Lies of P was the game that pushed me to love the soulslike genre. The depth of storytelling, when coupled with the macabre fairytale creature and character designs and an environment that never leaves its player behind, has made Lies of P a critical and fan success. Now, the game’s developer, Round8 Studio, is set to release the next part of P’s story with the Overture DLC.
Published by Neowiz, Lies of P: Overture looks to the past. As a prequel, the Overture DLC reveal trailer showcased a new snowy world before the Puppet Uprising, new enemies, and, most importantly (for me at least), a new bow-and-arrow weapon to add to your arsenal. At GDC, we spoke with Game Director Jiwon Choi about the pillars of the DLC, his hope for players, and what it’s like to be contributing to the current era of the beloved soulslike genre.
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To kick things off, we asked Game Director Choi about what to expect with the introduction of ranged weaponry with the bow and arrow. “Obviously, the combat is an extremely important part of Lies of P, and we have been focusing on finding ways to expand upon what we already have established in the base game [for the Overture DLC], which is to make the game and combat more diverse. So this time, in Overture, I tried hard to show a variety of new weapons that I couldn’t see in the main episode… One of the things you’ve already seen was probably parry, so the bow-and-arrow introduction was our effort to make players feel something unique and new.”
Lies of P: Overture introduces players to Lea, a mysterious Stalker.
It’s not just the weaponry that has been shaken up, but so has the location. In Lies of P: Overture, players will travel back in time to meet Lea and embark on an unforgettable adventure. Across the teaser and narrative trailers, players have gotten the chance to see Geppetto’s Puppet and the Legendary Stalker Lea, and all before the Great Puppet Frenzy. Set in the City of Krat’s final days of grandeur, this prequel is about pain, loss, and revenge.
At the center of this tale is Lea, a Stalker of mysterious intentions, whose role in Lies of P has so far been unknown outside of small connections throughout the base game’s environment. The game will take players through a snowy surrounding area outside of Krat and Belle Époque mansions to the haunting ruins of a city on the brink of collapse. The Overture DLC will show players why the Great Puppet Frenzy happened and will teach them more about Krat’s past.
With the brightness of the snow and new areas, one question I had after the announcement trailer was how that lightness balanced against the darkness of the original game. When asked, Jiwon Choi explained that the same directive was behind adding new weaponry.
“Similar to combat, we are trying to expand upon what we have established already so we can experience something fresh. As a part of that effort, the snow-covered environment gives players new ways to experience Lies of P as something fresh. But something for you [and players] to consider is that just because it’s bright and snowing doesn’t mean the mood itself will be bright and cheerful too,” Game Director Choi said with a smile.
Combat, story, and music are three pillars for improving Lies of P in its Overture DLC.
Round8’s approach to Lies of P: Overture is to improve and expand on the original game. And to do so, Game Director Choi explained the three pillars that guided this plan, “Combat, story, and music [are our three pillars]. I cannot point to too many details there because we want the [players] to experience [the Overture DLC] very soon when the content arrives and have [their] own interpretations for them. [That said], we really put our efforts into a sort of expanding the diversity of each pillar to the fullest extent.”
Up until this point of the interview, Jiwon Choi didn’t dive too deeply into the new DLC details other than that it would give players a better understanding about the City of Krat and expand our expectations for the combat, story, and ultimately he music. The latter of which, given the title of the Oveture DLC, felt like a given. However, then we dug into the DLC’s status as a prequel and ultimately, what it allowed the development team to do.
Listening to Jiwon Choi explain Lies of P: Overture, its status as a prequel allows new players to come in and play from the beginning of the story that Round8 intended. Additionally though, it also goes to show players that sometimes creating art isn’t a linear process, especially when funding and time restrictions are involved.
Choi said, “When we were developing Overture, we didn’t view it as a separate entity from Lies of P. It’s more like an expansion, and together with the base game, it becomes a complete experience. We want this to be a holistic experience, how Lies of P was meant to be experienced. It’s not just for veterans of the game—it will be highly accessible and engaging for new players too.”
Read our review of Lies of P here.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen developers use their success to make the game they always intended to. During our interview with Naoki Yoshida for Final Fantasy XVI’s DLC, The Rising Tide, the producer shared the same sentiment. However, instead of taking place after the events of the base game, Lies of P: Overture takes players back to the beginning.
Game Director Choi expanded on his answer about the Overture DLC, completing the story the way that his team intended it to be experienced. “When we were developing Lies of P, we had a broader vision for the story and narrative. We wanted to ensure the quality was good before releasing the base game. [To do that,] we had to prioritize at that time. But now, with the additional time, we have the resources to realize the full vision we originally had.”
“If you look at the director’s letter, which we shared during the announcement trailer at State of Play, you’ll get a better understanding of our approach,” he added, “The prequel lets us complete the experience, so it feels like the truest version of the game. In the base game, you’ll notice small hints—letters and snippets of story—that introduce characters you don’t fully meet. The prequel lets you experience that story and meet those characters.”
It’s this last point that makes Lies of P: Overture exciting as the person who reviewed the base game and fell in love with the story. DLCs often push a player back to a game to play from the point they left off. Here, though, it seems that playing through the prequel and then working your way through the base game for a second time will wind up paying off. And that’s the kind of additional narrative that stands out.
Lies of P: Overture is a perfect chance for players to return or experience the soulslike for the first time.
Since we’re starting from a new beginning, Lies of P: Overture can be another gateway to the soulslike genre for people, like it was for me. As our conversation switched to explicitly talking about the game’s ability to pull people in, Choi explained that the team at Round8 didn’t restrict themselves into just viewing their genre as only soulslike.
“We don’t approach the game in a formulaic way,” Jiwon Choi said, “Of course, we respect the [soulslike] genre and are fans of it, but we also play a lot of different games. We see it as a collaborative experience between us as developers and our players. We’ve been receiving a lot of feedback, and as we go, we’re improving the experience based on what players share with us. We don’t want just to follow a strict formula; we want to build trust with our fans by providing a satisfying experience that they enjoy and reflect it in the design.”
This two-way communication also serves as the reason why people who may have never played a soulslike before can jump into Lies of P with the Overture DLC. “As for the gameplay—Lies of P is tough, but it’s not overly complex,” Choi added when asked about advice he had for new players to the genre.
“My advice is to have patience. Pay attention to the little hints and information scattered throughout the game and the community. Try playing with a relaxed mindset, and experiment a bit. It may be difficult, but you’ll learn and improve as you go. We do our best to provide information through our design choices that allow players to constantly learn how to play the game. It’s an ongoing process, and we’ll keep improving it,” Choi continued.
As I shared my own journey into the genre with Lies of P as a starting point, Choi and the other representative from Round8 explained that my story wasn’t as unique as I thought. Where I was pulled to the game because of the visuals and twisted storybook narrative, so were others. Like me, they found themselves learning that the soulslike genre isn’t out of reach to them.
No matter the questions I asked, though, all roads lead back to the fact that Lies of P: Overture is the game that Jiwon Choi and Round8 wanted to make. More importantly, it’s a chance for players to jump back in or step into it for the first time. And that’s exciting.
Lies of P: Overture releases Summer 2025.
