I took three bosses from Lies of P: Overture at a recent event for the upcoming expansion, and I came away very optimistic, but also very nervous as to what Round8 Studio is cooking for the full experience. Especially for the all-new Battle Memories mode.
Said mode is where I fought this trilogy of terror, and it’s coming as part of a free update for Lies of P irrespective of whether you own the upcoming expansion or not. The mode is self-explanatory, offering a way to replay the bosses of both the DLC and the base game without having to play through the campaign again.
What’s more, the mode has a whopping total of five difficulty tiers - the latter two locked until you’ve beaten the boss on the prior difficulty. I can already tell there’s going to be a ton of replay value here, especially for hardcore players who wish to chase the lowest times possible on the hardest setting.
I asked game director Jiwon Choi if there were any special rewards associated with clearing these Battle Memories challenges, but he remained coy, instead stating that these higher difficulties should provide a “satisfying level of challenge.” However, publisher Neowiz has since hinted to me that “rewards await those who overcome these hardening challenges.” For now, then, let me introduce you to three of the new bosses you can expect to fight in Lies of P: Overture.
Feels familiar
The first of three might just be my favorite: Markiona, Puppeteer of Death, a humanoid opponent who fights with an acrobatic puppet tethered to her at all times. I had reservations at first; even the best soulslike games struggle to make multi-target boss fights compelling. Usually, they end up being an exercise in frustration as you’re overwhelmed with attacks from all angles (see Dark Souls 2’s Congregation or indeed Lies of P’s infuriating Black Rabbit Brotherhood).
Markiona is different, and perhaps the best example I’ve seen yet of a multi-target boss done right. There is logic to how Markiona fights in tandem with her marionette, and the tether flashes a bright orange when the doll is about to strike. Markiona herself tends to attack at range, tripping you up with projectiles while the doll has your attention in melee.
The key, I found, is to keep both in your line of sight at all times. That’s easier said than done, of course, as the puppet is extremely agile. It likes to swerve to your rear or flank. Then, while you’re distracted, Markiona can pepper you with projectiles or leap in for an unblockable grab attack.
It’s a lot to manage, but you can claim the advantage if you manage to take down the puppet. It’s not down for good, though, as Markiona will begin healing it back up to full health while simultaneously keeping her offensive up.
The fight is an incredible balancing act, and there’s plenty of moment-to-moment decision-making. Do you take out the puppet first to give yourself some breathing room, or focus solely on Markiona? The answer really lies somewhere in between. She’s a very tricky opponent, but like most Lies of P bosses, she doesn’t feel unfair.
You won't like me when I'm angry
The second of the three bosses was the Two-Faced Overseer. This was the only boss I managed to defeat on Battle Memories’ standard difficulty (Tier 3), and it was far from a cakewalk. The Overseer has two distinct phases, which I’ll refer to as ‘green’ and ‘red’ for the sake of simplicity.
You’ll enter the fight with the Overseer glowing green, and this is the phase you’ll want him to be in as much as humanly possible. While in this verdant state, the Overseer doesn’t offer too much out of the ordinary, attacking with a large club of bone with big sweeping hits and an unblockable stabbing move.
Reduce his health to around half, however, and the Overseer powers up, taking on a red hue and becoming seriously enraged. It’s almost a completely different fight now, with the boss ramping up his aggression and leaving very little room for you to get your own hits in.
The Overseer is absolutely ruthless in this powered-up state, and he’ll remain this way until you stagger him and follow up with a Fatal Attack. After this, he’ll go back to his default green state. Don’t think you can rest easy, though, as the boss is very much capable of seeing red for a second time. As a result, you’ll need to be equal parts quick and careful in order to take him down.
Towering terror
Lastly, we get to the Anguished Guardian of the Ruins, which ended up being my least favorite of the three. It’s far from a bad fight and still more fun than some of the base game's more irritating encounters, but like Fallen Archbishop Andreus and the King of Puppets in the base game, its towering size is often at odds with the camera.
This creates a situation where it can be difficult to discern what kinds of attacks the Guardian is about to send your way. Its main form of offense is a giant sword, which it swings around with its tail with reckless abandon. It caught me off guard more times than I care to admit, and keeping your distance with some ranged attacks of your own is a perfectly valid strategy here.
While still an enjoyable fight, it wasn’t quite up to par with the creativity of Markiona or the thrilling aggression of the Two-Faced Overseer. With that in mind, I do hope the Guardian is an anomaly in Lies of P: Overture, as I had much more fun taking on the other two bosses.
Even if the Guardian fight didn't quite do it for me, I'm still incredibly excited by the roster of bosses for Lies of P: Overture. Both Markiona and the Overseer have set a very high bar of quality - already being some of my favorites the game has to offer. Here's hoping the full DLC experience can keep up the fun and creativity of these encounters for most of its runtime.
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