Lies of P to Add Difficulty Options, Despite Director Once Believing Soulslike Games Shouldn't Have Them

NEOWIZ, the developer of Lies of P, a 2023 Soulslike based on the story of Pinocchio, has changed its mind and decided to add a difficulty option so that the game can reach out to a broader range of players. 

Game Director Jiwon Choi once shared his opinion with Dual Shockers, saying that "Soulslike games shouldn’t have difficulty options" before the game was released. It seems this has been changed dramatically with the upcoming addition.

He told VGC that the decision was made after reviewing feedback from players and the developers themselves. "By making development adjustments and introducing these difficulty options, we can offer the experience to different types of players. This broadens the base," he explained.

An update will be released along with the upcoming Overture DLC, introducing two new modes, "Butterfly's Guidance" and "Awakened Puppet." Of course, for players who are addicted to the core attraction of unforgiving difficulty levels, its default difficulty level, now named "Legendary Stalker," is still there. 

The decision has generated lots of discussion in the community and players' reactions have been divided. One has left a negative review on Steam, saying that this is a "really dumb decision and I won't support that." Another player expressed concerns that the new addition will "ruin what's special about the Souls games for that people and in the end, it will only do the opposite, making their experience worst."

The pros show an understanding of the developer's consideration and say that difficulty is not the only thing that the game has to offer. "It has phenomenal music, engaging combat (that doesn't necessarily need to be hard to be fun), a pretty ascetic, and a good story."

Lies of P, which immerses players in a dark Belle Époque world, had a strong sales performance and reception. It sold one million copies within a month of its September release, receiving highly positive reviews with an impressive score of 91%. Plans for a standalone sequel, which is likely to be powered by Unreal Engine 5 according to a job listing from last year, as well as the DLC, were announced soon after the developer Neowiz Games celebrated the sales milestone.