“Lies of P: Overture” Review
Some stories don’t end when the credits roll, they just wait in the shadows, sharpening their claws for your return. “Lies of P: Overture” doesn’t just reopen the doors to Krat; it tears through them with the weight of new revelations, sharper blades, and a grim prelude that casts the original tale in a darker, more sorrowful light. As someone who had already fought tooth and nail through the hellish beauty of the base game (feel free to check out my review from 2023 HERE), stepping into this thirty-dollar expansion felt like slipping into a deeper, more personal chapter of a story I didn’t realize was still unfolding.
Set before Pinocchio’s awakening, “Overture” positions you in the broken boots of a legendary Stalker, Lea, tasked with navigating a crumbling city as it teeters on the precipice of the infamous Puppet Frenzy. It’s a bold move, shifting perspective and letting you embody someone other than Geppetto’s deadly puppet, and it pays off almost immediately. There’s a tension in this timeline, a tragic knowledge of what’s to come, and the expansion leans hard into that emotional weight. This is still the same gothic, Belle Époque Krat, but not quite. It’s more majestic in some ways, more haunted in others. And despite knowing where the story ultimately leads, I couldn’t help but be gripped by the drama unfolding on this doomed stage.
Round8 clearly hasn’t lost its touch for crafting environments that beg to be explored. From lavish manors decaying with subtle horror to eerie ruins that whisper of forgotten bloodshed, every new area in “Overture” is dripping in detail and atmosphere. If you told me some of these levels had been held back from the base game just to hit harder now, I might believe you, they feel that well-designed, that essential to the larger narrative. But let’s not pretend it’s the scenery alone that kept me pushing forward. No, what really sank its hooks into me, again, was the combat. The same core mechanics return, but “Overture” doubles down on what made them so satisfying in the first place. The arsenal is more robust this time around, with new Legion Arms and weapon combinations that gave me plenty of room to experiment. While the base game already had a clever modular system for mixing and matching weapon heads and handles, this expansion feels like an even better playground for it. Within a few hours, I had a loadout that felt wildly different from my usual playstyle, and yet somehow, it all still clicked.
The new enemy types aren’t just palette swaps or stat bumps. They’re smarter, meaner, and in some cases, downright cruel in how they force you to rethink your approach. I found myself dying in entirely new ways, which, in this genre, is the closest thing we get to applause. The boss fights in particular are exceptional, not just as mechanical challenges, but as narrative punctuation marks. Some of them now rank among the most memorable encounters I’ve had in any soulslike title, period. They’re grand, brutal, and dripping with that mix of spectacle and sadness that this world does so well. Narratively, “Overture” takes some big swings. By going backward in time, it adds depth to both the world and the characters I thought I already understood. Lea is a standout, stoic, driven, and tragic in a way that fits seamlessly with the overarching themes of the game. Watching her unravel the city’s secrets, piece by grimy piece, added real weight to the events that unfold in the base game. It’s rare for a DLC to recontextualize its source material this effectively, but here, the connections are meaningful and occasionally heartbreaking.
If there’s a knock against “Overture,” it’s that it doesn’t radically reinvent anything. It’s more “Lies of P” through and through, which, frankly, is what I was hoping for. It doesn’t introduce game-changing mechanics or wildly different playstyles. But what it does do is refine, deepen, and intensify nearly everything that made the base experience so compelling. The stakes feel higher, the pacing tighter, and the storytelling more focused. By the time I reached the end, I wasn’t just impressed, I was moved. “Overture” doesn’t feel like an optional add-on. It feels like a necessary companion piece, one that ties up emotional loose ends while sharpening the blade for whatever’s next. It’s a DLC that doesn’t just expand the game, it elevates it. And in a genre where expansions often feel like mere extra challenge modes, this one dares to tell a story that matters. If you’ve already braved the horrors of Krat and come out the other side, don’t miss this. “Overture” is an encore performance that sings with sorrow, violence, and style. Just be ready to bleed for the beauty all over again.
9/10
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Related: Reviews by Nick Navarro
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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