When Lies Of P was announced back in 2021, people drew similarities between it and FromSoftware's iconic games; more specifically, Bloodborne. Lies Of P's dark urban atmosphere and visceral shieldless combat brought back memories of Yharnam and its associated locations. As Round8 Studio's newest title nears release, these similarities only become more pronounced.
With the recent release of the Lies Of P demo, players are finally able to gain a deeper understanding of the game's lore. As the humanoid puppet Pinocchio, players must reunite with their creator Geppetto and find a way to become human. These tasks are made more difficult as the game takes place in the war-torn city of Krat. A puppet uprising is a unique premise to set the title in, but it also shares a lot with the 2004 science fiction action movie I, Robot.
The Grand Covenant Oversees All Puppet Behavior
Upon entering the Hotel Krat and meeting its denizens in the demo, players can gain a deeper understanding of the world and its current events. The city of Krat is in the throes of a puppet uprising. The cause behind the event is shaping up to be one of the game's biggest mysteries as a governing set of rules called The Grand Covenant was put in place to prevent such an occurrence.
According to Polendina - a puppet servant of the human Antonia - The Grand Covenant ensures that all puppets operate according to four rules. The first rule is that puppets must obey all commands of their creators (i.e. humans). The second rule states that puppets are never allowed to harm their creators. The third rule gives more context to the first and second rules by saying that all puppets have to protect and serve humans as well as the city of Krat. The fourth and final rule serves as one of the biggest cruxes of Lies Of P's story and states that a puppet can never lie.
Considering the citizens of Krat are under attack by most of the city's puppets, there must have been some loophole or command from a higher power that allowed the machines to go against their programming. While the violation of the first three rules is on full display thanks to the violence the rogue puppets commit, breaking the rule not to lie is more subtle. Pinocchio being a special creation of Geppetto's allows him to lie, unlike other puppets. This ability manifests itself in gameplay through moral choices players can select that could affect multiple characters and the story.
I, Robot's Three Laws Of Robotics Are Very Similar To Lies Of P's Governing Laws
While I., Robot doesn't have puppets, it has robots that are governed by the Three Laws of Robotics - a set of rules created by science fiction author Isaac Asimov whose work inspired the Will Smith-starring movie. I, Robot's Three Laws of Robotics work very similarly to Lies Of P's Grand Covenant. The first law states that a robot cannot directly or indirectly injure a human or allow them to come to harm. The second law is that robots must obey the orders given to them by a human unless those orders conflict with the first law. The third and final law is unique in that a robot is allowed to protect its existence as long as such actions don't conflict with the first and second laws.
Both Lies Of P and I, Robot use governing rules to create and break the boundaries of their respective worlds. The first few rules are more general while the last ones are more specific and create complex scenarios that serve as the basis for storytelling. The I, Robot movie even has a robot called Sonny that can bypass the Three Laws of Robotics. While it remains to be seen if Pinocchio will follow the same path as Sonny, the puppet's ability to ignore The Grand Covenant will play a key role in the upcoming game.
Lies of P launches September 19, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
