Whether it was the similarities to Bloodborne, the tie-in to the Pinocchio story, or the fact that it’s on Game Pass that led you to Lies of P, it’s a game that’s not always the most welcoming to new players.
You’ll quickly realize that while Lies of P shares more than a few similarities with other similar Souls, it adds thick layers of its own systems on top, and also hides a few others that you might not expect.
In this article, we’ll go over several crucial Lies of P tips for newcomers to the genre, and for masocore fans around the world.
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Lies of P Tips
Keys and items can unlock areas you missed in previous levels
As you explore the world of Lies of P, you’ll collect lots of key items, including real keys. Reading the item’s description will give you a pretty good clue as to where to use it, but there’s another way to figure out what to do with the key.
When resting in a Stargazer, check the fast travel menu. You’ll see a blue icon next to areas you’ve previously visited, and you may find an icon for the item in question near one of the Guardians of the Galaxy in that area. Now, all you have to do is head there and see if you can trigger the event, or open the door using the key.
Some of them can be search objects. For example, at the beginning you will encounter an NPC who talks about his missing daughter. Further into the level, you will come across a doll that matches that description. If you return to that NPC, you will see an option to give them the item and complete the quest.
In short, not every key item you find will be useful to you right away, so take your time and explore.
Traps are frequent, and deadly
You could say that Lies of P’s only scary trick is constantly setting traps. There are dolls armed with pikes that hide behind corners, false floors that break as soon as you step on them, breakable doors that a big enemy is waiting to break through… everything.
Lies of P has so, so many of those. Some are even so close together that it is common to find yourself dazed after trying to escape from one trap, only to immediately run into another. The best way to deal with this situation is to use the lock button. The lock-on range (which can also be adjusted in the settings menu) is quite generous, and will detect enemies you may not even see or expect.
Additionally, you should always have your guard up around corners. If you suspect an oblique angle is wide enough for an enemy, chances are there is one lurking. Be very cautious, but if you are surprised, do not run forward. Instead, run back the way you came, because you’ll most likely make things worse and unleash even more enemies if you venture further into unknown territory.
There are no armors in the game, only costumes
Lies of P is armor-free, meaning your defense and protection stats don’t come from clothing. Instead, they come from amulets and rings. With this in mind, the game does have cosmetic costumes – and headgear – that are earned by defeating certain enemies, finishing missions, and simply progressing through the game.
However, the game has a weight system and defense stats that can be affected by the equipment you are carrying, so be very careful not to gain too much weight and limit your mobility. The menu helpfully shows when you are “slightly overweight” or overloaded.
The main contributor to your weight would be your main weapon (carrying two also increases your overall weight), and any various accessories you may carry on you, such as rings and amulets. When you get a new one of these, take a few moments to compare its weight to what you’re already equipped with and decide if the boosted stats are worth the extra weight.
You may have to struggle a bit at this level.
For the love of God, use your block!
As already mentioned, maintaining blocking around corners/when entering a new area is essential in Lies of P, but you should also get used to doing it in combat. Unlike most similar Souls, blocking in Lies of P consumes both your stamina and HP.
Lost HP can be recovered if you counterattack with your own attacks, but don’t be surprised to find that your block doesn’t really protect you in the way you’d expect. Blocking is essential to deal with certain attacks – especially those from bosses – because their speed can be faster than what you can dodge.
If you perform a perfect block, you won’t lose any HP. In fact, a perfect block is the way to deal with red attacks. This isn’t a parry, as the enemy won’t be staggered right away, but the more perfect blocks you make, the easier it will be to stagger them or, in some cases, break their weapon.
His Legion Arm is effectively a free weapon
Lies of P takes a few hours to get going and reveal its multitude of systems. The Arm of the Legion is one of those mechanics. The one you have at first may seem useless, but over time you will realize that it is like a free second weapon.
The further you get into the game, the more Arms of the Legion you will unlock. Some of them can turn into shields, others into a ranged hand cannon. My favorite, however, is the grappling hook that interrupts enemy attacks and drags them towards you. It’s great for thinning the herd without alerting everyone.
Shortly after unlocking more Arms of the Legion options, you will be able to upgrade them on a certain machine, after rescuing a certain NPC and taking them back to the hotel. Upgrading the Arms of the Legion is very linear, so expect standard increases from your current performance.
However, it’s worth noting that while you can switch between all the different Legion weapons you have, you should try to stick with one or two, as upgrade materials are finite.
Test your emotes on NPCs for pleasant surprises
One of the most fun things you can do in Lies of P is interact with its characters, and – apart from chatting with them – you can also do it through Gestures. Unlike most Souls-likes, you don’t actually start the game with dozens of them. Instead, you only start with a handful, and unlock more after completing certain in-game events, completing quests, defeating bosses, etc.
Every time you unlock a new emote, it’s worth trying it out on any of the hotel’s NPCs. And yes, this also includes the cat (who changes location often). If you think an Emote fits the behavior of a certain NPC, or suspect that using it will get you a certain reaction, don’t be afraid to try it. This also applies to inanimate objects in the world, so try out the ones you think are relevant for some surprises.
Stagger attacks are meaningless, don’t use them
When you land enough hits on an enemy in Lies of P, and perfectly block their attacks, they will enter a pre-stagger state. To get them on their knees and open them up to a nice long high damage animation, you first have to stagger them.
To do this, you have to charge a special attack (RT/R2) as soon as you see that his health bar has a white outline. The problem is that the window is so narrow that it is very likely that you will miss it. Often trying to land that charged attack will leave you vulnerable to enemy attacks.
While you can expand that window later, we didn’t find it useful to attempt a Stagger attack, especially since the resulting damage isn’t much greater than, well, staying on the offensive and launching normal attacks.