Difficulty and Fromsoftware have gone hand in hand in gamers’ minds for some time now, including mine. For instance, both the PS2 era Shinobi, as well Ninja Gaiden, are extremely challenging ninja games but you are more apt to hear players today hold Fromsoftware’s Sekiro as the obvious example if a game conjures those vibes. These comparisons have been very prevalent in describing Lies of P, a Pinnocio themed action game that for many, felt like a strong homage to From’s Bloodborne.
The game showcased a combat trailer last month and the comparisons to that of Bloodborne came almost immediately. Lies of P is set in a Belle Époque inspired city, which might seem similar to the Gotic setting of Bloodborne. Both styles being French, Gothic predates Belle Époque which was introduced near the end of the 1800s. The two games also use fast-paced combat against large enemies, with each featuring a large saw blade type weapon as well.
While any new game is bound to get compared to titles that predated it, the publisher of the Lies of P, Neowiz, has addressed them stating that this was not actually intentional. Lead Producer Ji-won Choi addressed this in an interview with Kotaku, stating:
Though we’re greatly honored that many players felt the ‘Bloodborne vibe’ through our trailer release, it definitely wasn’t intentional. Still, Bloodborne and other Souls-like titles are certainly inspirational, and almost everyone in our team is a hardcore Souls-like fan.
While the game is not directly inspired by Bloodborne, he did say that the team did take something important from the Studio. He stated that they were inspired “high level of craftsmanship,’ in particularly when it comes to character movement. He additionally stated that the team is “trying to polish the motion with as much care and quality.”
One this that will appear in a similar fashion to that of the Souls formula, and that is the “penalty and difficulty level,” that will be implemented in the game. Similar to Souls games the player will get checkpoints similar to bonfires. Beyond that, the team stated they intend to focus on original mechanics.
One of those mechanics is Pinocchio’s ‘Slave Arm’ that we have previously seen equipped with a grappling hook. He can equip 8 different tools to said arm to diversify both combat and exploration. It was also stated that similar to the classic story by Carlo Collodi Pinnochio can lie in the dialog to NPC’s. In this story, however, that will turn him more human and change in-game events, as well as lead Pinnochio toward several different endings. It was stated that Pinnochio’s nose will not grow due to the team wanting him to look consistently cool.
Choi Stated of the conception of a Pinnochio driven game that:
Our primary goal was to find a story known to everyone, if not the vast majority of the player base. We also wanted a story that is not a typical dark fantasy, not set in the Middle Ages, has adventure as the core theme, and comes with charming characters. Pinocchio fit the bill and it was easy to conceptualize it as a Souls-like.
The idea for the game was conceptualized a year and a half ago, with Choi stating the team was about 50% finished with the base game. This was then estimated to be 30% finished overall, factoring in the 6 months planning for post-development polish. Lies of P is currently planned for a 2023 release for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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