Who’s Afraid of Pinocchio?: Thoughts on the Lies of P Demo
Note that this piece will spoil the content of the recently-released (as of mid-June 2023) Lies of P demo, and I will also spoil elements of Bloodborne (2015) as well. Round8’s Lies of P unabashedly borrows from the “Soulslike” action RPG template that’s so popular in gaming right now. If you’re familiar with the basics—attack and defense governed by a stamina meter, a high degree of combat difficulty, the threat of losing your accumulated experience points after a death but with the chance to return to the sight of your defeat and reclaim them, enemies respawning each time you either die or rest at a checkpoint, looping level design with ladders and doors and elevators serving as shortcuts—then there is, broadly, little here (or at least in this demo) that you haven’t seen before. If you’re already familiar with how these games handle themselves, then you’ll recognize a lot in terms of aesthetics (more on that momentari...