So to expand on my thoughts a little bit, I’ll start by saying that if you’re a big fan of the Souls genre, then you absolutely MUST play Lies of P. This is especially true if you’re hung up on Bloodborne as being the pinnacle of Souls.

Lies of P reframes the fairytale of Pinocchio and infuses it with a fresh and interesting creative vision. It feels a bit clumsy in its telling when things get started, but the end rewards with a satisfying emotional twist. Really great stuff. The lore and world-building is always rich and atmospheric, though of course doesn’t reach the high notes of games like Elden Ring or Bloodborne. Still, probably the best looking game of the year from an art design perspective.

Combat is the star of the show; my favorite in any Souls game that I’ve played. The depth and variety of this system truly puts others to shame: you will never be left feeling like you’re stuck with one weapon or one build and there is always room to experiment. The combination of the weapon assembly, the Legion Arm, and the wicked Fable Arts attacks all lend themselves to an amazing sense of freedom in changing up your strategies in a given situation. Blocking/parrying has a tactile feel to it, and pulling off perfect blocks to lead into strong attacks that stagger your opponent before finishing them off with a Fatal Attack… chef’s kiss

Performance on Xbox Series X was smooth as silk, as far as I could tell, with a clean 60fps that had no noticeable dips. Frame pacing puts your average FromSoft game to shame; they need to do better, and this should be the example.

There are so many imitators of the Souls genre and very few get it right. Even bigger “well known” studios shit the bed when it comes to creating their own brand of “magic” within the genre; a game that captures the essence of souls but still offers something that feels unique and good to play.

For an unknown studio out of Korea to do this, to me, is incredibly impressive because South Korea is not known for its game development outside of shitty mobile games or the esports MOBA scene.

This is one of the best games of the year from a studio that has not shown any major prior experience in the console gaming space.

Lies of P is an incredible surprise for someone who is not a Souls diehard and does not go out of his way to play everything in the genre. This is my favorite game of 2023 currently and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who loves games of this nature. It’s a true gem.

MY OTHER GOTY POTENTIALS THAT I HAVE PLAYED:

Dead Space

Tears of the Kingdom

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Final Fantasy XVI

Dredge

Resident Evil 4

HAVE NOT FINISHED:

Alan Wake 2

HAVE NOT PLAYED:

Baldur’s Gate 3