Highlights
- Lies of P stands out among other Soulslike games with its digestible storytelling and familiar mechanics.
- The game introduces a unique lie system that affects character relationships and endings, while also offering a soothing ambiance through its record collection.
- Resident Evil could learn from Lies of P's record player feature to enhance the atmospheric impact of its save room themes by allowing players to select their preferred tracks.
Lies of P is as haunting and unnerving as it is tragic and solemn. The story is told in a digestible way compared to Soulslike contemporaries, maybe as a result of the themes and characters it adapts from The Adventures of Pinocchio, but it is still a Soulslike through-and-through with familiar mechanics peppered throughout the experience. If fans have played a fair number of FromSoftware’s non-Armored Core games they’ll likely know what to be mindful of in Lies of P, including how to properly construct a build for the weapon scaling they want or when to suspect that an enemy might be waiting to ambush them around a corner.
That said, like any other Soulslike whose imitations clearly mimic FromSoftware games, Lies of P is equally unique in what it brings to the table that others haven’t. Lies of P does this most prominently through its lie system where binary dialogue options can have an effect on character relationships and the game’s endings. However, one of its most subtle additions to the formula mainly works to create a gentle ambiance for the player while they’re taking their time talking to NPCs, leveling up, or upgrading in Hotel Krat, and that’s via Lies of P’s record collection, which Resident Evil should learn from.
Lies of P’s Records are as Narratively Impactful as They are Atmospherically Enriching
Records in Lies of P are surprisingly rare collectibles that can be viewed and listened to at Hotel Krat’s record player, and thankfully the game allows players to listen to each of these tracks while they go about their business in the game’s hub. These tracks are all classically rooted in the charming and morose Belle Epoque atmosphere that Lies of P firmly embeds in its world-building, and the record items themselves are perfect for any completionist collectible hunters.
Still, records are acquired in a number of ways between completing side quests, purchasing them from merchants, or choosing a specific dialogue option. Players will only receive the “Quixotic” record if they give Red Fox and Black Cat a Gold Coin Fruit when asked for one, for example, while the “Why” record can only be received if players lie to Belle and say that Atkinson was killed in action fighting a puppet.
Collecting all records goes toward an ending in Lies of P, and therefore they are narratively significant in having P react to Ergo as he warms up to his humanity, whether he was also lying throughout the adventure or not. In the meantime, playing these tracks offers a beautiful atmosphere in one of the few places where P is ever even remotely safe, and that respite is true too of the save/safe rooms that players breathe a sigh of relief when locating in Resident Evil.
Resident Evil’s Save Room Themes Could Afford to Include Records or Music Selections
In this way, Hotel Krat becomes sort of familiar as a save room if fans have played Resident Evil games before and used such rooms to hide away for a moment. Resident Evil’s survival horror makes save rooms essential when finding typewriters or storage boxes, and players may oftentimes find themselves running back and forth to them while their inventory space is critically low.
Moreover, players know when they’ve entered a save room and can finally let their shoulders drop when a save room’s theme begins as they walk through the doorway. These themes have allowed a way for fans to remember each installment, such as which games they believe have the best save room themes, though adopting the record player feature from Lies of P could give its atmospheric ambiance even greater impact.
If Capcom had records or some other sort of audio that could be collected and played in a save room, players could select the particular ambiance they wanted. It’s true that players spend much more time at once in Lies of P’s Hotel Krat than they would in any number of Resident Evil’s save rooms, but the option to listen to select Resident Evil themes would be a fantastic bit of content for players to enjoy while they contemplate what items to withdraw or stash and plan out how to navigate the environment’s labyrinth around them.
Lies of P is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
