Initially announced in Summer 2021, Lies of P debuted at Gamescom a year later. Since then, little information has been sprinkled on the mysterious title over time. We now know that Lies of P will be an adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio with a paint job of From Software’s Bloodborne. You play as P, a unique puppet with the ability to lie made by puppet master Geppetto who’s become a polarizing figure after his puppets have gone rogue destroying much of the city and killing civilians they were created to protect. On Geppeto’s behalf, you explore the city of Krat to dispose of the now-hostile puppets with weapon-based equipment he and his colleagues have made. When you start the game, P awakes and chooses one of three weapons based on the player’s style: light, heavy, and balanced.

As you progress through the game, you unlock useful secondary weapons, such as a grappling hook, to aid in combat. Combinations and some customization for multiple play styles are a massive part of the game. Over 100 have been announced to be unlockable as you play the game giving ample Souls-like replayability. The game will feature at least three endings through its “lie” mechanic, which seems to indicate that your ending will be based on a set number of lies or no lies being told. It’s a nice thematical touch to the replay value of the game. You can also customize the look of P, but it doesn’t appear to give you any combative edge as of this writing.

Going by the demo, enemy AI has a good balance of not being too tricky while quickly being able to take you within a group over. Bosses are more blockable than I’d like for my taste but still provide a reasonably challenging fight. Lies of P also features a bond fire mechanic for upgrading P’s states while blacksmiths upgrade his weaponry. The soul mechanic is known as fragments, which act as the in-game currency for purchases like upgrades. Like most souls-like, Lies of P seems to heavily encourage exploration as a good portion of side quests are available to complete. 

Lies of P gained an instant reaction upon its initial reveal and has been on everyone’s watchlist since. The demo provides a massive wave of confidence that the title needed due to a seldom shared amount of info until recently. It feels like a much more accurate complimentary title to the Soulslike genre compared to many recent entries in style, substance, and spirit.

Lies of P launches for PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on September 19, 2023.