When Neowiz first released Lies of P, it felt like the studio had cracked the code of the souls-like formula—beautiful misery, deliberate combat, and a world teetering between artistry and madness. Lies of P: Overture doesn’t reinvent that formula, but it doesn’t need to. This DLC serves as both a narrative prequel and a mechanical encore, taking the marionette’s tragedy back to its roots while turning up the tension, spectacle, and sorrow.
The result? A grim fairytale you can’t look away from, even as it crushes you again and again.
A Prelude to Madness
Set before the collapse of Krat, Overture pulls the player into the city’s last gasps of sanity. You awaken in a frost-covered forest, your metallic heart still pulsing, and immediately realize this isn’t a gentle homecoming. Within minutes, you’re dueling a petrified polar bear whose cage-bound skull feels straight out of a fever dream. There’s no soft onboarding here—just a rude awakening wrapped in snow and steel.
This new chapter may be shorter (clocking in around 12–15 hours), but its pacing is relentless. Every step through the decaying outskirts of Krat feels urgent, as if the city itself knows it’s running out of time. The writing leans more introspective this time, too, peeling back layers of guilt and obsession that define Geppetto’s doomed creation.
Violence in Velvet
The world design remains the showpiece. Neowiz’s art direction still dances between gothic elegance and grotesque decay. From the twisted zoo where half-petrified beasts tear each other apart, to a fairground frozen in time, every new location tells a story without saying a word. The lighting and snowfall add melancholy beauty to the violence, while subtle environmental details—like cracked puppets whispering fragments of their last words—build tension far better than any cutscene.
And when that tension breaks, the combat sings. Every clash in Overture demands precision, but the flow feels more forgiving than punishing. The addition of new weapons—the clawed gauntlets, the Pale Knight gunblade, and the sleek bow—bring fresh rhythm to fights without upending the core mechanics. The bow, in particular, finally gives ranged players a viable option that doesn’t feel like an afterthought.
Boss Fights Worth Bleeding For
What really defines Overture, though, are its bosses. Neowiz understands that a souls-like lives or dies by the spectacle of its duels, and here they’ve outdone themselves. Markiona, the Puppeteer of Death, is a highlight—a two-entity battle that feels like a deadly ballet, every strike punctuated by the metallic snap of strings. Her marionette counterpart isn’t just a sidekick; it’s an extension of her fury.
The DLC’s overall difficulty leans closer to late-game Lies of P, though the new accessibility options make it more approachable. The three new difficulty tiers—Legendary Stalker, Awakened Puppet, and Butterfly’s Guidance—don’t break the balance, but they allow new players to experience the story without smashing their controllers. Hardcore veterans still have plenty to chew on, especially in the revamped boss rematch and boss-rush modes introduced alongside the DLC.
When the Mask Cracks
Not everything lands perfectly. A late-game detour into an underground lab drags the momentum down, swapping creative horror for bland steel corridors that feel like leftovers from another game. The main antagonist, too, never quite earns the same mystique as the Stalkers or Alchemists from the base game. Still, even at its weakest, Overture keeps its emotional center intact—its quiet exploration of guilt, creation, and control is what makes Lies of P stand out in a sea of imitators.
More of the Same, in the Best Way
If you come to Overture expecting revolution, you’ll be disappointed. But if what you want is refinement—an expansion that sharpens everything that made Lies of P great—you’re in for a grim delight. It’s more of the same, yes, but that “same” remains some of the best souls-like design outside of FromSoftware’s own catalog.
Lies of P: Overture doesn’t just fill in the blanks—it makes the fall of Krat feel inevitable, tragic, and painfully human. For a game about puppets, it has a startling amount of soul.Verdict: Lies of P: Overture is a cold, elegant tragedy that deepens the myth of Krat without losing what made it special. Brutal yet beautiful, familiar yet fresh—it’s everything a souls-like prequel should be.