Lies of P is another entry into the long line of Soulslike games to come out in the last decade or so. However, unlike a lot of other Souslikes, Lies of P is among the rare few that people seem to agree actually reaches a similar amount of quality to the From Software games.

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The definition of a sword in Lies of P is pretty loose, considering all the powerful swords of all sizes & shapes Pinocchio can find in this game.

And, a large part of this has to do with the bosses in this game, as the vast majority of them are incredibly well-designed. All that said, being well-designed doesn't mean they're easy, and a lot of the boss battles in this game are a true test of both patience and willpower. So, let's look through all of the bosses Lies of P has to offer and talk about the ones that are the absolute most difficult.

Updated May 27th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: At the time of writing this update Lies of P is 9 months old, and yet all this time later it is absolutely still one of the most memorable Soulslikes in recent years and there's a lot of reasons as to why this is. The game has so much polish, it's such a unique take on a classic fairytale, and the game mechanics themselves are well-tuned. There aren't too many other games where it feels like fighting against the bosses is a delicate dance, but Lies of P manages to do it and more. The bosses in this game, in general, are very tough, at least until you start memorizing their moveset and more obvious telegraphs. In fact, why don't we take a deeper look and go over all of the most difficult bosses in Lies of P and rank them in terms of their overall difficulty.

15 Mad Donkey

First 'Human' Boss

We're not sure about everyone reading this, but for us, the Mad Donkey was a real pain of a fight. There are different types of players when it comes to Soulslikes, especially for the Soulslikes with heavy parrying mechanics such as Lies of P or Mortal Shell. To be more specific, there are those who live and die by the parrying mechanics and those who use the parrying mechanics a fair amount (but not too much). We absolutely fall into the first category of players, which is exactly why the Mad Donkey was such a struggle.

To elaborate, delayed attacks have become a lot more prevalent in Soulslikes in recent years, to the point that even basic enemies in these games have windups that they intentionally delay the timing of to throw the player off. The Mad Donkey is a very early example of this in Lies of P, even if he only has a couple of attacks. In particular, the overhead swing he uses at the start of his attack chain is especially delayed, so those who try to parry everything in this game are going to be struggling to figure out the timing of this. Of course, once we just played aggressively with the Mad Donkey and stopped worrying so much about parrying, he was so much easier, and that's exactly why he takes the lowest spot in these rankings.

14 The White Lady

The Sister of Adelina

The White Lady is probably one of the most atmospheric fights that Pinnochio has with the masked survivors of Krat, twisted as she may be. When you encounter the White Lady, she's under the mistaken assumption that the puppets have killed her sister, Adelina (who is currently in hiding in the Opera House), and is taking down as many puppets as possible in some attempt at revenge. However, the White Lady has no idea that Adelina is alive (at least at the moment you encounter her) which makes this confrontation and her eventual death at Pinocchio's hands all the more sad.

As far as the fight goes, it can be a bit difficult if you're aware of the backstabbing 'cheese' when it comes to human enemies in this game. If you are aware of this trick, then the White Lady is probably one of the easiest 'boss' fights in the game. As long as you constantly 'circle strafe' around her and fish for the backstab, she really doesn't have anything she can respond with. It's a shame that all the human enemies in this game as so susceptible to this one trick, even if it does make getting past them a lot less irritating in subsequent runs or even speedrun attempts.

13 King's Flame Fuoco

Endboss of Venigni Works

Let's start things off with one of the easier bosses in Lies of P, but it certainly doesn't feel that way when you first get to it. At the point in the game where players get to King's Flame for the first time, their skill level is usually high enough to where this boss will seem like a bit much at first. But, if those same players came back to Fuoco after beating the game once, they'd realize how predictable this boss is as a whole. The most 'optimal' way to overcome Fuoco is just to perfect parry everything it throws out, and Stagger it for big damage, but it doesn't feel like that's possible the first couple of times that most players attempt this boss fight.

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11 Walker Of Illusions

Miniboss of the Collapsed Workshop Tower

Now your mileage may vary, but the Walker of Illusions absolutely ruined our night when we first came up against her. Most of her attacks come out so absurdly fast, and the pure amount of attacks she throws out is overwhelming, and it feels like there is barely any window at all to counterattack.

She gives off so much pressure in fact that it may feel like the only real strategy is to perfect parry into Staggering her, but that requires taking so much chip damage if you fail to Perfect Guard really anything, so it's a high-risk high-reward strategy. Plus, this isn't even going into the fact that she creates a duplicate once her health gets low enough. As long as you're confident in your Perfect Guards and have enough health to power through her damage, she's not too bad, but in general, the Walker of Illusions can be a real roadblock for a lot of people.

10 Door Guardian

Miniboss of Arche Abbey Entrance

First up, funnily enough, is a boss that technically doesn't even fall under the 'boss' category. The Door Guardian is a mini-boss or area boss that guards the entrance to the Alchemist Tower on the Alchemist's Isle where Simon Manus is located. When players walk across the Black Seaside Stargazer area and finally make it past the cannons and giant Carcass scorpions, they come face to face with Door Guardian, the only real 'gimmick' boss fight in Lies of P.

Because it's one of the only gimmick bosses, a lot of players spend hours fighting this thing legitimately, tanking all the unavoidable Shock damage it dishes out and waiting for any moment to actually get some damage in. However this effort is sadly misplaced, as players actually need to aim for the leg of the Door Guardian that isn't in that metal support (AKA the same side as its 'normal' arm). Deal enough Stagger damage to that location, and the Door Guardian falls to the ground for players to unleash a Fatal Attack that will take out at least half of its health. Do this again, and it's done for. But, it's the act of getting that knockdown that's so painful, which is why players will want to bring things like the Aegis Legion Arm, Shot Put throwable items, and a whole lot of Pulse Cells.

9 Scrapped Watchman & Scrapped Parade Master

Found Throughout Krat City Hall & Cersani Alley

The last third of Lies of P is very reminiscent of Bloodborne where some grand atompsheric change happens and all of a sudden players need to re-wander through areas they've been to previously, but with some new horrifying element mixed into them. For Bloodborne, it's things like the Brainsuckers or the Amygdalas while Lies of P it's all about this seemingly sentient Carcass 'ooze' that has infested and taken over all the nearby puppets as well as the truth about the Ergo.

However, one area where Lies of P has the From Sotware games thoroughly beat is their reuse of bosses. This game brings earlier bosses back later on, specifically the Watchman and Parade Master, but with completely new visuals, new attacks, and new patterns altogether. Players shouldn't expect to see the same boss now used as an elite enemy like they would with the Bloodstarved Beasts or Smelter Demons in the FromSoft games.

8 Fallen Archbishop Andreus

Endboss of St. Frangelico Cathedral

Fallen Archbishop Andreus is probably the first big 'wall' players will need to climb in Lies of P. The bosses up until this point have been difficult, that's for sure, but most players tend to overcome them within an hour or two at most. However, with Archbishop Andreus, this will likely be the first one players feel they'll need to 'take a break for the night' and come back to it later.

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To summarize this fight in one word, it's oppressive. Andreus doesn't leave much room for the player to breathe or get hits in for either of its two forms, and players will either need to get very good at dodging or Perfect Guarding in order to make their own windows of opportunity. Thankfully, Andreus' one-winged angel side can be easily circumvented if players just run around to Andreus' backside after the cutscene between phases, as that'll have them fighting against the same side of the boss as phase 1, with only a few new attacks to get used to.

7 Green Monster Of The Swamp

Endboss of The Barren Swamp

This next boss is the one that really introduces the whole 'world change' concept in Lies of P, as it's the first time players have seen puppets getting completely taken over by this Alchemist-brewed ooze that Simon Manus and his order were creating. As a boss, the Green Monster of the Swamp is also one of the first ones with an attack that completely takes it off-screen, which can be tough for players to get used to avoiding.

However, it's also a boss that doesn't have 'that' many unique attacks, so once players internalize the timing on most of them, they can power through phase 1 pretty easily. Technically this has a bit of overlap with the Scrapped Watchman entry, as the second phase of this fight is against the new Scrapped Watchman, but it seemed more apt to put the Watchman with the Parade Master instead.

6 Champion Victor

Endboss of the Grand Exhibition

Not many bosses in Lies of P are vocal, and that's especially true for the zombie-esque Carcass enemies. However, Champion Victor is not only a boss who talks a lot, he's basically a WWE wrestler dropped into a Soulslike game, which was unexpectedly fun. However, mechanically, Victor is another boss that can be very overwhelming. There's not a lot of time where Victor isn't actively attacking, and that's especially true for his phase 2 form.

So, players who like to master all the Perfect Guard timings of attacks will find this fight very difficult at first, but once they acclimate to the pace of Victor's swings it becomes a lot easier. On the opposite end, players who dodge more often than they guard will find the first phase of the fight a lot more approachable, but the second phase will almost instantly wipe out their HP if they miss the timing for a dodge even slightly.

5 Black Rabbit Brotherhood

The Second Encounter At the Relic of Trismegistus

Let's be honest, no one ever remembers the 'fighting a bunch of enemies at once' boss fights fondly in any of the Souls or Soulslike games. This subgenre in general is just much better in a one vs. one or, at most, one vs. two scenario. Now, the first time players fight the Black Rabbit Brotherhood, it's not so bad as the siblings all jump away when their relatively small HP bars are depleted, making a lot of the fight just a battle between Pinocchio and the Eldest of the Black Rabbit Brotherhood.

However, the second encounter in the Relic of Trismegistus Combat Field is much worse. In this encounter, each of the younger siblings has their own health bar, their own element they apply to their weapons, and their own irritating ranged attacks to interrupt Pinocchio whenever they have a combo going on one of the other Brotherhood members.

4 Nameless Puppet

Final Boss at the Bottom of the Arche Abbey

While all Soulslike boss rankings are completely based on individual opinions, these last four Lies of P bosses are even more of a toss-up. All of them have a comparable amount of difficulty, but certain players will find certain bosses harder based on both their playstyle and the bosses' moveset.

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The Nameless Puppet, for example, is the 'true' final boss of the game, yet it somehow ends up in fourth place. It's not like this is an easy fight by any means, but it's a much more human vs. human (or puppet vs. puppet) fight than it is a puppet vs. some giant monstrosity. While the second phase is a bit more over-the-top visually, overall the parry timings aren't too deceptive and the fight is well-balanced. Plus, like most human-sized enemies tend to be in this game, the Namelss Puppet is a bit too susceptible to being Staggered out of attacks, which can lead Motivity builds toward trying to keep this puppet stun locked for the whole fight.

3 Laxasia The Complete

Entry Boss of the Arche Abbey

Laxasia the Complete is so obviously inspired by Malenia from Elden Ring that it's a bit silly. Both of them are masked 'Valkyrie' type warriors, both of them are protecting a location or specific person, both are an oddity among their own kind, and both have a second phase where they turn things up to 11. This isn't to say that Laxasia isn't unique, as the battle mechanically is incredibly different from Malenia, it's just funny to see the similarities so clearly.

However, this fight is probably the best overall balance between fun difficulty and cruel difficulty. The first phase seems like a bit much at first, but players quickly discover that Laxasia is more honest in her attack timings than most of the game's other bosses. This reliability continues into the second phase and even has some neat new systems such as being able to reflect the lightning mechanic for players who Perfect Guard the projectiles. And, there's even a way to get Laxasia into phase 2 without ever dealing any 'damage' to her as long as players Perfect Guard her swings enough for the sword to 'break'.

2 King of Puppets

Endboss of the Estella Opera House

The King of Puppets is probably the cruelest boss in the game when taking into account the progression that players are at when they encounter it. This point in the game is too early to get some of the incredibly strong end-game Amulets or Weapons, but it's also too late in the game for it to be a single-phase boss fight. While the first phase is easy enough to learn, it's a lot more annoying as players are constantly getting knocked back while Perfect Guarding. Phase 2, however, is rough.

Romeo is so incredibly aggressive all the time, and their attacks hurt so badly when they do connect. Plus, they've got a Waterfowl Dance-esque type attack that Malenia of Elden Ring is known for that can feel like a death sentence to most players when it happens. Thankfully, some players have found a decent trick to this phase of always circling and dodging to Romeo's right side (the player's left), as it seems a lot of its attacks miss this area or leave this area open to counterattack.

1 Simon Manus Arm Of God & Awakened God

Endboss of the Arche Abbey

And finally, let's talk about Simon Manus. Simon Manus is the overall 'big bad' of Lies of P and he plays that part well. With every new discovery about the Alchemists in Krat players become more and more aware of how monstrous they are, and Simon is the one who leads them. Though, for a guy as 'intellectual' as he is, when players come across his boss appearance for the first time, it's a bit hilarious, as the Ergo has caused him to bulk up to an absurd degree. However, this fight is every bit as hard as a (non-hidden) final boss should be.

The first phase is tough, but the patterns and timings are simple enough for players to internalize them relatively quickly. The second phase, however, is monstrously hard. In this phase the Ascended God Manus has everything, ranged attacks, tons of Fury Attacks, long combo strings, multiple types of projectiles, and so on. And, he relies a lot on Disruption-afflicting attacks in this phase as well, which can be very stressful to manage mid-fight since it's an instant death if that meter fills up. In general, while both phases of the Simon Manus fight aren't 'unfair' they do feel like they are for a while, but players will eventually learn that this boss is relatively approachable as long as the player stays vigilant and patient with their attacks.

Lies of P

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One

Released

September 19, 2023

Developer(s)

Round8 Studio , Neowiz

Publisher(s)

Neowiz

Genre(s)

Soulslike

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