Lies of P Tips: Surviving Belle Époque Pinocchio Souls

Lies of P is Neowiz's soulslike set in a Belle Époque reimagining of Pinocchio. Beautiful, punishing, and built around a parry system that's more demanding than Sekiro's but equally rewarding once mastered. Round8 Studio made a game that surprised everyone by being genuinely excellent rather than just another Dark Souls clone.

Here's what the game punishes you for not knowing.

The parry system

Perfect Guard is everything. Blocking reduces damage but still costs you HP (shown as recoverable white health). Perfect Guard (timing the block exactly as the attack hits) takes zero damage, builds stagger on the enemy's weapon, and can break their weapon entirely once stagger is full. If you're not Perfect Guarding, you're playing the game on hard mode unnecessarily.

Practice on regular enemies first. Don't try to learn parry timing on bosses. Find a regular puppet enemy and practice until Perfect Guard is muscle memory. The timing window is generous once you feel it.

Red attacks cannot be blocked. Fury attacks (red flash) must be dodged. Don't try to Perfect Guard them — you'll take full damage.

Charged heavy attacks can interrupt red attacks if timed correctly. This is an advanced technique but devastating when it works.

Weapon assembly system

Lies of P lets you combine any weapon blade with any weapon handle. This creates enormous build variety.

Handle determines moveset. A heavy blade on a light handle moves quickly. A light blade on a heavy handle hits harder per swing. Experiment.

Blade determines damage type and scaling. Motivity (STR equivalent), Technique (DEX), or Advance (elemental).

The Puppet Saber blade + Workshop Union Standard handle is an early combination that carries through much of the game. Fast swings, decent damage, good range.

Upgrade your preferred weapon consistently. Spreading upgrade materials across multiple weapons leaves you underpowered. Pick one primary weapon and keep it at max level for your progression.

Legion Arms

Your prosthetic arm has interchangeable abilities. Each Legion Arm costs Legion energy to use and has specific combat applications.

Aegis (shield arm) is the most universally useful. Blocks attacks and can absorb damage to charge a counter-explosion. Use it when your Perfect Guard timing is off.

Flamberge (fire arm) is excellent against enemies weak to fire. Most puppets are vulnerable to fire damage.

Falcon Eyes (projectile arm) gives you ranged damage for pulling enemies or finishing low-HP targets at distance.

Upgrade your most-used arm. Like weapons, spreading materials across all arms is inefficient. Pick two and alternate.

The P-Organ system

The P-Organ is your passive upgrade tree, unlocked by Quartz found throughout the game. Mandatory upgrades:

Phase 1 priority: Rising Dodge (attack after dodge), Perfect Guard Cause Staggering (increases stagger buildup on perfect guards).

Phase 2 priority: Link Dodge (chain dodges for i-frame extension), Enhance Fatal Attack ATK (more riposte damage).

Don't neglect defensive P-Organ abilities. The temptation is to stack damage, but survivability upgrades let you be more aggressive because you can afford mistakes.

The lie system

Lies of P has a lying mechanic tied to Pinocchio's story. When NPCs ask you questions, you can tell the truth or lie.

Lying more makes you more "human" and affects which ending you get. There are three endings based on your humanity level (determined by lies, gestures used, listening to records, and specific story choices).

Records at the hotel increase your humanity when listened to. Always play every record you find on the gramophone in Hotel Krat.

Boss strategy fundamentals

Every boss has a pattern. Runs 1-3 are for learning, not winning. Watch what they do without trying to kill them. Identify the punish windows.

Summons (Specters) are available. You can summon an NPC ally before most boss doors using Star Fragments. This splits aggro and gives you breathing room. No shame in using them.

Elemental grindstones matter. Apply fire, electric, or acid grindstones to your weapon based on boss weakness. The damage increase is significant.

Don't heal greedily. Healing has a long animation. Only heal when the boss is in a recovery window after a combo. Healing mid-combo gets you killed.

What we make at Choost

Granny's Rampage is bullet heaven — different combat philosophy from Lies of P's precise parrying. But both games share "learn the pattern, master the timing" as their core skill expression.

For more soulslike content, the best soulslike games, games like Elden Ring, and games like Bloodborne posts have more.

The shortest version

Learn Perfect Guard on regular enemies before bosses. Red attacks must be dodged, never blocked. Combine weapon blades and handles for custom movesets. Upgrade one weapon consistently. Use Aegis Legion Arm when your parry timing fails. Rush Rising Dodge and Perfect Guard Staggering in the P-Organ. Lie to NPCs for the best ending. Listen to every record. Apply elemental grindstones for boss fights. Summon Specters without shame.

Lies of P rewards the same patience as every soulslike — the bosses that feel impossible on attempt 1 feel manageable by attempt 10 because you learned them, not because you out-leveled them.