Rise of P

 Well, I beat Lies of P.

As my first non-FromSoft Souls-like, it was really interesting to see what others do with the genre. Obviously, the Dark Souls games and Elden Ring share a lot of DNA, and even some re-used assets. With its over-the-top mechanical weapons and "city in chaos" elements, Lies of P obviously feels a little more closely tied to Bloodborne, though its narrative is a bit more explicit than FromSoft tends to get - aided in part by having a fixed protagonist (though still a mute one, in the grand tradition).

I worked to get the "best" ending for the game (and thus I think maybe the only way to fight the true final boss) which does sort of make me feel a little less inclined to actually go into New Game Plus (I've also just gotten a new game - Clair Obscur Expedition 33, which also happens to be set in a kind of belle epoch world - I played the first couple minutes, barely past the initial combat tutorial, and then figured I should give myself more time to digest this game before getting swept up in a new one).

The final boss of the game was a bit of an extra challenge for me, given that I've been leaning on the crutch of specter summoning for I think every single major boss, but one cannot summon them for this final boss (one can for the "base level" final boss). This last boss really forces you to get a lot of perfect-parries, which is very tough, though obviously gets easier as you learn its patterns.

Let's get into the spoiler territories:

Gepetto is the ultimate cause of the chaos in this story - it appears he wanted to allow Simon Manus to grow his "godhand" to use in the ritual to bring his son, Carlo, back to life. We've been part of this process, as Pinocchio has Carlo's heart, though Gepetto believed that he would inherit Carlo's memories. Instead, as I interpret it, Pinocchio has Carlo's soul - really we are Carlo, but in an artificial body. Gepetto creates a puppet out of Carlo's dead body (I think) in the hopes that placing Pinocchio/Carlo's heart into it, he will fully have his son back.

The fight ends with the Nameless Puppet about to drive its scissor-blades (called Proof of Humanity if you want to get it form Alidoro/Hugo) through your heart, but Gepetto steps in and takes the blades instead, allowing Pinnochio to kill the puppet. Gepetto realizes only at the very end that the Puppet could have truly robbed him of his son. And as Pinocchio sheds tears, it seems proof that we've become human.

Now, there's a bit of a question of canon here: Pinocchio grants ergo to a puppet of Sofia and seems to collapse afterward - is he dead, or has he just returned to her that which was given? Sofia awakens in a new body.

Now, for the absolute batshit stuff:

Giangio, the seemingly sickly young alchemist, is on a train leaving Krat, and he is speaking with someone on the phone, saying that he's happy to welcome a brother to the immortality club. He also mentions that he's looking into a new figure named Dorothy, and yes, it becomes very clear as we see a woman walking with red shoes and clicking them together that we're talking about Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, possibly as the protagonist of a new game?

Now, if we refuse to go directly to New Game Plus (and I highly recommend you hold off and say "cancel," you can go back to Hotel Krat and speak to the various NPCs, who talk about what happens now that the crisis is over. Giangio leaves a note for us, and signs it as P.P.

Now, I'll concede that I haven't gone into the lore a ton on this game, not reading every item description, etc. The wiki apparently identifies Giangio as Phillipus Paracelsus, a major figure among the alchemists, and possibly a grand villain for the story.

My initial thought, though, was that P.P. stood for Peter Pan, which makes sense if he's an eternal youth. Could totally be wrong, but there you go.

Anyway, I enjoyed the game. Especially as a first major effort in this genre, it's impressively creative. I think, honestly like a lot of these games, I'd appreciate a little more flexibility on upgrading weapons, as I found myself kind of stuck using one or two weapons through most of it just because of the scarcity of upgrade items. I'm also not convinced the weapon durability system actually makes the game any more fun.

Still, a solid effort with some great concepts. I hope its success will empower the people who made it to go bigger and better in the future.