story is set in the city of Krat, a place that is set in the Belle Époque period per the developers, with architecture and dress that reflects that of the very late 1800s.Â
Krat is a crumbling city where a plague has killed many of the human citizens, and Pinocchio wakes up confused, with no information to go on outside of a note that tells him to find Gepetto. From there, Pinocchio finds that the city has fallen into complete chaos, with “unspeakable horrors” around every corner.Â
Other characters from the story of Pinocchio are also present, such as a voice that is heavily implied to be the Talking Cricket that aids Pinocchio. There’s also a mysterious woman meant to be the Blue Fairy. What role all of these will play — alongside the true nature of Gepetto — have yet to be revealed.
Lies of P: Trailers
You can check out the alpha gameplay teaser trailer for Lies of P below. In it, Pinocchio test out various powerful weapons and combos, including some special abilities like a flamethrower. We also get an overview of the terrifying mechanical enemies that now roam the city of Krat.
Lies of P: Gameplay
During Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2022, Neowiz revealed the official gameplay trailer for Lies of P, which you can see above.
Lies of P is a third-person action-RPG, with combat and aesthetics that are very, very clearly inspired by Bloodborne, FromSoftware’s 2015 Gothic adventure. Instead of Lycans and diseased villagers like in Yharnam, the city of Krat is filled to the brim with mechanical monstrosities and puppets. The developers of Lies of P have not tried to hide this inspiration, openly referring to the game as a “Souls-like.”
Players will utilize a variety of weapons and abilities to survive across the city, and since Pinocchio is a mechanical puppet, different parts of his body can be modified. These modifications can provide advantages in combat, but there are also useful upgrades for things outside of combat. In the gameplay trailer, we see Pinocchio using an enhanced arm to rip open a safe. We also see him transform his left arm into a cannon that can be fired at foes from a distance.Â
Players can also customize and even mix and match weapons. Different combinations of weapons will have different advantages and disadvantages, so players are encouraged to experiment with the options depending on everything they find.
Because of how this game has been inspired by Bloodborne, there’s a huge focus on the difficulty. Foes tower over Pinocchio, with huge mechanical enemies seeking to crush the puppet, while smaller foes scuttle around in groups.Â
While much of the story is shrouded in mystery, we also know that there will be different choices. According to the developers, a huge theme in the story is the choice of whether or not Pinocchio should lie, with the prominent and cryptic warning, “You must always lie to others if you hope to become human.”Â
Whether or not Pinocchio chooses to lie across the storyline and various quests will influence the game’s ending, adding additional replay value for anyone who wants to see all the different ways the story can play out.
Lies of P: Platforms
Lies of P is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, and PS4. This makes it a fairly prominent cross-generation game, considering the attention the game is getting and how it’ll still be launching on last-generation console hardware.
Lies of P: Xbox Game Pass
During Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2022, alongside the reveal of the game trailer, the developers confirmed that Lies of P will be launching day one into Xbox Game Pass, so anyone with an active subscription will be able to play it at no extra cost.
2023 is seemingly packed to the brim with games, so we’ll have to see what it’s up against, but for anyone who enjoys difficult action-RPGs with dark atmosphere, Lies of P is very quickly looking like a contender for one of the best Xbox games to play when it launches.
Lies of P: Release date
Lies of P is currently slated to launch at some point in 2023. Outside of that release window, the game does not have an exact release date right now.
Over the last couple of years, many, many different games have been delayed, sometimes repeatedly as developers are continuing to struggle with adapting to remote work setups, contractors and support studios are in higher demand, and some teams are even returning to office. As such, we’ll have to just wait and see what happens and when we end up getting an exact release date for Lies of P.
