The Soulslike genre is one of the only spaces in video games completely dominated by one studio. Not for a lack of trying, other studios can’t seem to match From Software’s masterful grasp of Souls game design. I’ve been playing and replaying From Software’s catalog for almost half of my life, and I’ve tried my hand at most attempts by other studios to capture that Souls magic. In every one I’ve tried, the magic is just not there. Most Soulslike games seem to buckle under the weight of expectations brought on by the original Souls trilogy.

Lies of P is an enigma in the Soulslike genre for a lot of reasons. You play as a set character, there’s a direct, overt story, and there are no oddball dynamic multiplayer elements. Right from the beginning, Lies of P shrugs at some of the sacred cows of the Soulslike genre. Some might balk at these changes, but Lies of P carries itself with such grace, such precise artistic intent, that it almost leaves me speechless; Lies of P is strange for a Soulslike because it momentarily punches higher than anything From Software has made.

The city of Krat, the setting of Lies of P’s apocalyptic twist on Pinocchio, is totally captivating. Krat speaks to you in every moment of gameplay, from the corpses battered in the street to the comforting whine of a violin in a nearby window. Cats meow, fires rage, broken speakers blare crooked music - it all puts you there on Elysion Boulevard. Bloodborne reached for atmosphere like this, but it seemed to drop that sense of a lived-in place after the first few areas. Different games with different design intentions, but I digress.

One of the immediate differences between controlling the player character in Lies of P compared to other Soulslikes is the movement speed. Lies of P is noticeably slower, more deliberate with its movement; it actually reminds me a lot of the original Dark Souls in that regard.

Make no mistake - the combat is fast, blisteringly so. Enemy attacks either fly out faster than the speed of light, or they wind up for 3-5 business days to throw off your parries. Say what you will, Lies of P at least gives you more interesting tools to handle complex attack patterns than some of FromSoft’s catalog ever did (Sorry, Dark Souls 3). The weapons you get feel distinct, and you can customize them in all the ways you’d want. The blade and hilt system is extremely robust, although it definitely takes too long to get enough options to make the customization really sing.

More than anything, Lies of P just keeps surprising you. Another secret, another fun character twist, another ambush you definitely ran right into, another bombastic, meaty boss fight. It’ll clock you about 25 hours if you’re being thorough, and the pacing never breaks its confident stride all the way to the credits.

The story is where my endless comparison to other Soulslikes ends. Lies of P is bold, both in its adaptation of the classic story of Pinocchio, but also in how it doesn’t needlessly pull from its source material. Here is a world distinctly colored by the classic folktale, but with that color it paints a macabre picture of identity, memory, and conspiracy. Krat has a rich history, completely original to Lies of P.

Sufficed to say, Neowiz sort of pulled off a miracle here. I think the gaming community at large has gotten very used to Soulslike games not created by the esteemed From Software to land with a thud, but Lies of P proves there’s more out there. We were all pulled to Demon’s Souls because it experimented in ways that the industry had never seen before - Lies of P uses FromSoft’s catalog as a springboard, pushing to greater heights in distinctly new ways. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Lies of P is that it proves the Soulslike genre is not a walled garden; it’s not only From Software’s playground anymore.

And that’s it, no notes - Lies of P rules.