Lies of P: Overture Review

Lies of P DLC, Lies of P Overture

Intro: A Diamond In A Sea of Souls Likes

To say that the term "souls like" has been done to death in the past five years would be an understatement. It seems like every other developer from every corner of the planet is intent on cashing in on the Fromsoft craze that has taken over the gaming scene in the past decade. And you know I'll go out and say that I kind of love it. One of my fondest memories from the 2010's is getting bullied by the Lovecraftian monsters that roamed the streets if Yharnam in Bloodborne and I've been hooked ever since.

The surge of this sub-genre of game has been one of the biggest driving factors in cementing Fromsoft as one of the greatest game developers of the 21^st century. Now it's no secret that a ton of these developers have fizzled out in pursuit of chasing this genre. More often than not they chase the thing that people want without adding all the aspects that make Fromsoft titles so unique. Well, I have to admit Lies of P filled that gap in it's initial release, and honestly they did it again with Overture. Welcome to Lies of P: Overture.

Story: A Emotional Ride Through the Past of Krat

To say that a souls like set in the world of Pinocchio is bold is an understatement. I mean just the idea of a brutal setting filled to the brim with a murderous puppets and grim scenes of violence seems like something that should be far away from what I always knew as a children's movie. But the truth is, even the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio in Carlo Collodi's original story, which this game is loosey based on, don't hold a candle to the mess you find yourself in Lies of P.

The base story can be simplified to a couple sentences that I think are relevant to actually understanding what is happening in the DLC. In the beginning, you awake in the fictional city of Krat as it is being torn apart by the Petrification Disease, an illness that slowly blinds the human population and eventually turns them to stone, while also dealing with a mess called the Puppet Frenzy that has more or less turned the entire city's workforce against their human overloads.

Naturally the mastermind behind the creation of these puppets, the creator of the puppets Geppetto, disappeared as soon as the puppets went mad and your job as the namesake P is to find him before the city crumbles beneath you. As you make your way through your journey as P, a silent protagonist that is clearly connected to Geppetto in ways the player doesn't know till the last act, the veil between what separates humans and puppets begins to thin until the curtain fall in the end. But now that we have a grasp on what's at stake, I think we can dive into the DLC and really understand what awaits us in the past.

The basis of the Overture DLC is that you are sent back in time to witness the final days of Krat before the Puppet Frenzy massacre became history. Your mission at first is simple: Follow in the footsteps of the legendary stalker and uncover the secrets of the past hidden deep within the mind of your returning protagonist, P. The secrets you discover aren't just those of the world that existed before the events of the main story, but also that of your own creation and how you ended up in that train car at the beginning of your journey.

If you enjoyed the story of the main game, you'll feel right at home here. This isn't a world that was meant to be happy. More often then not, you are the only witness to some of the characters final moments and the writing does an astounding job at making the player feel like they are the sole survivor of this trainwreck occurring right before your eyes. It has plenty of moments that are filled with just the right amount of emotion that really puts weight into some of the decisions that you made in the main story. It does a really good job at connecting all the dots of this complex tale and presents it in a way that not only makes you feel for P, but also every other character that has been pulled into the grand scheme of madness and deception.

By the time the final cutscene played in the DLC, I not only found myself questioning everything from the ending of the main game, but also every decision I made in between. The DLC does a brilliant, albeit a little short at around 10-15 hours, job at bringing us back into the hallowed streets of Krat while tugging at your heart strings with every moment by connecting them to aspects of the base game that were left unanswered.

This has you visiting a variety of vistas from the eerie, bloodied walkways of the Krat Zoo, to the colorful, decrepit tents and carousels of the Krat Carnival. The varied amount of vistas you visit and the winter setting does a really good job at separating itself from the dreary streets of Krat that you prowled in the hours before the DLC. You'll almost always be visiting something new, and while some of the areas feel very similar in their presentation, I almost always felt a sense of awe in the places the game brought me to. The best part of all is this sense of wonder continues throughout the entirety of the game. You'll want to explore every path and find the secrets hidden just out of sight. There is a ton of variety in this sandbox that you more or less have free access to plunder as you see fit. If you loved the steampunk, alternate history setting of the first, you'll feel right at home in this frozen version of Krat.

Gameplay: The Beauty in Destruction

The gameplay is by every extension of the word the centerpiece of this new expansion. Combat in the base game was always a fight for survival and they have replicated that same feeling nearly perfectly. Through the host of different areas, you'll fight a varied number of enemies that both feel very similar and dreadfully different to those you're used to. Though some enemy types have been clearly copy and pasted from the main game, they still fit the setting well enough to where they'll still be bullying you just as much as they did before. You'll see the same usual variety of puppets and infected humans, but they do a good job at adding some new standard enemies that are as much of a challenge as anything you've tussled with in the base game.

This is further cranked up by the host of different boss fights that really show how well the combat system actually works. You'll fight a roster of terrifying bosses from giant, deformed alligators to flashy, intricately created human and puppet stand ins alike that will both challenge and terrify you in the same breath. They are the centerpiece of the DLC and Neowiz has once again proved that they are more then capable of giving us bosses that not only live up to the standard Fromsoft has set for the industry but also create a gameplay system that feels like it’s meant to be mastered.

I will admit the difficulty scaling can feel a bit off, especially if you're in NG+ like myself, but there is an option to tone down the difficulty if you need to as of this new patch. Difficult enemies are expected in a game such as this and I imagine most people will be fine if they are playing on a save that is not NG+. Either way, the boss fights are just the right amount of epic and any Soulslike fan will feel right at home with the challenges they present.

This point is further reiterated by the introduction of a ton of new weapons and a few new Legion Arms that feel right at home with the already expansive armory at your disposal. You have access to unique weapons such as Pale Knight, a weapon very reminiscent of the gun blade form Final Fantasy XIII, and the Death's Talons, a weapon that insists on letting you live your Wolverine fantasies to their fullest extent, as well as others that both fill the niches players expect in this series as well as introduce you to some new ones.

Making a triumphant return is the amount of different fable arts you have access to with most of these weapons. They are more then satisfying and some are downright broken as far as the damage you can put down in a few seconds. Just know that you have plenty of new toys to play with and a ton of bosses and standard enemies you can use them on. The gameplay shined in the base game and you are really getting more of the same level of quality here in the DLC. Every weapon feels handcrafted and brutal in ways that make every hit feel like you are carving your way through hordes of puppets and other monsters alike.

Closing Thoughts: The Future is Bright for Neowiz

The original Lies of P was a game that surprised many of us. It both felt like something new while also building on the foundation of games that have come before it. It did what many games have failed to do in the past. LoP delivered a twisted story based on a tale we grew up on, while also giving us some of the most fun and unique souls like combat to date.

Overture somehow builds on the foundation of excellence the base game started. The story is emotional and connected in ways that make every decision have weight, the gameplay is as polished as ever and filled to the brim with tons of challenge and skill expression, and the world is one of the of the most depressingly beautiful setting I've experienced in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the ruined streets of Krat and can't wait to see what Neowiz comes up with next. Overture stands as one of the most fun, albeit short, DLC's I have played since Phantom Liberty and I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the main game, or Soulslike fans in general.