Lies of P

Imagine Bloodborne but you play as a twink.

Lies of P is perhaps the greatest Soulslike game I've played that hasn't been developed by From Software.

It does a lot of things right, from the weapon assembly mechanics, boss weapons, quality of life changes, 'temporary' belt (although in all fairness, Elden Ring did implement this first), parrying and dodges to P-Organ upgrades, phenomenal sound design and a fairly straightforward world that, despite its linearity, is reasonably populated with shortcuts, a labyrinthine map, and chock full of interesting characters.

In lieu with the game's flow, the story is fairly linear and not particularly complex, but not poorly written by any means. Unlike most souls games, it's also not remotely cryptic and is delivered at an appropriate pace. Further lore titbits are also present via item descriptions for those interested.

Regarding the combat, the weapon variety is an absolute blast, albeit lacklustre compared to other Souls titles, offering 4 primary 'houses,' Motivity (strength), Technique (Dex), balanced and Advance (Int).

Regardless, I never felt underwhelmed and had a blast starting off with a Motivity build (Bone Cutter Saw + Dancer's Curved Sword's handle) created via the robust assembly system and transitioning to a balanced build later on with the devilishly fun Azure Dragon Glaive.

Akin to Dark Souls 3's weapon arts, weapons in Lies of P have 'fable arts.' Not only are they far more pragmatic than in DS3 in my personal opinion, they're also an absolute blast. Some may provide an elemental (Advance) effect, others might be a fancy combo, and others a parry still - they're varied enough to be fresh and the assembly system consequently allows you to mix and match fable arts as your heart desires.

Unfortunately, much to much dismay, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that the boss quality unfortunately can't hold a candle to FromSoft's catalogue, with only three particularly memorable encounters.

Additionally, apart from a handful of minibosses, most of the general world's combat is trivial. This isn't to say that exploration is non-enjoyable, but I feel like enemies could have used a tad bit more damage and a slightly varied moveset.

Another aspect that (unfortunately) must be praised by virtue of it becoming scarcer is the optimisation. It is truly perplexing how a game providing such otherworldly graphical fidelity runs as well as it does. Granted I was only playing on 1080p and intermittently cursing the temporal anti-aliasing and lack of pixels, the fact remains that Lies of P not only runs like a charm but also serves the delectable and scenic landscapes we've been spoiled with by FromSoftware titles, once more reinforcing my claim that art style is infinitely more vital than graphical quality.

The game ended on an absolutely scrumptious and unforeseen post-credits cut scene featuring another popular fairy tale character, leaving much to be desired in a potential DLC or sequel.