DLCs rarely get their hooks in me. While I enjoy the add-ons I do play, few reach beyond a reminder that the base game is good and this is more of that – what I’m looking for usually lies in the hopeful sequel. Lies of P’s new Overture DLC, with its $29.99 price tag and a 20+ hour runtime that could comfortably be called an expansion, rips free from the strings of the base game to surprise and delight. It features dozens of new enemies, some with truly wild new attack patterns to master, multiple new locales in Krat to visit, and a story that legitimately brought tears to my eyes. I’m not surprised Overture is great; Lies of P is a fantastic game, as I said of it back in 2023. I am surprised, however, by just how strong it is. It is a victory lap, a worthwhile investment of time for anyone who enjoyed Neowiz’s first crack at this fairytale-inspired adventure.
Overture removes players from the current timeline of Lies of P and transports them into the past of Krat, days before the Puppet Frenzy, with all your knowledge, progression, weaponry, and items from the base game. Pinocchio follows in the footsteps of the “Legendary Stalker,” searching for answers on why he’s been mysteriously brought to the past. This takes him to previously unseen areas of Krat, like an abandoned zoo and carnival, a frozen shipyard, and an estate that lies at the heart of the entire Lies of P story thus far.
These locations bring into the fold a couple of welcome additions to the game’s formula, including two new Legion arms: one that fires off spinning saws and another that shoots a shotgun shell (reminiscent of Bloodborne’s gun). Though neither dramatically changed how I approached combat the way the base game Legion arms do, the spinning saw arm was a nice way to keep damage numbers rolling when I couldn’t get an attack in. The other big addition is a massive swath of new enemies to fight.
Every location features new foes, from infected apes to decrepit elephant-hippo-horse monstrosities to ravenous sharks, frenzied sailors, zombie dogs, and more. These aren’t just cosmetically different enemies; they have all-new attack patterns, providing a fresh layer of challenge to Lies of P. As a sucker for theming, I thoroughly appreciated how much thought developers Neowiz and Round8 Studio put into Overture’s new enemies. Discovering new foes to defeat, alongside a few new weapons, items, and amulets, remained a treat throughout.
That goes doubly so for the handful of new bosses in Overture. Neowiz and Round8 Studio are clearly experimenting in this expansion, as some look and fight like nothing seen in the base game. Two bosses in particular wowed me with scale and the arena in which we fought.
I also took the opportunity to test out the two new difficulties added to Lies of P with Overture in these boss fights. The hardest difficulty is the default, and it’s what I beat Lies of P and Overture in. But before defeating bosses, I gave each a trial on the two easier difficulties. I’m pleasantly surprised with the team’s work on creating an easier experience while retaining the fun of Lies of P’s challenge. It’s nice that both new difficulties have been retroactively applied to the base game for free alongside an update that includes a boss rush mode and the ability to replay previously beaten bosses.
On easier difficulties, enemies and bosses don’t roll over – you still need to parry, dodge, and attack your way to victory. It’s just a bit more forgiving, yielding to less experienced Soulslike players the perfect playground to understand how these games work. It’s an addition worthy of praise and something others in the genre should pursue to help their games reach new audiences.
Like in Lies of P, Overture smartly leads with a story that’s easy to parse but still mysterious and secretive enough to warrant further exploration. I loved discovering new notes and audio logs that provided context to the events happening elsewhere in the narrative. That narrative, by the way, is fantastic. It admittedly starts unremarkably – follow clues to find the Legendary Stalker – but where it ends reminded me how much I appreciate Neowiz and Round8 Studio’s approach to narrative in a genre clouded with inaccessible (and often unnecessarily obtuse) storytelling. It all culminates in a final hour that gave me chills, doing something with enemies that rocked me and forced me to reflect on the purpose of adversaries in an action game like this.
The final boss fight is one of Lies of P’s most formidable challenges yet, with relentless, hard-hitting attacks that kept me on my toes to the final second of combat. I won’t spoil it here, but this entire final hour features a slight but welcome mechanical twist that rewards hours of experience.
With a finale that wraps up Lies of P neatly in a box, like the one Gepetto lugs around Krat, I’m left fulfilled and grateful for this strange and unique Pinocchio-inspired package. Overture, like its base game counterpart, is an excellent Soulslike journey that oozes confidence, fun, and a deep appreciation for the genre.
