Lies of P - DLC Shadow Dropped at Summer Game Fest

[Austin]

I have clocked about seven hours into it so far, and man, this is about as close to Dark Souls as you can get without it actually being Dark Souls. I am digging it.

I'm not really sure what everyone's on about with regards to dodging, it works about the same as it does in any traditional Dark Souls game. Actually, it also takes a bit from Bloodborne's dodging system, which is a good thing (quick sidesteps in particular moments as opposed to always "rolling"). Same goes for the running.

Staggering is nice but so far it's hardly been mandatory, unlike Sekiro. Don't get me wrong, I have been getting more aggressive and staggering more often, perfect-blocking certain red attacks as well, but I've mostly been playing it just like I play Dark Souls or Bloodborne and I feel right at home with it.

Spoiler

Most of my run so far has gone pretty smooth, but I think I just hit my first roadblock at the Cathedral Library boss (Archbishop). I just had to take a break for a bit. The blood pressure was definitely rising, haha.

This is the first two-phase boss fight I have encountered, so it's a lot harder to cheese with a summon.

[Stevens]

I dunno guys, I get plenty of use out of the dodge. For example, when I beat

Spoiler

King of Puppets

...I didn't block a single time after he transformed.

Granted the dodge is terrible for movement, but that's what sprinting is for.

100% agree. Phase two of that fight is straight up Bloodborne quick steps.

I've just started Chapter Nine. Game keeps getting better.

Oh dear lord the level design really steps it up the later you get into the game. Chapter Nine's level is amazing.

[Lander]

It seems like a seriously chunky game. I count three parts so far where it could have popped an ending and locked in a respectable ranking on the Souls-like ladder, but instead pulled back to reveal more a-la the Bells of Awakening or Anor Londo.

[Stevens]

I finished chapter nine in two hours if slow playing. I'm up to ten, but will be away for a few days.

I'm at 50 hours.

[Austin]

I’m assuming I am nearing the end of chapter 5. Some of the upgrades I have now are pretty cool.

[evil_ash_xero]

How are things post patch? I hear they made it easier.

[it290]

In addition to the boss changes it feels like they nerfed the minibosses/elite enemies quite a bit. Pre-patch you could still trivialize most of them by using the tools at your disposal, but post-patch it feels like I can pretty consistently stagger on opening with the grappling hook charge attack (or close to it), follow up with a lethal attack, and then finish them off with a pipe wrench head fable attack before they have a chance to respond at all.

[it290]

Finished the game, clocking in at around 33 hours total. Overall, a completely satisfying experience; the last chapter is as epic in scope as you might hope. I missed a few sidequests and relied on specters to carry me through a few of the tougher fights, so will be going back and doing a technique/dex no-specter NG+ run.

[BIL]

Damn, I'll be checking this out for sure now.

This is why I've always valued our OT gaming as much as the main chat... it's impossible to get a decent read on anything more than mildly challenging out there. Probably even moreso than with STGs/other AC-based stuff, where "short" and "impossible" are long-established code for "concise" and "substantial."

[Stevens]

Damn, I'll be checking this out for sure now.

This is why I've always valued our OT gaming as much as the main chat......where "short" and "impossible" are long-established code for "concise" and "substantial."

The level design is wonderfully streamlined, gives you just enough freedom, and gets better the further you go. I've definitely missed stuff, but found a fair bit too.

This is probably my GOTY.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Finished first run, wading through NG+. Tough to say which is better between Lies of P and Bloodborne. Game is awesome, and trends better as it goes. The weakest areas are the first few, I kinda get the impression that they were 25-30% into development before they really found the 'magic' so to speak. Or maybe they were just trying really hard to make sure the beginning of the game was easy enough, I dunno.

Mechanically, Lies of P is a less daring game than Bloodborne, you don't have guns or transforming weapons, or weird shit like Rom. Kinda workmanlike approach to a Souls game, basic Dark-Souls-ish movelist. Every boss is just a big dude in a wide open room trying to kill you in increasingly extravagant ways. They focused on perfecting the basic gameplay, and they've succeeded.

I actually grew to really love the story. It's straightforward and coherent, unlike Souls/BB, But still has plenty of mysterious bits to try to untangle and things left open to interpretation. I mentioned before that I like the hopeful tone, and I'm impressed by their ability to keep that tone given how very very dark the story gets at times. A number of plot points are fairly predictable, but they're executed very well, a lot of stuff hits different on NG+ (and I'm not just talking about the one really obvious twist). Also that post-credits scene is hilarious, but this game was so good I welcome any sequels.

Can you use your nose as a weapon if it grows really long?

Spoiler

Yes

[Stevens]

Definitely near the end, will probably have time to finish it over the weekend.

[GaijinPunch]

I kind of take offense to the title to be honest.

[Marc]

Reviews had put me off this, but this thread has me intrigued. My son loves his souls games, I'll get him this for Xmas and borrow it I think.

[Stevens]

Reviews had put me off this, but this thread has me intrigued.

What specifically in the reviews?

[Stevens]

I finished it last night (level 90), not going to write much as my feelings on this one are well known here.

It gets better the further you get into it. And I will echo it290 here - the last level is both epic in scope and execution.

I started NG+ - want to play around with some dex weapons I didn't get until late. There are a lot of weapons and I haven't even touched the combo system.

Neowiz did themselves proud.

Special note regarding the design of certain enemies:

Spoiler

There is some John Carpenter level of body horror in this one

[it290]

Spoiler

re: John Carpenter, my absolute faves were the Marie Antoinette spider puppets.

[Austin]

I need to put some more time into it. I have had a busy week and haven't been able to pick it back up since last weekend. I made it to the swamp boss and was getting wrecked.

[Stevens]

Swamp Boss was my wall in NG and in NG+, each time took me about three hours. I just beat him not ten minutes ago in NG+.

You'll get him. Get ready -

Spoiler

the last three chapters are amazing.

[Stevens]

I unlocked hunter mode (I made this up), it exists and sends the combat to 11.

It completely turns the game into a Bloodborne type affair.

You need the following:

Spoiler

P Organ upgrades - link dodge, rising dodge.

Ghost Walk amulet

And this last one is the real key - a capacity less than 30%. You enter light mode and become incredibly nimble. It feels really good.

You can completely ignore the parry if you wish with this.

I understand why this was locked behind upgrades.

[Lander]

I saw

Near the end

DOUBLE REPPUKEN!

Consequently, I laff.

[Marc]

Reviews had put me off this, but this thread has me intrigued.

What specifically in the reviews?

It just seemed to be written off as a clunky take on BB with a parry system thst didn't quire work in the couple I read.

[Stevens]

Almost at the end of NG+, one more boss.

EDIT - After almost as many tries as SSI the TLB is DOWN. Wasn't too bad in NG, but man is he hard in NG+. NG+2 awaits.

I am considering doing a write up here, but probably won't cause others have done so elsewhere. And probably better than I can.

It is a lot like Sekiro in that once it clicks, it clicks.

I'm almost at 100 hours and plan on playing through NG++. I stand by my first impressions - it's the real deal.

[RGC]

Don't even care if it's a straight rip, I'm loving this game almost as much as BB. Has to be said though, I'm very inconsistent at parrying (the main reason I haven't picked up Sekiro, tbh). Just spent more tries than I'd like to admit fighting...

Spoiler

King of puppets

...but he'll fall soon enough. No spectre, full technique/dex build. Was hoping it might be possible to...

Spoiler

upgrade the dancer curved sword to S rank using a technique crank, but it looks like A is the cap on scaling upgrades?

I've also done my usual trick of overloading one stat and thinking a bit late in the day about VIT, but I'm way too stubborn to respec.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Has to be said though, I'm very inconsistent at parrying (the main reason I haven't picked up Sekiro, tbh).

I think it's technically possible to get through Sekiro without ever using its parry system (deflects). You can simply hold the button to block instead of going for deflects and whittle enemy HP down. It's not going to score kills as fast, but you also have several tools that give you a parry with a massive window (Mikiri Counter for thrust attacks, feather tool for everything that's not a grab attack, shield tool that has a massively long deflect window as well as can be held up to use as an insanely sturdy shield). Your stamina recovers faster in Sekiro from holding the guard/deflect button too so you're actually encouraged to keep your guard up. You can guard multiple hits and just deflect the last few if you're close to a posture break.

The deflecting in Sekiro for normal attacks is much more generous than parries in any of the Souls games I've seen, with the only really strict timing windows being trying to use a normal deflect against a Perilous Thrust type attack (a non-issue as soon as Mikiri Counter is available, which is one of the early upgrades you can purchase).

So yeah, Sekiro's gud, don't be scared of deflecting. Learning deflect timing is a bit like learning a rhythm game, except with a bunch of alternative tools in your kit.

[RGC]

I mean, it'll probably happen eventually. I do keep gravitating toward making the purchase, but then backing off at the thought of it being a total slogfest. Also, if using the deflect system is basically how the game has been designed to be played, I'd feel a bit dirty holding up my guard until the enemy dies of boredom. A bit like lobbing a poison vial and waiting behind a pillar for the death rattle, heh. Sounds like it may not be as demanding with the timing as I expected though (which was indeed based on the souls series), so maybe...

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Nah, guarding as needed and using deflect for the stuff you can get the timing down for is not cheap. The game will eventually throw high tier enemies at you that can deal significant chip damage for using your normal guard instead of deflecting. Your advanced toolset as well as using dodges or rapidly running around enemies are generally quite viable and very rarely (if ever) is the basic deflect your only truly viable option for a given attack. Deflecting is always useful though; if you try to hold a normal guard at low stamina you'll be guard broken, but deflecting an attack will never break your guard, so it's always usable even if your stamina gets low.

If you find it's too easy with guarding there's even an optional challenge mode in NG+ you can get that makes ALL attacks deal a small bit of chip damage if guarded instead of deflected.

[Volteccer_Jack]

Compared to Lies of P or Bloodborne, Sekiro is quite easy IMO. Sekiro's unlockable hard mode makes you take partial damage from attacks when guarding, which is how Lies of P works by default, lol.

If you want to have an easier time with perfect block in Lies of P, you can try the Aegis arm. While holding it up with the Legion button, you can tap the block button to attempt perfect blocks, and the timing is significantly easier. If I just mash the block button blindly I still get ~90% success rate on perfect blocks this way. The Aegis shield is held up the whole time so even if you miss you will still block, and Aegis has very high damage reduction on block.

re: Scaling, handles can only be modified once unless you reset them. In other words you can only improve the scaling by one letter grade, so only weapons that start at A can get to S scaling.

I think it's technically possible to get through Sekiro without ever using its parry system (deflects).

Someone beat Sekiro without using the sword (except for mandatory boss finishers). Turns out you can just play Mario and jump on dudes until they die.

[RGC]

I was definitely overthinking...

Spoiler

King of Puppets

Only took me a couple more tries before he fell, basically once I realised you can just...

Spoiler

...scoot to his right-rear whenever he does his basic attack, and safely get a couple of hits in that way. It also seems to prevent him chaining more than 2-3 slashes, so a fairly solid technique. I only used perfect guard for his rage attack where he inverts and brings one foot down, because the timing there is quite straightforward. Staggered him once, and totally fumbled my way through his flame frenzy combo. Think I had zero visible health left by the end. Oh well, job done.

Currently battling with...

Spoiler

Green Monster of the Swamp/Puppet-Devouring Green Monster

What an a-hole! I'm using the...

Spoiler

Trident of the Covenant

...since it allows me to stagger him if I can spam R2 enough. First phase always goes one of two ways: I either stagger/annihilate him before he has time to do very much, OR he takes my Pulse Cells down to 1-2 before phase 2 even begins. Still trying to get the timing down on avoiding a hit when he crawls up from beneath, since doing so provides the perfect opportunity for spammage. That second phase though...good lord!

[RGC]

If you want to have an easier time with perfect block in Lies of P, you can try the Aegis arm.

I did give that a try but overall I prefer the Falcon Eyes - its like my security blanket, even if it can be risky to use at times.

re: Scaling, handles can only be modified once unless you reset them. In other words you can only improve the scaling by one letter grade, so only weapons that start at A can get to S scaling.

And typically, now that I've invested in a few technique leaning weapons (wintry rapier, covenant trident, dancer's curved sword, puppet ripper), I come across one that starts at A scaling. It's not clear whether using a balance crank will return used technique cranks to my inventory, but I would guess not.