Lies of Pis easily one of the best Soulslikes in recent years. Its inspirations were extremely obvious, much to its own detriment at times, as it took Bloodborne’s aesthetic and Sekiro’s parry-heavy combat before mashing them together into something new. But that didn’t stop it from being polished, challenging, and a lot of fun from start to finish.Lies of P: Overturewas a great opportunity for Neowiz to forge the game an identity of its own.
A Fairytale Story With Grimm Writing
For the most part, Overture achieves this. Traveling back in time, you trade in the dark, dingy streets of Krat for a winter hellscape filled to the brim with infected animals, hostile villagers, and strange puppets. You’re on a mission to track down the Legendary Stalker, following in her footsteps as she sets out to find her missing assistant Romeo. It’s a more personal story, but there are crumbs of lore scattered around for those interested in the mythology behind this battered, broken world.
It all ties into the base game nicely, too. You learn all about the origins of established characters, while some quest lines even alter places back in modern day Krat. For example, there’s a painter you can meet part way through Overture with whom you will eventually help create a painting. You can then travel back to present-day Krat, and you’ll find the painting hanging on the wall. It complements Lies of P wonderfully, presenting a clever approach to characters and storytelling that can only be accomplished through an expansion like this one.
Unfortunately, the weak writing struggles to do the story justice. Gemini is more annoying than ever in Overture, serving as an exposition dispenser and constantly speaking up to make sure that no detail of the story is missed, even if it was drilled into your head over an hour ago.
In just the first area alone, he mentions that you’re in the past half a dozen times, and it can sometimes feel like an insult to your own intelligence. Lies of P: Overture’s traditional and environmental storytelling is incredibly strong, but Gemini’s constant remarks feel like Neowiz doesn’t have confidence in its own world, let alone the player. If there’s one thing that Lies of P should keep mimicking, it’s FromSoftware’s show-don’t-tell approach to narrative.
A Bloodborne Clone No Longer
Bloodborne’s gothic aesthetic has also been cast aside in Overture, replaced with refreshingly unique levels and environments, such as a zoo filled with infected wild animals and a frozen fishing village surrounded by crashed ships. There is a portion of the campaign that gets bogged down in caves and mines, but I respect Neowiz’s attempt to distance itself from the Victorian streets and dark forests that made Lies of P feel so derivative.
Each area is satisfyingly winding and well-designed, which is an element of Soulslike level design in which Neowiz has always excelled. You’re constantly looping back around to open up shortcuts, each one perfectly placed to act as a lifeline when you’re running low on resources and Pulse Cells. It’s very linear, but I find it to be a nice change of pace, and there are still plenty of nooks and crannies hiding valuable items that make exploration worthwhile.
There’s even an optional boss you can find that has you fighting the younger version of a monster from the base game. I guess he held a grudge for quite a while.
You’ll Be Smashed Into Splinters
The remainder of Overture can just be described as ‘more Lies of P’, as the expansion doesn’t do much to build upon the foundations that were already established. There are a few new weapons to play around with, including a bow that you can use to pick off enemies at range. Two new Legion Arms have also been added, both of which feel more rewarding to use right out of the gate. Lies of P’s base Legion Arms always felt a little underwhelming before they were upgraded, but the two new additions in Overture have a nice power curve to them.
There are a handful of great boss fights to tackle, and while none of them reach the heights of Laxasia the Complete, they’re still a nice challenge, and I found myself looking forward to them the most throughout my time playing. Markiona is a great introduction to Overture’s story, the Anguished Guardian of the Ruins is a gigantic foe that has some of the most satisfying parries in the entire game, and the final boss is dripping with style and spectacle.
However, one key difference between Lies of P and Overture is difficulty. Enemies hitreallyhard, and almost everything you encounter has the potential to send you flying back to the nearest Stargazer. I struggled most in the opening area, fighting off infected dogs and baboons, more than I did during the entirety of the original, while there are some boss fights that can spread you across the floor after just a couple of mistimed parries.
It makes boss battles far more tense, knowing you’re two swipes away from defeat almost constantly, but also damages the delicate balance that a Soulslike needs to maintain fairness. I died more than a few times due to problems out of my control, such as weird camera issues or being stuck in the scenery, which could be excused if the consequences were anything other than almost instant death.
If you do find the game too difficult, there’s absolutely no shame in making good use ofthe new difficulty modes that have been introduced. Overture is strangely inconsistent when it comes to how hard some enemies can hit, so being able to almost seamlessly tune things up or down depending on how you feel each area has been balanced is very helpful. It’s a tough DLC, but there are options to somewhat cater its difficulty to your own preferences.
Note:Thankfully, Neowiz has alreadyaddressed complaints about the game’s difficulty, promising a future update, and while nothing has been confirmed, I feel like the damage output of certain enemies will be its main focus.
Lies of P: Overture is just an extension of an already terrific game, and that’s great. It’s almost nostalgic, reminding me of a decade ago when DLC was the norm, and not every game was bombarded with monthly updates or roadmaps. It’s a great expansion that attempts to give Lies of P its own identity, and while it doesn’t really improve or build upon the features that you’ve grown used to over the course of dozens of hours trawling the streets of Krat, it didn’t need to. I’m more than happy with a second helping of Lies of P.
