For those who’ve marion-yet to play the improbable, Pinocchio-inspired soulslike Lies of P, then its first DLC growth, Overture, is full of finely polished causes to take action. Although it is whittled from the identical timber and sticks very intently to the unique stage instructions, this 12-hour encore has lots of new (and nonetheless deeply miserable) areas to discover, some further instruments to carve baddies into kindling with, and extra impressively menacing bosses to drop the curtain on. Plus, it does an ideal job fleshing out an already superior story by tugging on a couple of strings that had been left dangling within the base recreation and touchdown some shocking ventrilo-twists, renewing my appreciation for simply how effectively this fib-filled story made me care about its characters. I used to be glad to place my elongated nostril again to the hack-and-slash grindstone of this top-puppet-tier soulslike, which left me extra excited than ever for a correct sequel.
For those who’re simply becoming a member of us after the intermission, Lies of P is one of the higher soulslikes to take the stage in a really crowded style. Except for its distinctive weapon-crafting system, it didn’t introduce many new concepts to shine a highlight on, however the stuff it borrowed is all finished extraordinarily effectively. Overture doesn’t attempt to repair what isn’t damaged, including a dozen hours of daunting challenges within the type of a time-traveling prequel that throws you again to the occasions previous the principle story. At roughly a 3rd of the scale of the unique recreation, Overture feels fairly large, following an identical (albeit at a way more modest scale) mannequin as Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC by tremendously increasing the quantity of areas, bosses, and loot to gather. It does that whereas introducing an attention-grabbing second act to the story as well, so there may be sufficient meat on these wood bones for me to recollect how a lot I adored this devious journey within the first place.
With a principally new forged of characters, Overture may nearly be loved as a standalone journey, had been it not solely accessible when you’re most of the way in which by means of the principle story – plus it leans fairly closely into present lore, the place quite a bit of the payoff requires you to know the way it all ends. However nonetheless, as somebody who hasn’t revisited Lies of P since launch, I didn’t really feel in any respect misplaced, and Overture does an ideal job reintroducing you to the calamitous metropolis of mechanical puppets and diseased creatures that’s Krat. This new tall story is each bit as heartbreaking and bleak as I’ve come to count on, with some attention-grabbing twists and turns that fill in present gaps in surprising methods and provide some very satisfying solutions to questions I used to be left pondering over a 12 months in the past. It’s additionally obtained some of essentially the most epic (and generally stomach-churning) moments I’ve seen in a recreation in a very long time. I kinda forgot how full-anime this factor actually goes at occasions, and that’s undoubtedly a very good factor in my guide.
The primary points of interest in Overture, although, are the tremendous bizarre new locations you’ll go to and the evil monsters you’ll homicide alongside the way in which. Throughout one early part, you’ll stroll by means of a zoo and get attacked by all method of deranged animal, from apes to elephants to an enormous alligator, whereas in one other part you’ll run throughout a dangerous lake of ice that falls aside beneath your toes whereas pirate-like puppets function a cannon close by in an try you to ship you plunging into Davey Jones’ locker. There’s fairly a bit of selection to this sandbox, and it’s particularly cool to see the quantity of new enemies which have been added to the combo, like undead fish that leap out of the water and attempt to gobble you up whereas flopping about (this DLC actually desires you to kill animals, in case you couldn’t inform). That mentioned, attention-grabbing new areas are additionally offset considerably by curiously retread floor, together with a carnival part that feels awfully acquainted to the parade-themed areas and enemies we’ve already seen earlier than. There’s additionally lots of rehashed enemies, like your customary psychotic humanoid puppets and undead canines which have far more enamel than I’m snug with.
One of the standout elements of Overture is its new bosses, that are extraordinarily authentic, principally difficult, and function thrilling climaxes after the slower lead-ups of slashing by means of chump minions and studying non-public paperwork you discover mendacity round, you nosey little model. I’ll keep away from spoiling as many as I can, however there’s a very good combine of completely large, ugly monsters wielding such huge weapons that it’s utterly insane you may parry them along with your tiny sword, and fast-moving humanoid enemies who dodge round and cross blades with you in a contest of reflexes and sample recognition. The ultimate boss specifically, who has some of essentially the most hilariously convoluted assaults Lies of P has ever concocted, is very enjoyable to study, and offered a satisfying conclusion and last ability test that made me really feel like I’d actually earned that ending. None of these encounters had been as tough as I bear in mind some of the toughest fights within the base recreation being, however that’s partially as a result of they had been higher balanced typically, so I had extra enjoyable dying and studying their ins and outs with higher consistency. It’s additionally doable I’ve simply gotten higher at soulslikes since I’ve reviewed about 50 of them prior to now few years, from Lords of the Fallen to One other Crab’s Treasure, however I undoubtedly loved what felt like a extra predictable degree of problem throughout.
Although there’s lots of cool new sights to see and issues to kill in Overture, not a lot in any respect has modified with the precise moment-to-moment gameplay. There are at the least a handful of attention-grabbing new weapons to make use of, like some lethal hand claws which can be an ideal choice for dexterity-focused builds, in addition to some new amulets to enhance your construct with, however nothing that’s exterior of what you’d look forward to finding within the base recreation. And in the case of issues like precise fight technique or exploration, this add-on is basically simply extra Lies of P – that’s undoubtedly a very good factor, but it surely does imply I nonetheless have all the identical criticisms as earlier than. The sections that lead as much as every boss battle are nonetheless considerably simpler than these eventual encounters, and the stiff fight system locks you into a reasonably particular Bloodborne-like playstyle in comparison with the RPG-inspired nature of different soulslikes that provide you with extra freedom.
It’s not an enormous deal that these points haven’t actually been ironed out, however what’s a bit of disappointing is how Overture performs it pretty protected in the case of new mechanics. It solely introduces one within the type of a recent improve tree system that allows you to additional enhance and customise passive advantages, some of which improve the injury you deal or make you extra prone to survive a barrage of assaults from a boss. This technique is definitely neat, but it surely principally appears like an extension of the present improve system that simply provides extra runway to leveling up, and there aren’t any main shakeups to the kinds of belongings you’ll be doing as you butcher your approach by means of Krat, so it’s a very good factor doing so is as enjoyable as ever.