Soulslike is a term uniquely linked to the gaming industry; there is no such thing as a Soulslike movie or a Soulslike novel. It's a precious term to those who witnessed the niche genre increase in popularity as FromSoftware released games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and the more recent Elden Ring. With each title, FromSoftware has experimented with formulas and made them unique, whether that was the more action-oriented Bloodborne or the open-world Elden Ring, and this led to the rise of the Soulslike genre whose influences were obvious and specific. Now, there are 2D Soulslike games, Soulslikes focused on ranged combat, and even Soulslikes (of some degree) in popular IPs like Star Wars, Final Fantasy, and Darksiders. But the upcoming Soulslike Lies of P is something different.
It's evident from the demo released earlier this year how carefully Lies of P takes inspiration from various Soulslike games, even paying attention to how details like the setting evoke certain emotions. Lies of P's main setting of Krat gives off Bloodborne vibes, but it's the narrative that truly stands out. No prior Soulslike game finds itself so embedded in a fairy tale quite like Lies of P, which adapts the work of Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. Just as it pays homage to the Soulslike name with an intriguing setting and challenging combat mechanics, it pays equally to Collodi's work. For this month's Game ZXC Advance, the team recently spoke to several devs on the Neowiz team, including director Jiwon Choi, art director Changkyu Noh, lead world designer Byungsoo Kwon, and associate producer H.Sun Choi, about crossing the divide between these points of inspiration.
Adapting Pinocchio for Adult Gamers
While many Disney adults may recall the tale quite well, Pinocchio's origins are much darker than one would initially assume (which holds true of most fairy tales). Collodi's work has the Talking Cricket (as some know as Jiminy Cricket) squished and killed, Pinocchio gets his feet burned off at one point, a friend named Candlewick gets turned into a donkey and eventually dies, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There have been several movie adaptations of Collodi's Pinocchio, such as the more faithful Guillermo del Toro version, but Lies of P stands apart on the video game side. As evidenced by the Lies of P demo, fans can see the obvious connections with Pinocchio, Geppetto, and Gemini, but it goes deeper with the Blue Fairy/Sophia, Eugenio/Eugenie, and more. But that doesn't mean fans should expect a fairy tale adventure.
"When we decided to create a Soulslike game, we recognized both the narrative and the setting would play a pivotal role in the game," said director Choi, and this led the team to "the idea of harnessing a globally renowned tale, and then reshaping it in a manner that would defy conventional expectations, thereby kindling a sense of intrigue and fascination." While conceptualizing Lies of P, the devs also sought something that was mature, something that would resonate with adult players, and something that could host a wide cast of compelling characters. As director Choi would go on to explain,
In this context, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" emerged as an impeccable fit, meeting all these criteria immaculately. Upon reading the original tale, we discovered its fascinating contrast of being a fairy tale with both cruel and charming elements. For us, living in the modern era, we found the components of black comedy and irony in the story sparked our inspiration to reinterpret the story within the context of a video game.
But adapting either the true-to-fairy-tale story or the Disney version would not be as compelling, even with Soulslike elements added into Lies of P. As such, players are encouraged to set aside their expectations. While Collodi's work is a clear inspiration for Lies of P, fans should expect this title to be an unpredictable alternative to the original tale, meaning in a world dominated by truth and lies, players should trust no one.
From the beginning of the project, our intent was to forge an alternative and distinct arc from the original narrative. We aspired to present unpredictable narratives and tales of characters throughout the gameplay.
Associate Producer H.Sun Choi would also explain that the moral lessons of Lies of P diverge from the fairy tale. The original sought to be a warning to children who misbehave, but Lies of P is not a game for children. It's a game that seeks to challenge adults with critical lessons through gameplay, like "What defines things as morally just? What will you choose when faced with difficult decisions? What does it mean to be human?" H. Sun Choi and the dev team "hope players can find answers of their very own through their gameplay experience."
Lies of P: A Fairy Tale in a Nightmarish City
Those who have played the demo wouldn't know it at first glance, but the city of Krat was once defined by human innovation, prosperity, and opulence, with it taking the title of the world's most prosperous city. The backdrop of this city is taken from the Belle Epoque period, which lasted from between 1871-1880 to World War I in 1914. Just like Krat, this was a period of optimism, peace, prosperity, expansion, and innovations as a culture, in the realms of science, and with advancing technology. Radioactivity was discovered, early cinema began, and even scooters and mopeds have their origins in this era. But, in seeking to bring the Belle Epoque to life in Lies of P, art director Noh explained that the most important thing to capture was the inherent duality. While there were many romantic notions about its various advancements, the period came with an underlying darkness and negativity, built on the backs of many who would not be properly recognized by history.
"We believe it resonated well with the paradoxical essence of our narrative."
Just as it takes inspiration from Collodi's fairy tale and the Soulslike genre but with its own twists, Lies of P does the same with the Belle Epoque period. While there was a lot of research and recreation of certain architecture and structures of the era, even leaning on the period to create the city's visual elements, plenty was omitted if it did not fit into the meticulously crafted Lies of P world. Electronically-driven concepts were replaced with more intricate mechanical methods and a touch of fantasy, such as the fictional Ergo that serves as both a life essence for the maniacal puppets and a currency in the game. But all of that prosperity was not able to keep Krat from its fate.
At the Krat Grand Exhibition, a celebration of its achievement where the city sought to share its discovery of Ergo and the puppet industry with the world, the Petrification Disease broke out and spread quickly. It engulfed the entire city quickly, and as if one disaster wasn't enough, the Puppet Frenzy began. And that's where Lies of P's main character Pinocchio wakes up, in the ruins of a once-opulent city, seeking to save what little can be saved.
Putting the 'Soul' in Soulslike Combat
Lies of P adds, but ultimately adheres, to standard Soulslike combat. "Why fix it if it isn't broken" sounds like something Geppetto would say, and players are given their first taste of this quite soon, with the choice between Lies of P's three combat styles defining their progression. There are three choices: Path of Bastard, Path of Sweeper, and Path of Cricket. The goal of each of these, as well as Lies of P's other combat features, is "to cater to the individual player's preference. We tried to go beyond the leveling system, adding aspects such as the Legion Arms, P-Organ, Weapon Assemble system, and more to allow players to personalize their character to fit their preferred playstyle as much as possible."
Path of Bastard will allow players to wield a nimble and agile combat style. This path has more stamina than other paths, which makes players attack more and avoid the risk better. However, this path does not align well with heavy weapons that can do substantial damage in a single blow. Also, damage from their enemies would be more critical. We recommend this path to players who enjoy quick moves and flashy controls.
Path of Sweeper is the exact opposite of the Path of Bastard. Players with stamina, which requires players to make decisions on their actions every split second in combat. This path excels with weapons that are heavy, slow, and have high attack and guard abilities. Furthermore, the larger capacity from this path grants players easier access to a variety of weapons and armor.
Path of Cricket seeks the balance in between. Players treading this path experience a more stable position. Opt for the Path of Cricket if you're uncertain which style suits you best. Beginning with this path can serve as a strategic approach, allowing you to identify your preferred style and then tailor your status upgrades accordingly. This style is particularly favorable for those seeking a unique combat identity of their own.
But the choice of combat style in Lies of P is just one step down a very long road.
As players progress throughout Lies of P, they will unlock Fable Arts—special offensive and defensive weapon abilities tied to Blade and Handle, respectively. These are perhaps key to surviving some of Lies of P's more challenging combat encounters, and players have plenty of choices. As director Choi explained, there are 60+ Fable Arts in the game, and it's not a limiting factor to builds in Lies of P either. In fact, the Fable Arts feature enhances build-making in the game. Choi said, "We have the Weapon Assemble system in Lies of P, which allows you to disassemble and recombine blades and handles, crafting personalized weapons. Fable Arts were introduced to the game to accentuate this system. We believe it allows you to maximize your unique weapon recipes not only with regard to the stats but also with the Fable Arts that accompany the handles and blades."
Layered on top of that are Legion Arms, a feature "designed to extend diversity in combat for players." There are eight Legion Arms in Lies of P, with some examples being a wire that can pull enemies closer, a ranged weapon, and elemental attacks. This is to enhance that Soulslike combat for newcomers and veterans alike, with the studio taking both subsets of fans into consideration when crafting this combat.
Several features, like how Ergo works, the Pulse Charge System, and more were all designed to help newcomers to the genre, with the team hoping this helps players settle in more easily. Indeed, a lot of the combat elements of Lies of P are designed for this, with the thought being newcomers "can leverage these systems to grasp the essence of the genre and engage with it more easily." Mastery won't come so easily, with Choi expressing his excitement to see how veterans harness the combat dynamics and features found within Lies of P.
"We believe Lies of P will offer a formidable challenge to those veterans with a high degree of combat freedom and complexity that will put their skills to the test."
All of this, of course, lends itself to two critical elements of the Soulslike genre: build variety and build depth. While it's not uncommon to see certain "meta" builds emerge in a Soulslike game, it's always important that there's a plethora of ways for players to engage in the combat and to construct their build. Soulslike games are not as fun if players are pigeonholed into playing a certain way instead of finding what works for them, while build depth applies to the modularity of how someone puts that build together. If builds are boiled down to one thing or two, no matter how varied it is, it is not as satisfying in Soulslike style combat. And sometimes a Soulslike game can teeter one way or the other, with this being somewhat difficult to balance. The number of options between weapons, equipment, combat styles, Legion Arms, and Fable Arts would imply that there is a lot of build variety in Lies of P, but it doesn't sound like fans should worry about its depth either, with Choi saying that,
We recognize the significance of both build variety and depth in a Soulslike game. If there is only diversity without depth, it's less appealing to players, so we wanted to make sure that the game offers both as much as possible. This equilibrium was central to our design philosophy.
Of course, builds change over time too. Whether in the early game of Lies of P or the endgame, producer H. Sun Choi explained that players must always be deliberate with their builds: "As players progress through the game, they will typically spend more time considering the build they are using." And this applies to someone's second run of Lies of P, their third run, and beyond. And if anyone was curious, director Choi explained that his favorite way to play was a combination of everything available in the game, describing himself as a "man of tools."
Inheriting the Legacy of a Soulslike Game
It is, without fail, that any Soulslike game is compared to the works of FromSoftware. That is a big shadow for any developer. Nioh is often spoken of in relation to the Soulslike genre, the Remnant franchise justly or unjustly inherited the moniker of "Dark Souls with Guns," Code Vein has been called an Anime Souls game, the Star Wars Jedi franchise's adaptations of genre mechanics are closely looked at, and some games will succeed or fail entirely based on the implementation of Soulslike features. That pressure is incredible, but, as the saying goes, pressure makes diamonds.
While there are certainly some combat similarities between Lies of P and Bloodborne, many fans have pointed to the latter as a point of reference for the general aesthetic, vibe, and setting of Lies of P. Early on in development, the developers would explain that the Bloodborne comparisons were not intentional on their part, but the team is composed of hardcore Soulslike fans (even attempting speedruns of Lies of P for fun). That means they are certainly aware of the legacy the game is inheriting whether it wants to or not, but that hasn't made them more timid. It has inspired them, motivated them, and pushed them while working on what is clearly a passion project.
Bloodborne is a very compelling and well-made game. Seeing players draw comparisons between Lies of P and esteemed titles like Bloodborne and Elden Ring is truly gratifying and has inspired the team to make a game that's worthy of being compared to them. It also motivated us to channel our concentration to develop Lies of P into the best version possible.
Lies of P isn't Bloodborne; however, Lies of P and its developers have the necessary reverence for the genre to make this game truly something special. Its own impact and legacy remain to be seen, but when Lies of P gets into players' hands, they too will find themselves immersed in a world inspired by the greats, set apart by its own machinations.
Lies of P launches on September 19 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
