A Brutal Encore to a Beloved Soulslike
Do you remember Lies of P, the great Soulslike from 2023 that featured a dark reimagining of the story of Pinocchio? Well, we’ve had some DLC shadow-dropped for the game, and it goes by the name of Lies of P: Overture.
Overture promises to take us to a time before the events of the main game, as all-new areas open up. I cut my strings and set off to find out what could be found within.
Having had to start the whole game again – mostly as I had completely forgotten how to play Lies of P – the first thing we have to do to access this new DLC is to get to the end of chapter 9 of the main story. Once that is achieved, it is a case of traveling to an alternate timeline using the Stargazer at the hotel, and from there the story of Overture unfolds.
Hunting the Legendary Stalker
We find ourselves at Krat Zoo at the beginning, and set off in pursuit of the Legendary Stalker, Lea. Of course, there are going to be various obstacles in our way, including (but not limited to) the inhabitants of the zoo, transformed into ravenous beasts. Can we keep our body intact while following Lea’s path of vengeance?
Belle Époque Beauty, New Beasts
The way the base game looked was never an issue, and here the world is as it was before the Puppet Frenzy; the Belle Epoque aesthetic fully on display. Ignoring the broken puppets and bodies lying about the place, this is a beautiful world, with stunning vistas to take in. The new enemies we meet in Overture are also well designed, from the Dark Souls dogs (who are just as big a pain in the arse as their namesakes) through to a massive crocodile. The bosses are also well designed and bring a unique look and mechanic to the game.
Sound is also a well crafted part of the game, with our cricket companion, Gemini, sparking up every now and then, and other NPCs stopping for a bit of a chat. Of course, the roars, grunts and sounds of battle are all bang on as well, and are just as good as I remember from the first time around. All in all, with the new timeline of Lies of P: Overture, the world looks really good – and sounds good too.
Parries and Pain
Now, gameplay. One thing I have to mention to the players of something like Elden Ring Nightreign is that in comparison, Lies of P: Overture feels slow and ponderous. Adjusting to the pace of the game has been a big challenge for me personally, so that is something to bear in mind.
Otherwise, the gameplay remains pretty much the same as before, with more of an emphasis on parrying than I remember. Trying to dodge in this game seems strangely leaden, and you don’t seem to move far enough, even with a reduction in weight. But this is probably just a matter of readjusting as well.
New Arms, New Weapons
The combat does soon come back to you, and luckily as we play through Overture, there is new gear to find and craft. A favourite here is a new legion arm, which is rather cool as it fires out spinning blades that can slice multiple enemies up. This has come in unbelievably handy!
There are also new weapons to find and use, and again, these take some getting used to: I have found a kind of rocket powered lightning spear, and this doesn’t handle like any of the weapons in the base game. It takes some getting used to, as so much in the game does, but once things click again, the rewards on offer in Lies of P: Overture are rich.
Overture’s Achilles’ Heel
But Overture is not perfect and there are some not-so-good points. Well, one really – the camera. This was always Lies of P’s Achilles heel, as it was quite easy to confuse. The problem is, with the emphasis on big set piece fights in Overture, these issues have multiplied. Fighting the bosses is an exercise in frustration, as they jump about so much that the camera is constantly lurching around, and sea sickness is an almost inevitable result. The second main boss has a puppet that she uses to attack (spoiler alert!) and this fight is particularly difficult, as this puppet can not only fly but can be swung around at high speed; the camera has real difficulty in showing us what is happening.
The other thing that I have to mention is the difficulty of Lies of P: Overture, which is on the extreme end of brutal. I’ve cleared the base game three times, and have used my powered up character, and been roundly stomped at every turn. Even using the new difficulty feature to lower the challenge makes barely any difference: easy-peasy level is still bloody hard – maybe we need a lemon squeezy difficulty for aging reviewers?
A Visually Stunning but Frustrating Prequel
Pinocchio’s return to the Xbox with Lies of P: Overture is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s great to get extra content for the brilliant base game, and the look, feel and fighting of the DLC is all top notch. However, camera issues and a steep difficulty may put players off.
Your Links
Lies of P Travels Back in Time with Overture Prequel Expansion, Out Now – https://www.thexboxhub.com/lies-of-p-travels-back-in-time-with-overture-prequel-expansion-out-now/
Buy Overture – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lies-of-p-overture/9N0BVHB735PD
Or Grab the Lies of P Bundle including the Base Game – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lies-of-p-overture-bundle/9MZSD5MN74M4/0010
