Unveiled during today’s PlayStation State of Play livestream event, Overture is the official name of the DLC developer Round8 Studio first teased last year for its hit Soulslike Lies of P. Set in a fantastical adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio, Lies of P follows the adventures of P, a sentient puppet called to action when his home city is beset by a violent puppet frenzy. Overture casts our fleshy/wooden twink into the past with a prequel tale about the initial fall of Krat and the beginning of the frenzy that fuelled the base game’s conflict.
Set during the winter months, Krat is now blanketed in heavy snow and practically undulating with heightened body horror imagery as P is drawn into the machinations of Lea, a fellow Stalker and figure at the heart of the DLC’s new tale. Publisher NEOWIZ describes Lea’s journey as a “relentless path of vengeance” that will see P going toe to toe with a host of new enemies as he gains access to additional weapons and combat styles.
Watching the trailer back a few times over, it seems like Round8 has given this the FromSoftware DLC treatment. Which is to say, it looks to be adding some genuine innovations to the base game and packing them into a thematically and aesthetically rich new setting.
Tucked away in the trailer is perhaps its most interesting tease though as P lifts a horn to his lips and seemingly summons help for a boss fight from one of the game’s most beloved characters. Remains to be seen if this is a narrative beat or if Round8 is adapting to difficulty settings in its own way but I’m stoked in either case as it adds yet another layer to the game’s already killer boss encounters (not you, Nameless Puppet).
Most importantly though, P has adapted to the winter chill with a fucking excellent new look. Lies of P understood many things about how to craft a great Soulslike, especially the need for FashionSouls, and Overture leading with a cunty, fur-lined jacket and hat is exactly the kind of energy it needed to bring to its promo cycle.
Are you keen to get back to Lies of P? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and on social media.
One part pretentious academic and one part goofy dickhead, James is often found defending strange games and frowning at the popular ones, but he's happy to play just about everything in between. An unbridled love for FromSoftware's pantheon, a keen eye for vibes first experiences, and an insistence on the Oxford comma have marked his time in the industry.
