WARNING: Major Lies of P Spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.Lies of P was released earlier this week, garnering a largely positive reception. While its gameplay is similar to the titles that inspired it, the title stands out due to its dark reimagining of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. Specifically, Lies of P offers an incredibly twisted take on many of Pinocchio's most popular characters across multiple iterations. Pinocchio, The Blue Fairy, Jiminy Cricket, and several more are represented in new and mysterious ways. However, the character of Geppetto may be Lies of P's most sinister reinterpretation. While many of the title's adapted characters parallel their original counterparts, Lies of P's Geppetto is a far cry from every other iteration.
Lies of P follows P as he attempts to save the city of Krat from an event called the Puppet Frenzy. Due to an unknown event, the puppets of city Krat have rebelled against the Grand Covenant, turning on their masters and beating them to death. Around the same time, a horrific illness, called Petrification disease, spreads throughout the city turning some victims to stone and others into terrifying monsters. Throughout its narrative, Lies of P unveils the shocking truths behind the calamities that have befallen the city of Krat, with Geppetto, P, and a substance called Ergo all playing a major role.
Lies of P's Geppetto is A Powerful Alchemist
In modern pop culture, the most well-known iteration of Pinocchio is the 1940 Disney animation. While this version is considerably more lighthearted than the Collodi original, its version of Geppetto is quite similar. In the original story, Geppetto carves Pinocchio out of a talking log, essentially adopting him as a surrogate son. Geppetto repeatedly fixes and encourages Pinocchio as he learns from various mistakes during his time exploring the outside world. At the story's conclusion, Geppetto is reunited with Pinocchio after his transformation into a real boy.
Lies of P's Geppetto is a far cry from the devoted father of Pinocchio from previous iterations. He is indeed a father, but of a long-deceased boy named Carlo. In Lies of P, Geppetto is a master alchemist, responsible for the creation of all of Krat's puppet servants, in addition to other technological advances. When the Puppet Frenzy occurs, Geppetto creates P, in the hopes of defeating the puppets. Upon springing to life, P's first objective is to rescue Geppetto from Elysion Boulevard. It is eventually revealed that this version of Geppetto has no interest in making P a real boy, but actually aspires to use P's heart to revive his dead son, Carlo.
Lies of P's Geppetto Holds a Grudge
Over the course of Lies of P's narrative, Geppetto is revealed to be an evil, selfish, and manipulative figure, who aspires to revive his son above by any means necessary. Geppetto holds a grudge against the city and the people who took his son from him and uses P to put an end to any future threat they may pose. Despite promising to use Ergo to make P a real boy, Geppetto asks P to end his life so that Carlo can be revived. If P refuses, Geppetto unleashes the Nameless Puppet to take the heart by force. However, the darkest events occur if P agrees to the proposition. Using P's heart, Geppetto revives his son, immediately using him to murder the remaining humans of Krat. The story seemingly ends there, but Geppetto's true intentions are revealed when players reload the game and return to Geppetto's office.
If players reload Lies of P after unlocking the Real Boy ending, they can return to Hotel Krat and discover that its murdered inhabitants have been replaced with puppet doppelgangers. Returning to Geppetto's study, Carlo can find a letter in which Geppetto explains his intentions. Geppetto states that he no longer holds a grudge against Krat, now that Carlo has returned. He then goes on to reveal that he intends to make Carlo happy by "stabilizing" Krat and replacing its citizens with puppets. In doing so, he will put an end to the Petrification Disease, making the city safe for the revived Carlo while cementing himself as the darkest iteration of Carlo Collodi's devoted father figure.
Lies of P is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
