Lies of P: Overture (PlayStation 4) review "Obtaining a new appreciation for getting killed and having my spirit broken. "

About the same time that Lies of P’s expansion, Overture was released, Neowiz also provided a big update to the game in general, including the addition of multiple difficulty levels. Now, that’s the sort of thing you don’t typically see in a Souls-like, where it typically feels like the creators decided to craft something brutally difficult, give players a few tools to mitigate that challenge somewhat and then just sit back and watch the carnage unfold, occasionally releasing a patch in response to feedback.

Normally, this wouldn’t be something I’d feel much need to delve into. While I’m sure there are gamers out there who didn’t like this decision, feeling it perverts the challenge to simply allow struggling players to reduce it the instant they feel overwhelmed, I find it near impossible to actually care how another person is playing a particular game. Besides, as a person who did play through Overture, I know that sometimes, you just have to make a few adjustments from time to time in order to maintain a reasonable grasp upon your sanity.

In a way, I found it easy to compare Overture to Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, as both of them basically have you doing the same stuff you did in the base game, but with the challenge raised a fair amount. Much like how the first enemy I encountered in Erdtree killed me, I found myself in life-or-death struggles almost from the beginning here.

To access this DLC, you have to return to a mid-game chapter and use a particular checkpoint to warp back in time a bit. Not so far back that the city of Krat isn’t currently a hellhole infested by all manner of rebellious puppets and giant monstrosities, but back in time nonetheless. Your first goal will be to take a woodland path to the Krat Zoo. After laying waste to a few fairly weak foes, you’ll encounter a giant bear. Pain will ensue.

And continue when you reach the zoo itself — an area which I believe had to be nerfed a bit when the expansion’s first patch was released. I can understand that. In the main game, you had all sorts of tough foes which acted like mini-bosses. Usually, the first time or two you fought one of these enemies, it was a one-time monster that wouldn’t respawn. Later on, when you were (hopefully) more experienced and powerful, they would, but you’d at least get that feeling of accomplishment for truly dispatching some tough impediment once or twice.

A lot of zoo denizens didn’t get that memo, so when you find yourself confronting your first nimble, powerful and durable kangaroo while walking down a path, you might think this is a one-time battle, but you’ll be wrong. At least there’s a checkpoint right after, but still… Advancing through this entire place was like pulling teeth. You have a large enclosure with both another of those tough kangaroos, as well as a massive gorilla and a few smaller enemies. Right after that is the DLC’s first real boss — a gigantic crocodile with a ton of health and very damaging attacks that you don’t even get the chance to summon an ally against.

That’s just the beginning. There’s also the ballerina puppets and their tricky-to-time attacks, a trip to a carnival containing a tough fire-juggling mini-boss in an out-of-the-way room, the underground lab with its survival horror vibe, a pair of human bosses that — much like the ones in the main game — you also have to fight sans help even if they’re way tougher than those main game opponents and more. The second of those humans was a real pain because, midway through the fight, he’ll transform into something a bit less human and his attacks will then add the status effect that causes your weapons to deteriorate much faster. So, I’d be trying to switch to an item that rectifies that situation while also dodging his constant, incessant attacks.

P’s stuck fighting dudes like that because he’s trying to follow the tracks of a legendary Stalker as she seeks to save her apprentices from a sadistic serial killer. And those tracks take you to a lot of places, as this is a pretty large DLC, containing five chapters that take you to a variety of places to fight a lot of dangerous creatures. I’d say this was a pretty great chunk of additional content, but man, I struggled a lot to consistently make progress.

The thing is, unlike Shadow of the Erdtree, Overture doesn’t really do much to give players a chance to cut into its “up the ante” increase of difficulty. In Erdtree, by diligently exploring the world, you could find a large number of items that would either boost your offense and defense or improve the stats of your summon ashes. Your opposition was more powerful, but you could boost yourself, as well — which is very helpful, as by the time you’re ready to tackle that expansion, odds are that gaining levels will be a painstaking process with only tiny rewards.

Overture doesn’t give you those sorts of items. You do get some defensive gear superior to anything in the main game, but in games like this, it usually feels like “superior equipment” equates you moving from warm butter to cold. There might be a bit more resistance, but that knife’s still going through. You also get a number of new weapons, including a bow so you can actually reliably damage foes from a distance. But for the most part, you’ll be in an expansion where your challenges will be tougher than in the main game and your only option will be to “get gud” because the eight hit points or two attack points that next level will bestow upon you aren’t going to be a difference-maker against stuff like that gigantic monstrosity residing in the depths of the mine.

Which is where the ability to lower the game’s difficulty came into play. Call me a coward, or at least too lazy to spend hours upon hours devising a strategy to overcome some of these challenges, but after a point, my goal was simply to reach the finish line. And it didn’t take long to find out that by dropping the difficulty one level, the DLC felt like it possessed about the same challenge as the base game on default. So, uh, congrats, Neowiz; you crafted something tough enough that it broke me enough to make me take shortcuts. I hope you’re proud! I base my entire identity on overcoming these challenges and now I don’t even have that!!!

*ahem*

So, yeah, Overture is difficult enough that it may result in a bit of a breakdown and it does seem designed for Souls-like fans looking for an even more stern challenge than usual, but if you’re one of those people, this will be a pretty satisfying experience. By DLC standards, it’s pretty long. It has a lot of tough fights against all sorts of new adversaries and gives you some new tools to play with. You just have to come to terms with how this is a punishing game capable of delivering the pain with regularity and be able to take a deep breath occasionally and decide there is no dishonor in lowering the difficulty in order to progress.

At least I keep telling myself that. One day, I may actually believe it.

Staff review by Rob Hamilton (December 05, 2025) Rob Hamilton is the official drunken master of review writing for Honestgamers.