Two Soulslike Contenders Enter the Arena: Lies of P and Lords of the Fallen

In a genre defined by its challenging gameplay and intricate world-building, “Lies of P” and “Lords of the Fallen” emerge as two soulslike action role-playing games that have garnered positive reviews and share a release window just a month apart. Both have carved out their niches within the soul-like style, but how do they stack up against each other? Let’s delve into their main differences and see which might cater more to your RPG preferences.

Combat and Difficulty: A Balancing Act

“Lies of P” leans into a slightly more demanding combat system, encouraging players to master perfect blocks and offering a potentially higher difficulty level despite recent updates to mitigate perceived unfairness in combat. “Lords of the Fallen” leans into a more aggressive playstyle, where blocking impacts health and evasion often becomes the preferable strategy. Choosing between a more strategic or action-oriented combat system is akin to choosing between “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” and “Dark Souls 3” – a matter of personal preference.

Boss Battles: A Test of Skill and Patience

While “Lies of P” isn’t renowned as one of the most challenging soulslikes, its bosses present a significant hurdle, even with patches adjusting the difficulty of certain encounters. “Lords of the Fallen” offers some assistance to make things slightly more accessible, such as cooperative play throughout the game and additional in-game aids. The bosses in both games range from colossal creatures to nimble humanoids, each providing their unique challenges and requiring different strategies to conquer.

Exploration: Linear Paths with Divergent Styles

Both games adopt a linear style, with optional routes and shortcuts available to explore. “Lies of P” offers a more straightforward journey with limited exploration. At the same time “Lords of the Fallen” introduces a dual-dimension mechanic, allowing players to switch between the worlds of the living and the dead, unlocking new routes and rewards. “Lords of the Fallen” arguably maximizes its environments more effectively, providing a richer exploration experience.

Setting and Visuals: Classic Fantasy vs. Twisted Tale

“Lies of P” presents a dark twist on the tale of Pinocchio, set in the belle époque and featuring biomechanical enemies and automata, offering a more modern theme. “Lords of the Fallen,” on the other hand, adheres more closely to traditional fantasy tropes, reminiscent of “Demon’s Souls” and “Dark Souls,” with classic enemies and environments. In terms of graphics and performance, both games offer quality and performance modes, though “Lords of the Fallen” (Unreal Engine 5) may edge out slightly in certain technical aspects.

Conclusions: Two Distinct Soulslikes for Different Tastes

While both “Lies of P” and “Lords of the Fallen” reside within the souls-like genre, they cater to slightly different audiences and offer varied experiences in exploration, combat systems, and storytelling. They stand as distinct entities within the same genre, offering unique experiences that may appeal to different subsets of the RPG community.

“Lies of P” is available with the Xbox Game Pass subscription and can be played on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, including last-gen consoles. “Lords of the Fallen” is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series.