Lies of P: Overture, the upcoming expansion to the fan-favourite Souls-like RPG, has received a bunch of hands-on reports, and it's sounding like players are in for a treat.
Outlets are pretty much unanimous in saying Overture is fantastic, with a snowy, creepy zoo the main setting for the prequel DLC impressing with its level and environment design.
However, it's the myriad new features the DLC brings to the table that are most noteworthy, adding lots of additional value to the game as a whole.
Subscribe to Push Square on YouTube166k
Most interesting among these is the introduction of difficulty options; players will be able to choose from an additional two — one easier, one harder — as well as the default setting. This will arrive in a patch alongside the release of Overture.
On top of that are two new modes — a boss rush mode called Death March, which allows you to fight previous bosses with player-set parameters, and Battle Memories, in which you can replay boss battles in various difficulties.
Various new weapon types are also being added, allowing you to change up your approach.
Here are a few excerpts from the recent previews:
Game Rant - "Enemy variety is impressive"
Overall, Lies of P: Overture looks to be a promising addition, with greatly expanded enemy variety, a strong collection of unique weapons, accessible difficulty modes, and its boss fight modes that introduce tons of replayability. Based on its first hour alone, Overture shows signs of being a DLC worth the two-year wait.
TechRadar - "One of the best Soulslike levels I've ever played"
Overall, Krat Zoo provided a barnstormer of a first level for Lies of P: Overture. It shows that Round8 Studio hasn’t lost its touch in providing creative, visually evocative levels for the game. Having so many new enemy types this early on really bodes well for the expansion, and I’m really looking forward to taking some of these crazy new weapons back into the base game for New Game Plus runs.
TheGamer - "Can't come soon enough"
I only played a couple of hours of an expansion that will last about 20, but if Lies of P: Overture somehow maintains the quality through its run time, I’m pretty sure we will get the Soulslike of the year and one of the best action games of the decade.
VGC - "Wants the player to be far more cautious"
A sequel to Lies of P is currently in development, and Lies of P: Overture serves as a great intermission between the two acts. The zoo is a great location for an expansion, and extremely well designed, and the new additions to the enemy roster will give players dozens of new patterns to learn and attacks to dodge.
There's no release date yet for Lies of P: Overture, but all this positive press has us excited for its arrival. Are you looking forward to the DLC? What do you think about the new features like difficulty options? Tell us in the comments section below.
Comments 30
I’m never going to moan about difficulty modes; allows even more people to enjoy this amazing game! The fact there’s an even more brutal setting should be all you want if you’re annoyed about an easy mode, they’re catering for both sides of the market which will allow us even more games from them, which I’ll never ever turn my nose up at!
I don't like difficulty modes as I usually feel they either water down the experience, or provide frustration. Much prefer just a set gameplay that's properly balanced as intended
That said, I loved this game so happy to trust the developers on this
@DonJorginho 100% agree. Customizable difficulty guarantees most people can enjoy the game.
This game is such a wonderful experience and people shouldn't be stopped by hardcore gatekeepers.
I'm fine with difficulty options cause the game can just be balanced and tuned at the normal difficulty, and the easy mode can be separate and won't affect anything.
But I'm glad the expansion is previewing well.
I’m so stoked for this. Lies of P shocked me by how good it was, and it has become one of my favorite games of all time. Moreover, it’s the only game in recent memory where I instantly replayed it, not just once, but twice, after I beat it. I never do that. Once I beat a game I shelve it for years. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
My most anticipated release this year. I am so hyped to return to Krat.
Unfortunately the souls community has many hypocrites amongst us, who simultaneously defend the lack of difficulty options in From’s games as Miyazaki’s creative vision (fair enough), but then are the first to criticise other developers when they decide their creative vision for their game includes giving players menu-selectable difficulty modifiers. Not every soulslike has to strictly abide by Miyazaki’s vision, developers should be allowed to introduce difficulty options into their game if they want to expand the potential playerbase. There shouldn’t be a backlash, what does it take away from your experience of the game if others choose to play it on an easier difficulty mode?
I really enjoyed Lies of P, but eventually the difficulty started to wear me down. So I'm really excited for the new difficulty options.
Yeah I really wonder how this affects players who have beat the game on NG+. Will it be too easy for end game builds if it’s supposed to be played alongside the main game? I’m buying it regardless tho
Lies of P is right up there with Bloodborne and Elden Ring for me, so this is a day one no-brainer.
Does this mean the original game will get difficultly options as well ? I seriously wish all these tough games had them I'd play them then
I watched some gameplay footage and this looks abolutely amazing. I had dabbled in souls games for years and never really got them. Liked the Khazan demo so gave Lies of P a try based on recommendations. I got absolutely hooked, and now these games are all I want to play. I am just really crossing my fingers that the teaser at the end of the game happens for a sequel, I would actually buy a new console if needed just for that game. Can't wait for this to drop, looks absolutely insane.
I'm very excited about this DLC. I recently finish NG and made it through most of NG+ when I paused because I didn't want to do the DLC in NG++ for the first time and don't really want to start a new playthrough.
Can’t wait for this. I NEED a release date man…
@ryan_nil Good thing I stopped months ago on my NG+ run when I got to Simon Manus. Simon Manus is significantly more powerful in NG+ and I just gave up 😆.
The DLC on NG++ would probably hit like a sledgehammer
I haven’t played this yet and it’s been on my list of games to play since before it came out. Despite the fact I’ve played just about every Soulsborne, Souls-like and Souls-lite out there the difficulty of this one has had me hesitant about it. Seeing as how there’s going to be a difficulty option that can make it a bit easier, I may just give this a go when that happens…..
@Ricketyrascal87 Oof, I was actually very close to that point when I stopped playing. And yeah, I didn't want to make it any harder than I imagine the DLC is going to be. I did the Elden Ring DLC the first time on NG+ and that was rough.
@DETfaninATL If you've managed to beat any of the FromSoft Soulsborne games, I'd say you'd be fine in Lies Of P. I didn't find it any more difficult than any of them (outside of the first time I played my first one). But I've been playing pretty much only these games for most of the last six years, so am, admittedly, a bit obsessed and love the challenge they provide.
Damn I must get round to playing this since I bought it ages ago!
At last I can play it without the frustrations of being crap and old. Cannot wait to jump in now
Lies of P is one of the standout 3rd party games this generation - 2nd only to Hogwarts Legacy in my opinion.
It was also in a fantastic state at launch.
Really looking forwards to this DLC.
Difficulty options are great. Gatekeeping over Souls game difficulty is obnoxious.
I just finished Lies of P last month after picking it up on sale and I must say I didn't especially enjoy it. Bosses are either pretty high on the difficultly side relative to other Souls games IMO - or nearly trivial if use the the NPC summon. The "true" end boss (for which you can not use a summon) was more frustrating than just about any Souls game I've played and I ultimately had to resort to "cheese" tactics to beat it.
If the easy difficulty makes the boss fights harder than when using a summon, but not quite as punishing to mistakes (or bad character builds) as the default difficulty, that would be great.
Even so, I personally don't really need to play more of that game. I didn't think it did anything that was especially entertaining or novel compared to other games in the genre IMO. I didn't find the world design especially memorable and the story devolving into vaguely Lovecraftian nonsense was a disappointment.
When I tried the game on gamepass it was too difficult. Now with the difficulty settings I’ll buy this day one.
Might give it another go
I watched my son - who excels at Souls-like games - play through this at launch for the platinum and I loved what I saw but thought 'probably a bit tough for slow old me' and didn't play it myself. So I really welcome difficulty options and will give the game a go in the future.
@Dan12836666 - Yes, the article says the difficulty options will be patched in alongside the expansion release.
@Shigurui that's great news thanks I must of misread that definitely be buying it and the expansion then 😊
I will never understand some people trying to gatekeep games by not wanting difficulty modes. Just let people play how they want. I'll take the standard experience, but if someone want's it easier, or harder, let them go at it.
@themightyant I can understand if a developer doesn't want to include difficulty modes. It's their game; they can do what they want. If fans complain about difficulty modes, that's entirely different. If you want the harder experience, by all means, go for it. If someone else wants it easier (for whatever reason they choose), then it doesn't affect you in any way. Them completing the game on "easy" mode has (or should have) nothing to do with your enjoyment of the game or your sense of accomplishment. If anything, the 'git gud' brigade should be happy if a developer includes difficulty modes because then they can brag about how they completed the game on hard mode while naked and using an unupgraded broken sword.
@ryan_nil completely agree if DEVELOPERS want to make the game they want to make and that doesn’t include difficulty modes. I only have an issue with gamers trying to gatekeep games.
It's not a proper soulslike if there are difficulty options. From Software would never do this. The difficulty is baked into the genre, you simply have to grind more and level up if you want to make a fight easier. This spoiled the otherwise brilliant Expedition 33 a bit for me, there was a boss that I couldn't defeat so switched to 'story mode' and now the feeling of excitement has gone now that I can breeze past most enemies.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...