Yea…It’s That Good - MAX REVEWS: Lies of P 

They nailed pretty much every aspect of what makes a Souls game, they also released a game that was polished without bugs and well optimised and the fact that this game from a dev that like...nobody had heard of AND it was there second game? Incredibly excited to see what Round 8 can do in the future

The soundtrack by itself makes Lies of P a gem that deserves more recognition.

it's a real shame that people might not even consider this as a GOTY nominee just because of the fact that it's a "clone". it's a really good game that stands up on its own and deserves all the good reviews it's getting. it's a GOTY contender for me. yes, it's that good

Story is easy to follow, yet you don't get the whole picture unless you read lore materials within the game in the form of news articles, books, letters, and talking to npc etc. For example: you fight a semi conscious carcass in the cave. For some players, it would just have been weird mini boss that spoke right before it died. But if you been reading up on lore, you can understand he was Medoro, dear friend of Alidor(real one), and the journalist who tried to tell the truth about the alchemists.

After I finish the game I did something I rarely do, I started another run. That game was a blast, the combination of aesthetics, level design, boss fights, weapons and my god, the music. Fantastic game.

One thing I loved about this game is I never felt the need to grind, I explored every nook and cranny and I never felt I was underleveled, and it was still difficult

My personal game of the Year 2023. I did have 0 issues with framerate, no glitches, no sudden frozen screens, flawless and continuous gameplay. Many games these days feel to me "unfinished" and then get patched and patched... after leeching money from customer. The music, the controls, the scenarios, level designs, weapons, endings, replayability, spooky, dark and lovely at the same time. Enemy variety, and so on... Minor complaints and I had a blast at the end. Bought it for PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, same as Elden Ring. My hype was fulfilled with this game for me. ❤

This is my personal GOTY. Completed the game 3 times with 77 hr and LV 305 for context. This was such a satisfying game from start to finish. I can't wait to see what's next for the DLC and this fantastic fantasy universe they are creating.

The large amount of throwable items is an interesting point, it has always been one of Fromsoft's lacking aspects, items are so limited or grind intensive people just don't want to use them. Or even if they are unlimited, it requires you to grind spirit emblems like Sekiro.

This game was absolutely amazing for me... I like, feel disappointed, that it wasn't worldwide news how amazing this game is and that Round8 pulled off the impossible.

I like how the post-credits scene recontextualizes Lies of "P" from "Lies of Pinocchio" into: "LIES OF PUBLIC-DOMAIN"

Im honestly not really a souls type of person but the concept of this game was intriguing so i gave it a shot. The difficulty was definitely hard to get used to but its an absolute blast once you do. Now i see why people like this type of game

I think the small thing I liked storywise that I want to mention is that when you do your second playthrough, you can understand what the bosses are saying to you due to the decoder which makes you understand the story better.

This dev team NAILED IT!! It really works so good! I’ve only seen videos, but I’ve enjoyed it! And it’s in my plans to buy it soon. It’s worth it.

It’s very rare to see a soulslike come around and be so good that you can directly compare it to fromsoft and it’ll still come out swinging hard and LoP did that. I’m so glad this game surpassed expectations and was just incredible. I’m so excited for their next project (which if you beat the game, I can’t WAIT to see how they imagine wizard of Oz)

Let's put some respect on Lies of P. It is NOT a copy-paste of Bloodbourne, and im glad people are recognizing that. It literally reminds me of Dante's inferno. It was a game that took the formula of a previous game and ran with it. I love it.

It should also be said that new game plus is amazing for lies of p. Running through the whole game with some of the later boss weapons is so fun.

This is one of my favorite games of the year and may very well be my GoTY. Not only is it insanely polished, it actually stands on its own legs as a souls game. It excels at crafting its atmosphere and overall feel, and has a level of spectacle that I wish Fromsoft would do with their games. Though my favorite thing about this game is all the little details and effects, attacks leaving marks on the ground, the hair movement, the lighting, sound design, and effects. Its these kind of little things that truly immerse me in games and is the direction I wish games went instead of graphical fidelity.

My game of the year so far. That demo entranced me, and the game delivered on everything. I love this game.

Lies of P is a masterpiece, a lot of amazing games came out this year, but Lies of P is my GotY.

My hype for this game was huge ever since the first trailer. It delivered on those expecations for me. I loved this game so much. Lets hope they can come out with more like this and build a legacy as fromsoftware did

More reviews like this please, you have an awesome point of view

I have a feeling the love for this game will only continue to grow as time passes, and it will be fondly remembered as a classic. It is undoubtably the best souls-like released. Round 8 is truly a special studio, can’t wait to see what’s next from them.

Im on my 5th playthrough. Everytime i find a cool weapon it makes me want to play the game again. I have never felt that way with any souls game and i have beaten all of them

i honestly loved this game so much. Playing through a second time now as I keep wanting to play it. Fantastic game

I've probably said this many time but freak it, this is my certified game of the year, and should be nominated for goty category on this year's TGA, and it's their first AA game. Good freaking job Neowiz, you did it.

This game for me is just purely amazing in its own way. Completely separate from other soulslike games, it's a fun time overall with unique looking NPCs and bosses/enemy's. The world detail and story is very captivating for the user to enjoy and this is not even talking about the weapon building/customization offered for a single playthrough alone! For me this game nails down so many missing things I wanted with FromSoft games and just capitalizes on those areas with great results. I truly feel like they just paved the doorway for a triple-AAA franchise here with how good the reception is with this single game alone. I don't even care if it wins GOTY because it already won A LOT of people over in general. This game truly made a statement, came outta nowhere, and didn't leave no crumbs! I give my experience with this game 10/10 so far! Purely based on how I did not expect this game to be so good with what it offered. For me it's a breath of fresh air :)

This game really is just as good as from games. I've finished them all. Max isn't wrong here

I’m on NG++ and I just love this game. I cannot wait for what’s next from the developers! I need the soundtrack asap too

For a first foray into Soulslike this is incredible. Can't wait for more from them.

I didn’t even hear about this game until a week ago. Usually I do an annual bloodborne run this time of year, but decided to go with Lies of P. Incredible game! Like truly remarkable. I’m absolutely hooked. Love the gameplay, soundtracks, characters, everything. Absolute 10/10

Just finished getting 100% in this game and I’m on my 4th playthrough rn, this has to be my fav soulslike game EVER. If someone told me fromsoft made this game I would 100% believe it.

I cannot wait to see the dood replay with different builds/finding all the missed stuff

Glowing review from Max. This year is stacked, Hifi-rush, SF6, Zelda, FFXVI...

A damn beautiful game indeed

I just finished this game today and what a ride it was... I've tried other souls-like games but this is the only one that fulfilled that "void" that any other game like this couldn't fill, there's something that i can't explain but it's been a fantastic game from start to finish The fact that this is their first time trying to make this kind of game and they made such amazing experience (there are some flaws but i know that they are going to use this experience to make the DLC or sequel even better) This is my personal GOTY and can't wait to see more but for now im gonna start NG+ and try to get the 100%

I platinum this game Max, so I understand your opinion. This game is truly wonderful

While I've only played the Demo of this game personally and watched Max's whole playthrough, I can say that this is my favorite Souls or Bloodbourne inspired game. I love the entire aesthetic of the game *(I especially love the town of Krat, but I also love the whole deal with evil puppets and how they look),* the dark twist on the iconic story of Pinocchio, everything. I'm so glad that Max was able to put this game in its earned spotlight. I just wish people would actually give this game a chance instead of calling it a ripoff, and I can only hope that it gets nominated for *something* for the Game Awards. Calling this game a Souls game is very respectful. I'm actually really excited for what the dev team is cooking up now. Wizard of Oz meets Dark Souls/Bloodbourne, huh...? Sounds interesting! In fact, I'd love to see more iconic pop culture fictional fantasy characters in a Souls/Bloodbourne type of game! I love Max's idea of an Alice in Wonderland game, but I also think Peter Pan would be cool. Anyways, awesome review, Max! So glad you gave this game a chance!

From such a small dev team this is a monumentally impressive showing. Easily the most confident and competent soulslikes we've ever seen, down to tone and level design and numerous little details. I am so incredibly excited for what this team has next.

I love this game its too good from the weighty combat to the spooky atmosphere and the rich story telling even the music is realllly good its such a great horror action fantasy game

I absolutely adore this game. Probably my sleeper hit of the year and I was very impressed a studio managed to capture the Fromsoftware detail as well as add their own spin towards the genre.

I'd totally watch Max do another run/new game+. It was enthralling to watch him play this game.

Could not agree more, fell in love with this. I downloaded it because it was free on gamepass, so glad I gave it a chance

40 hours later I finally beat the game and for me this game is GOTY 2023 and the soundtracks are amazing. By the end I was able to get 37/43 trophies in this game. So starting NG+ tomorrow to get the last few and going to be using new weapons/build should be fun.

I WAS SOOOOOOOOOO WAITING ON THIS !!!!!

Okay, you sold me. I literally just bought it after seeing the title of this video.

I think what a lot of people forget is that Lies of P is Round8 Studio’s second game. It’s only their second game, yet they were able to capture the Souls formula excellently. They took the best mechanics from multiple FromSoft games and blended them amazingly. All while adding other new gameplay or QOTL features (weapon assembly, quest indicators) Obviously it’s not perfect. Level design could be better, for example. But for a second game? This is insanely impressive. Definitely looking forward to the DLC and their storybook fantasy universe.

I am so hype for the DLC

I just beat it last night and absolutely loved every moment of it. The demo had me kinda meh, but I'm so glad I stuck with the full release.

Man, and to think I was more excited for lords of the fallen, (since I never heard of lies of P before the release) man what a turn of events, I need to get home NOW and play this masterpiece

Can't believe they got it this right.

There is one detail about this game that most other souls like fail to do that I love. A lot of the time in souls game at certain points of the game you can look into the distance and you can see world, and it makes you go "wow I was there a few hours ago and there's the area i was at before". I noticed this in Lie of P when I was about the to enter the church, and I saw the factory and the town city below. It such a small detail but it adds so much life to the world imo. I don't know if there is other sections like this cause I'm pretty sure i'm only mid way through the game so I guess I'll see

This is going to end as my GOTY. I finished my NG playthrough a couple of days ago, and now I can't wait for the DLC or sequel, lmao. Granted, I didn't play Baldur's Gate 3, but I haven't felt like it so far, as it's a big time commitment. This is the next best thing to Bloodborne, but it innovates in new ways so it is definitely its own game

I like it better than 80% of actual From Soft games and I’m not ashamed to admit that

Thing I’ll definitely have to this out, from what Ive seen and have heard from you max it’s amazing. Won’t be soon as there are games I wanna get to playing but until then (if I ever do decide to get this game) ❤

I really hope Max is gonna do a lore run on stream 🎉🎉

finally some positive takes. im so tired of all the fromsoft fanboys and veteran who gaslight themselves into despising this game. "oh these devs are only trying to captivate the Soullike market" "Fromosft should be the only one who can do Soul games" worst is "From Soft should focus on making Soul/soul-like games" like the amount of negative comment i read when AC6 and this game come out is blood boiling(not from non-Fromsoft fans, but Fromsoft fanboys themselves)

For me RE4R is my GOTY and still the game I had the most fun with this year, but Lies of P is a def nr2, 60 hours and 4 playthroughs, Lies of P is amazing.

This game has been on my radar for years and it did not disappoint. Loved every minute of playing it and I genuinely want to do another play through to get what I missed.

Just about to beat it for the third time and having a lot of fun trying new things out

On my second play through now. It’s just as enjoyable the second time, and I usually don’t really replay these kinds of games. It’s a really good game and I haven’t put it down. There are levels that remind me of the bio shock aesthetic, but beyond that it even has areas that feels like the original RE4. Add the sekiro and bloodbourne like combat on top and it has everything needed to just stay with me for a long time

This is one of those games that makes us take note of the developer cus it’s that good. I’ll now be looking out for anything that comes from them in the future

Love to see Max share my own thoughts on it. What an incredible game. Out of Souls games, I played... This ones easily at the top. Dare I say, it's probably the best entry Souls game out there. Everything about it is spectacular.

Should've kept in the scene where max came across the Atoned mini fight mid review

This is probably the best game I played this year and the first game I ever platinum'd.

I am shocked how passionate you sound in this review but I actually feel the same way about this game.. didn’t expect much out of it and now I love it lol

Dude I love how much you love this game. I feel and have felt the same way. It just hit on every level. Maybe it’s our age group and where we come from. But dare I say I liked it more than most souls games. I wish I could erase my mind and play it again

Of all the Soulslike games I've played.. Lies of P is the best souls like game to me.. everything is done so well. The bosses, areas, enemies, combat, music, & graphics coalesce into something that's just absolutely brilliant.

Haven’t beat the game yet but so far i am really enjoying the ride and I normally suck at games that’s like bloodborne and dark souls but Lies of P is amazing, simply loving this game. Love the weapon variety and just the overall story.

This is my GOTY. Best soulslike out there.

To address and touch base about the door guard boss! He was super easy, he helps you out more then you think, helped me out more on my block timing and got be setup for the main boss!

I love lies of p so much I played it on xbox gamepass decide to buy a physical copy to support the developers.

Just finished the game about 20 minutes ago. I agree with so much of what you said. I told my friend day 1 of playing that it’s comparable to a fromsoftware game, and that stuck throughout the whole game. It’s genuinely that good. No souls-like has been this enjoyable for me. They really nailed the key thing that I think I love most about bloodborne and the souls games, and that’s the atmosphere and environments. Truly a wonderful game and I can’t wait to see what else this team puts out

Thanks for the review Max. I'm now going to buy it.

Just finished this today. Didn’t think it would match the praise. It did. My favorite part of FromSoft’s games are more so the journeys and characters, with the exploration and combat coming second. This game REALLY nails what I love about FromSoft’s games so much.

I posted on my Instagram that this is my favorite game of the year. I love it so much, I finished my 3rd playthrough last night.

I loved playing this game, way better than I expected. Loved the combat, and enjoyed every area in the game. My only gripe with it is majority of bosses have 2 phases. I feel it casuses most bosses to ruin the element of surprise because you expect every boss has one.

The minute I seen the games trailer I knew it was going to be special. Played the demo on gamepass and completely fell in love with it and then immediately preordered on steam. It's my next game to go through on my list and can't wait to complete my playthrough.

long time souls player - this has been my game of the year, they really do get it and the whole experience was so well paced - even the story and the twists were incredibly well done

I hope if you play it again Max I hope you record/upload it. Watching you play through this has been incredible.

I just started playing it and im enyoing it so much. Never played a souls like before but im having a blast with this one. But its hard to really get into it with the other games im playing (Warhammer darktide, dead cells, halo infinite and starfield.)

Currently finishing up my no heal in major boss fights first playthrough and it’s been amazing. Some of the most flowy boss fights ever. Very surprised also about how it turned out. It’s gone way past my expectations. Glad you enjoyed it and give it such a good review it deserves it.

One thing id like to add is how surprised i was when I was in ng+ and i saw ANOTHER P-Organ upgrade tier. I then ng+ again and there was ANOTHER??? Amazing stuff.

I really love it too! Currently on my NG++. Platinum, here I come!

Just amazing polish and after LOTF had such a rough launch made me appreciate this game much more, it is my GOTY so far and nothing on the calendar can change that, at least for me.

I uninstalled this yesterday after getting 100% achievement. And reinstall it couple of hours later. This game sticks to me like a glue.

That final level tower area was crazy good design. How it just keeps going. And how you have the multiple paths. I felt lost and I miss that feeling.

My fave arm was the Shield arm very helpful and eventually you can get an ability that can make all of the blocking into a guaranteed parry or deflect depending on how you see it, and it was just the most fun thing this game has, the amount of paths you can take, the choices your able to choose and all the play styles it offers was just amazing one of my favorites for sure and I’m pretty sure a lot of people agree too! Love your review! I agree with EVERYTHING you had to say about this game!

It's definately my game of the year Fucking. Gods be good I love this game

I fell in love with the game halfway through. I have a total of 4 playthroughs (I got that 100% achievements) and now on my 5th. I can't help but be drawm back to the game, story and unfolding events.

A couple of points about Max's review that, for me, I felt the same way about at first and then upon consecutive playthroughs, I actually realized they weren't quite so positive: - Secrets and choices: There may appear to be a ton of secrets in the game and lots of dialogue choice options to branch the narrative, but in reality the game is actually incredibly linear, there's not a lot lot of stuff to miss out on, and any opportunity you have to make a dialogue choice is ultimately futile because there is no benefit to telling the truth. There is only ONE quest where being truthful actually earns a different reward - for everything else, the only difference is a slight difference in response. - Weapon variety: This looked absolutely insane at first until you realize that Blades and handles individually have preferred Damage Types (Slash/Stab). So while mixing a Slashing Blade with a Handle that has a Stabbing moveset is certainly possible, it's not the most viable and will only make the weapon do less damage. They should have completely done away with damage types. I agree with mostly everything else he says. I don't agree that ALL of the bosses were fun but that's not to say his opinion is wrong, I just found some of them incredibly tedious and they utilized two-phase/two-health bosses far too much. Other than that the game is a solid 8/10 for me and I look forward to what they do next.

I think it deserves a GotY nomination a lot more than Starfield

GOTY, period.

It really is a fantastic game.

even with me frustrated being stuck on a level.. i love this game. (im stuck where we got to get back to hotel and theres disruption everywhere)

Max played it as directors had intended. Perfectly. Legion Arm, Assembling Weapon, Stagger and so on. Very impressive

The game nails it, and it's amazing that's the studio's first game!

When I first started this game I game it a 7 because I tried to play it like sekiro (which you can with experience), but once you realize that it’s all of froms previous works in a tight package, it becomes a 9. I absolutely love this game and I hope we get some DLC.

I didn't think much of it from the ads for it and stuff, but I watched the first part of Max's playthrough and now I want to play it eventually. I didn't watch the rest because I was interested enough to not want to get a lot of spoilers.

I knew this game was something special after listening to the first Record you get in the game, “Feel”. This game honestly took me by complete surprise but immediately shot up in my personal GOTY ranking.