I was able to play Overture, Lies of P’s upcoming DLC, which prequels the main game's story. The world of Lies of P is rich, expansive, and magical to witness, bringing the player into the world of a Pinocchio Soulslike and creating an engrossing game to explore.
Overture right out of the gate was a snowy winter wonderland of chaos and new things to discover. I played two demos, one showing off three new bosses, and another diving into a brand new area of the game, Krat Zoo.'
Dying a multitude of times to the bosses and regular enemies, reading the different notes, it felt good being back in the charming world of Lies of P, a game we already loved so much, bear-hugged with its beauty and questionable residents.
Memories, matches, and difficulty level
With both demos, I noticed there was a huge switch in the game that a lot of people will either love or hate. The first big change to happen will be a new base game patch that will add two new difficulty settings to Lies of P: “Butterfly’s Guidance” and “Awakened Puppet”.
These will be if you want a more story-focused experience, allowing you to take your time with the game, soaking up everything the world has to offer with minimal suffering. The difficulty setting that is the default, that is, the punishing difficulty we know and love from the base game, is now called “Legendary Stalker”.
The next big change to happen is the implementation of Battle Memories; this is where players can battle against bosses they’ve already fought. You can progress through five tiers of difficulty; the first three are readily available, and tiers four and five unlock upon completing the preceding tiers.
Finally, we have deathmatch, where you can challenge a consecutive series of previously defeated bosses with not only limited health, but limited items as well.
Overture creates a space for all play styles
My experience with Overture was a mix of trying to get everything done in the time allotted, and also looking for things that people might be worried about when entering into this DLC.
I noticed right off the bat that there was more meat added in terms of the stories and what notes were given in the demo, and places to roam around and explore. Overture is going to give players more freedom in terms of how they want to play the game with the new difficulty options added, battle memories, death matches, and a new weapon: a bow and arrow.
Neowiz isn’t trying to be FromSoftware, while it's one of the best and most accurate-to-the-genre I’ve seen a Soulslike game, it’s still very much its own thing in terms of how it's presented to the player. Having a difficult game is amazing, but being conscious of the fact that not too many people will want to play that type of game is a great thing to be aware of.
Lies of P as a whole is one of the most accessible Soulslikes out there, besides the phenomenal Elden Ring and its DLC, and adding difficulty settings will allow a wider player base to form. The boss battles in the first demo I experienced are an incredible challenge for those who want it on the highest difficulty, and showcase a level of beauty that I’m incredibly excited for everyone to witness.
Take your time, be aware of the pace of the bosses, and know that some of the hit boxes are a tad wider. With the new bosses and some of the common enemies, you need to plan your attacks, more so than in the base game. The enemies have a further reach and a harder hit on max difficulty.
Playing on PC had its pros and cons
I had a lot of fun diving into both demos and getting to experience part of the world of Overture, playing on PC while great for the most part I noticed some things that will (hopefully) get corrected.
I switched between controller and mouse and keyboard during the time I played and noticed zero performance issues when playing with the controller, but when I played with the mouse and keyboard, the game would stutter a bit when switching between the mouse and keyboard and the controller input.
It stabilized after 20 minutes of playing, and was smooth sailing after that. This may be just an isolated issue that I experienced, but just be aware if you play Overture on PC and switch between a mouse and keyboard and a controller.
Other than the mentioned issue, it was a smooth experience playing on PC, and I wish I had more time to test more of the controls out, as well as the bow and arrow. It's a fun addition that I think people will have a lot of fun with.
Personally, I think Lies of P is better optimized for a controller, more so than a mouse and keyboard.
Prepare to die… but in a fun way
There’s nothing I love more than experiencing a new story and world within an already cemented world. Lies of P features a beautiful landscape of cascading blues, purples, and riveting lore that comes crashing down in an exciting way.
If you’re a new player to the game or if you’ve already played the base game, I have a feeling that you will love what Lies of P will be bringing to the table. Neowiz values its player base, and it clearly shows in how they’re adding to an already bountiful game.
From exploring the snowy land of Krat Zoo, to encountering new enemy types, and seeing an alligator boss (shivers), Lies of P: Overture, no matter the difficulty level, will create an experience that will overawe the player and stun them in the best way possible.
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