I have always been a huge Spider-Man fan. Ever since I was around 8 years old and the nerdy kid in my school with no friends, I have found a certain kinship with Spidey that has never gone away and remains despite being in my 30’s now. Every time a game is released I am filled with such excitement that every other release has fallen to the wayside – this is at its peak when it comes to Spider-Man 2 as I genuinely believe that Spidey PS4 and Miles Morales are two of the greatest video games ever made. For a long time my mind was closed to all other video games releasing in 2023 and I’ve spent the last two years thinking that NOTHING could possibly top the sequel as my Game of The Year 2023…
That was… Until I played the demo for Lies of P!
Lies of P is a game that for a long time I brushed off as “yet another clone” of the Soulsborne franchise, this time attempting to capture the formula that made Bloodborne such a success with its lack of shield, quicker combat, regenerating health bar and Victorian England aesthetic.
More trailers came and went and I was convinced that Lies of P would be nothing to write home about so I passed it off as merely another cash in on the style. That was before I played the demo and OH MY GOD! Not only do I think it PERFECTLY captures the essence and feel of Bloodborne, I think it genuinely may be possible that Lies of P is actually BETTER than Bloodborne.
The aesthetic has been absolutely nailed, basing the game on the fairy tale of Pinocchio but with added horror as the steampunk style puppets have gone crazy and murdered most of humanity. It is such a perfect little twist that I found myself completely and utterly engaged in the demo on all three of my playthroughs.
I think it’s worth noting here that I played the demo three times because this isn’t your usual demo that we have been seeing the past few years – NAY, this demo reminds me of those old discs you used to get on the cover of Official PlayStation Magazine that contained hours of a game which you could play at your leisure. Round8 Studio have been incredibly generous with what they have let us play that you can really get a feel of what this game is about as opposed to a simple snapshot of 30 mins of the best bit of the game.
The combat in Lies of P is also on par with the best of the Soulsborne offerings and if you have played any of them before you should know what to expect – as the formula largely remains unchanged, but if it ain’t broke and all that!
I can’t believe how much of a 180 this demo has made me do on Lies of P, but the most surprising thing is how it’s become my most anticipated game of 2023 in a year so stacked with releases that we have BOTH a Final Fantasy AND a Spider-Man game releasing!
If you liked Elden Ring or the Soulsborne games even a TINY BIT, go and try this demo. You will not regret it.
Written by Luke.
Edited by Alexx.