Lies of P director Jiwon Choi says the development team is “very well aware” of some of the biggest criticisms and feedback given following the hugely successful Lies of P demo. The Pinocchio soulslike game manages to step from the shadows of a multitude of Bloodborne comparisons to feel like a worthwhile game in its own right, but there’s still a lot of room for polish, and Choi digs into what will – and won’t – be changing ahead of the Lies of P release date.
I was surprisingly impressed by my time with Lies of P, but I can’t help feeling that, like so many contenders to FromSoftware’s throne before it, it just doesn’t feel quite as tight combat-wise as the likes of Bloodborne. When you wear your influences so proudly on the sleeve, such parallels are always going to be drawn. While Lies of P feels good, it doesn’t feel quite as good as the genre’s defining games – at least, not yet.
“We have taken note of the substantial feedback received regarding the dodging system,” Choi says in a developer Q and A, appearing with his head hidden beneath a stitched bucket-bag with a face on it, in the vein of eccentric Nier developer Yoko Taro. “We are currently undergoing a comprehensive evaluation on the various aspects of the dodging system including the invincibility frames, distance mechanics, and more.”
In addition to this, Choi speaks about the “off-beat attack patterns and movements” used by some of the enemies, which have been catching a lot of players off-guard with their unusual rhythms. Choi says the team is working on making these “more intuitive, so that players can better predict them and respond to them accordingly.”
While developer Round8 Studio has heard all your feedback, that doesn’t mean it’s changing everything players ask for. One common complaint is that you are forced to return to Hotel Krat to upgrade your character, rather than being able to do it from the Stargazer menu. In Choi’s words, this is a “deliberate and significant” choice made to encourage players to return to the hotel, which he describes as a “central and pivotal location.”
“The demo truly shows nothing in terms of story,” Choi teases, “Within Hotel Krat, a multitude of events and stories will unfold, and the stories to be told by Sophia hold great significance.” As such, returning frequently to the hotel is important. To compensate, Choi notes that the team is building on the already impressive optimization and has “made substantial reductions to loading times” to help the experience feel seamless.
With the Lies of P demo player count breaking one million, things are already looking promising for release, so hearing that the team is hard at work on adding additional polish is welcome news. You’ll also be able to play Lies of P via PC Game Pass on day one, if you’re a subscriber to the Microsoft service.
Make sure to check the Lies of P system requirements if you’re planning to check out the full game, or take a look at the first Lies of P mod – we’ll give you three guesses at what it’s based on.