With the full release of Lies of P three months away, players have enough time to get acquainted with the recently released demo. In this hefty slice of the game, players can pick and modify their builds, explore certain sections of the city of Krat, and engage in visceral combat against humans and puppets. Lies of P may share elements from FromSoftware's Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Dark Souls franchises, but it has more than enough distinctive lore and gameplay changes to justify its existence.
Speaking of similarities to FromSoftware's games, Lies of P will have its fair share of boss battles. The demo has three bosses in total: The Parade Master, Mad Donkey, and Scrapped Watchman, all of whom pose a worthy challenge to the player-controlled Pinocchio. Barring the human Mad Donkey that guards the bridge to Krat City Hall, the other two bosses show how Lies of P improves one recurring FromSoftware boss issue.
Retrieving Currency Has Always Been A Problem In FromSoftware Boss Fights
Most players are well aware of how difficult some of FromSoftware's boss fights can be. From the infamous duo of Ornstein and Smough in Dark Souls to Gehrman, the First Hunter in Bloodborne, these foes will test the skill and patience of players so much so that defeating them results in a catharsis like no other. But before players can bask in those moments of release, they must first deal with multiple deaths and defeats.
Dying in a FromSoftware Soulslike game usually results in players dropping all of their accumulated Souls or the appropiate equivalent. These take the form of Souls in the Demon's Souls and Dark Souls franchises, Blood Echoes in Bloodborne, Runes in Elden Ring, and Sen in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Sen works somewhat differently). Players typically have one chance to go back to their place of death and retrieve these, but dying again before completing the task results in the permanent loss of all currency.
While going back to one's place of death is relatively easy during exploration, boss fights are another story. Having to walk to the end of an arena to pick up currency is difficult when there is a bloodthirsty enemy after the player character can be a frustrating experience, regardless of skill level. Whether it be a massive boss like Dark Souls 3's Yhorm The Giant or a fast-moving adversary like Elden Ring's Malenia, Blade of Miquella, players have to keep an eye on their surroundings if they want to retrieve their progress safely.
Boss fights in FromSoftware Soulslike games aren't always straightforward either. Some of them have multiple foes that payers have to contend with, while others take place in arenas that change throughout the battle. The fight against Rom The Vacuous Spider in Bloodborne is one such example. Not only do players have to drop into the Moonside Lake, but they also have to contend with Rom's spider underlings that spawn at different times.
Lies Of P's Demo Shows How The Game Lets Players Focus On The Fight
Rather than making its players go through the busywork of getting their belongings as the boss fight begins, Death Ergo (Lies of P's Souls equivalent) is always positioned right outside the boss arenas. This gives players a fixed location of their Death Ergo whenever they die to a boss and saves them from having to find where they last died. This frees them to focus on the fight and engage in combat from the moment bosses enter their aggro state.
It's a small thing, but it is a great quality-of-life improvement that resolves an age-old FromSoftware problem. Players already lose their items once, so they shouldn't be punished further for dying. Being allowed to retrieve their progress quickly and get back to redeeming themselves should alleviate that stress and push them to think of ways to defeat their opponents. Considering Lies of P is full of life-ending bosses, players will want to use this feature to its utmost potential.
Lies of P launches September 19, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.