Lies of P: Overture provides players a brief but enjoyable return to the nightmarish world of Krat. The DLC expansion serves as a prologue to the game, and Overture offers a well-designed experience that reminds players why Lies of P earned such praise in the first place. While short, it packs in enough storytelling, combat, and atmosphere to make it a satisfying and memorable experience.
A Similar but New Story
Players once again take control of P and immediately step into a world still brimming with tension and mystery. The setting feels familiar, yet subtly altered. There’s a melancholic stillness as you explore a small but detailed new environment filled with corpses, remnants of resistance, and strange echoes of the past. Narratively, Overture is cryptic but intriguing. It shows players a glimpse of Krat at the start of its downfall and even features new characters, some of which are referenced in the original game. Fans who followed the original game’s multiple endings will find plenty to speculate about here. While the DLC doesn’t provide major story revelations, it accomplishes its goal of setting a tone, one that is ominous, mythic, and deeply tragic.
Combat in Overture is as sharp and rewarding as ever. The feel of the swings, parries, and dodges remains deeply satisfying. P retains his fluidity and responsiveness, with combat that rewards aggression and timing. Though you don’t get to fully customize your weapon set like in the full game, the DLC introduces a unique new weapon and Legion Arms, offering a fresh twist on how you approach fights. New enemy types are introduced: grotesque, humanoid nightmares with unpredictable move sets, offering a formidable challenge, even to seasoned players.
Tough Combat and New Changes
The DLC features several amazing and challenging new boss fights from humanoid bosses controlling tough-as-nails puppets to gigantic monstrosities akin to what you’ll see in Bloodborne. These new bosses offer refreshing new forms of challenge to the game that are unlike the base game. A standout boss fight at the end of the DLC is beautifully animated, thematically rich, and mechanically demanding, showcasing the kind of quality Neowiz has become known for.
The DLC also offers several new weapons and Legion Arms for players to choose from. These include new Claws for swift combat, the cool Gunblade that serves as a gun and a melee weapon, and the new ranged weapon, the Royal Horn Bow. The new bow adds a level of mobility to combat and provides new options for players with alternative playstyles.
Additionally, while the DLC is incredibly challenging, some moments even more so than the original game, it also offers new difficulty modes. The easiest Awakened Puppet makes the game easier than the base game while still being challenging. Legendary Stalker is the default, and Butterfly’s Guidance is a mix of both. These modes make the game noticeably more approachable than the base game, albeit at the cost of a more challenging base difficulty.
Final Thoughts
Visually, Overture retains the hauntingly elegant aesthetic of the main game. Dark alleyways flicker with failing lanterns, decaying automatons lie in piles, and everything is soaked in a moody palette of iron and ash. The sound design remains immersive, with subtle audio cues heightening tension, and the music swells at just the right moments, particularly during the final encounter. The DLC features several new areas, including a snowy region filled with malevolent beasts, a graveyard of shipwrecks, ancient runes, the Krat Zoo, and more.
One of the few downsides of Lies of P Overture is its brevity. The DLC takes about ten to fifteen hours to beat, which for seasoned souls like players and fans of the base game will feel like nothing. However, this length is to be expected for a DLC expansion. Overall, Lies of P: Overture is a compact, beautifully crafted prologue that brings back the best elements of Lies of P while hinting at further narrative depth and mechanical evolution. It may be short, but it’s a must-play for fans and an exciting look at where this dark fairy tale is headed next.
The Review
Lies of P: Overture
Lies of P: Overture is a compact, beautifully crafted prologue that brings back the best elements of Lies of P while hinting at further narrative depth and mechanical evolution. It may be short, but it's a must-play for fans and an exciting look at where this dark fairy tale is headed next.
PROS
- Great combat
- Great visuals
- Great bosses
CONS
- Some encounters are too tough on the base difficulty
- Quite short
