Lies of P
This is easily the biggest and happiest surprise in gaming this year so far. Lies of P is a Soulslike action RPG, made by a small South Korean developer. It iterates on FromSoftware’s design philosophy in a couple of major ways, but generally sticks very close to the Soulslike template. What’s sort of astounding is the level of polish, fine-tuned mechanics, and world-building in Lies of P. It’s often intensely challenging, which pleases the Souls community. It also has an articulate and engaging narrative based on the story of Pinocchio, of all things. Look for Lies of P on many gamers’ Best Of lists for 2023, for good reason.
Just to balance the scales…
Biggest Disappointment (So Far) Lord of the Rings: Gollum
While 2023 has been an overall stellar surprises, there have been more than a few burnt turkeys. A couple that come immediately to mind: Redfall and Forspoken. By far one of the biggest, most epic fails of the year has to be Daedalic Entertainment’s Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Buggy, broken, and as far away from fun as a game can be, everything about Gollum screams bad idea. The main character is unlikeable. There’s no combat. Traversal and stealth don’t work well. Anyone who followed the development of this game was probably not entirely surprised by the outcome. But anyone who bought it most certainly was.
Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.