Lies Of P: Overture Review – Puppet Prelude

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Stepping into Lies of P: Overture, I find myself delving into the dark past of a city once known as Krat. This prequel serves as a chilling prelude to the original 2023 souls-like game, offering insights into the tragic events that sparked the Puppet Frenzy massacre and led to the downfall of this once thriving metropolis. At its core, however, Overture is a tale of personal loss and vengeance, woven seamlessly within the intricate threads of the game’s mechanics.

Though developer Neowiz has kept the fundamental aspects of the game unaltered in Overture, the narrative has seen significant enhancement. The world, already rich with Belle Epoque charm, now bears a darker and more twisted interpretation of Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio. As the Italian author once said, “In the lives of puppets, there is always a ‘but’ that spoils everything.” Thankfully, this isn’t true for Overture.

As a gamer, stepping into the shoes of Geppetto’s puppet in Overture feels like embarking on an extraordinary journey through time alongside my loyal companion, Gemini. The DLC can be found from Chapter 9, nestled along the Path of the Pilgrim stargazer. It seems to be content intended for post-game challenges, offering a level of difficulty that surpasses even the final act of the base game.

Upon arriving in a chilly forest on the edge of Krat, I was met with an immediate challenge: a colossal, petrified polar bear trapped in a torture cage around its head. There’s no welcome back tutorial if you’ve been away for a while, but the combat moveset – a blend of charges, grab attacks, and rhythmic combos – makes this enraged beast ideal for brushing up on my parry and dodge skills on the fly.

After figuring out how you got to the past, you find yourself closely following the Legendary Stalker – a cryptic character who leads you through Krat’s last days of splendor. The game is relatively short, about 15 hours long, so it moves quickly, creating a sense of urgency and forward momentum. Although there are many mysteries to unravel, the story never becomes dull or loses your interest. Some parts of the plot are presented through optional notes, but this doesn’t slow down the overall pace. The writing in these letters, personal thoughts, and final messages is excellent, but it’s the vivid imagery that truly stands out, especially the gruesome displays put on by the game’s antagonist using the bodies he leaves behind.

As I navigate through these game scenes, there’s a strange blend of horror and beauty that leaves me both shaken and captivated – a contrast reminiscent of Bryan Fuller’s masterful Hannibal series. Just like how the art in Hannibal was influenced by artists such as Gabriël Metsu, Damien Hirst, and Sandro Botticelli, I can’t help but suspect that Neowiz drew inspiration from specific paintings or artists when creating these chilling masterpieces. The environmental storytelling they’ve woven in adds to the tension, making each moment feel like a terrifying foreboding that seeps into every fiber of their main villain. It’s a little disheartening though, when this villain turns out to be more fitting for an over-the-top cartoon instead of living up to his intriguing portrayal in the base game. Despite this shortcoming, at least this part is brief and doesn’t overshadow the overall impact.

In the remaining sections of the DLC, the art design is generally similar to the vivid scenes you encounter, as you delve deeper into the decaying edges of Krat’s realm. Although this place is unfamiliar to you, the snow covering everything and falling from the sky stirs up feelings of nostalgia and childhood curiosity, creating a stark contrast to Lies of P’s usual atmosphere. Add to that the hidden perils that seem to be everywhere, and it’s another example of Overture’s intriguing juxtapositions. The area you enter after clearing the woods only reinforces this, as you encounter the brutal turmoil of Krat Zoo. Here, you’ll find puppets acting frantically alongside mutilated animal carcasses, such as giraffes and other wildlife. These creatures are kept alive by a mysterious disease, known as petrification. From an elephant with a crocodile head protruding from its dome to dropkicking kangaroos and ferocious apes, these new adversaries are formidable and extremely rewarding to battle.

Consistently across Overture, battles involve diverse opponents such as robotic circus characters or a swordfish, with no hesitation in transitioning from water to land combat. Notably, the boss fights stand out, like the formidable Markiona, the Death Puppeteer. While some games in the souls-like genre stumble when dealing with multi-opponent battles (e.g., Lies of P’s Black Rabbit Brotherhood), Markiona serves as a model for success. For example, before her marionette strikes, the tether between them flashes orange, allowing you to dodge or parry even if the puppet is out of sight. The duo never leaves you feeling overpowered, with Markiona favoring ranged attacks and the marionette opting for melee. Despite its difficulty, like most Lies of P’s boss fights, it remains fair, even when the odds are against you.

In these fresh locations, Overture consistently delivers a top-notch experience similar to the original game. Neowiz’s level construction is intricate and offers semi-open levels with numerous paths and areas that challenge your abilities and tactics with diverse combat situations. You’ll cross canopy bridges over zoo enclosures, battle through a functioning amusement park with Ferris wheel and carousel, and journey across ships trapped in thick ice under the green radiance of the Northern Lights. These environments are visually stunning, as well as offering intriguing spaces to explore, frequently revealing tragic tales amidst moments of action.

Among other things, you’ll encounter unexpected elements like the previously mentioned amusement park. Here, finding coins grants access to themed mini-games—ranging from a whack-a-mole game with an oversized hammer to a traditional shooting range—and these games offer diverse rewards. However, there’s one area that misses the mark: an underground prison and lab run by Krat’s oppressive rulers, the Alchemists. This facility, characterized by tiled walls, abandoned gurneys, and large tanks filled with a glowing liquid and floating test subjects, is a commonplace and somewhat uninspiring setting that has been used extensively in other works. Despite its engaging layout, this location doesn’t showcase the unique environmental design found elsewhere in Lies of P.

In this region, Overture offers fresh weapons and Legion Arms to enhance your weapon collection diversity, despite the fundamental gameplay mechanics largely staying the same. One such innovation is a bow, which allows you to engage in battles from a distance by firing rapid arrows at opponents. It also possesses a charged shot capable of halting an enemy’s actions, striking a good balance – with infinite ammo – since multiple charged shots are needed to defeat a standard foe. Although the bow may serve as a secondary weapon, it adds an enjoyable twist to your arsenal and effectively addresses the demand for additional ranged options.

In other locations, you can obtain replicas of Wolverine’s claws and a Gunblade reminiscent of Squall Leonhart’s, both ideal for swiftly dismantling enemies. Known as The Pale Knight, this one-of-a-kind sword mimics the attack style of a greatsword, but its heavy attack triggers a double-barreled firearm, spraying hot lead into an opponent’s face while propelling you backward due to recoil. This move serves as both an offensive and evasive tactic. The most exciting aspect is when you fire again, propelling yourself back towards the enemy for a potent follow-up strike. The only minor drawback is that this exceptional weapon isn’t accessible until the final stage, so it’s not useful unless you intend to start New Game Plus.

For the latest Legion Arms models, there’s one that operates like a shotgun, allowing for a charge-up feature to stun an enemy when needed quickly. The other emits spinning blades, inflicting continuous damage on a single target at a time. With enhancements, you can increase the number of blades released simultaneously and modify it so that recovering a blade boosts the strength of the next one thrown. It’s a versatile and satisfying weapon to use.

You have the opportunity to try out the latest weapons against various bosses in Lies of P’s newly introduced rematch modes. These exciting additions come as part of a free update that coincides with the release of Overture, introducing two fresh gameplay styles: Battle Memories and Death March. In Battle Memories, you can take on any previously defeated boss from either Lies of P or Overture. There are up to five difficulty levels, with each level boosting specific stats for the bosses as you progress higher. Your performance is judged based on how swiftly you eliminate each boss. Death March, on the other hand, offers a challenging boss-rush mode that allows you to select three bosses to fight consecutively. The fun you derive from these modes depends on your willingness to confront the bosses again, but having an online leaderboard could significantly enhance both modes’ appeal.

The upcoming free update significantly includes two new, less challenging game modes for the remainder of the game. Originally referred to as the default difficulty, it’s now called Legendary Stalker. The easier modes are Awakened Puppet and Butterfly’s Guidance, each offering varying levels of simplicity. However, the descriptions for these settings might be a bit misleading. Butterfly’s Guidance is described as “A very easy difficulty for those seeking a narrative-driven experience.” Despite this, I found that even the easiest mode isn’t a piece of cake, especially after battling a boss for some time. While it does make the game less challenging, it’s still not the effortless journey one might assume when they read “very easy” and “story-focused.” Nonetheless, this change should attract more players to Lies of P, which is always beneficial.

It’s not bad at all that Lies of P: Overture feels similar to its original version. Many consider the base game as the best souls-like title since the genre became popular, besides those created by From Software. However, for those who just finished Lies of P for the first time recently, they might not find it as appealing. For someone like me, who hasn’t played it since its release in September 2023, I was eager to spend another 15 hours on more of the same experience. In essence, Overture is a great addition to an already fantastic game.

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2025-06-07 01:14