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The new Souls-Like phenomenon Lies of P is based on the classic tale The Adventures of Pinocchio from 1883 by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Similarities with Collodi’s original novel mostly start and end with Pinocchio being a puppet created by Geppetto While Pinocchio’s nose doesn’t grow like he’s known for, his tendency to lie is still present and directly affects the story. Similar to games like Elden Ring or Bloodborne, Lies of P actually has multiple endings based on the choices the player makes.
The Story of Lies of P, Explained
The game is set in the fictional town of Krat, a steampunk-esque place where complex automatons, or puppets, have effectively replaced the entire working class thanks to a resource called Ergo which allows the puppets to operate in a manner far more advanced than any other technology. The people of Krat live posh lives with nearly every inconvenient need catered to, ensuring a large number of wealthy socialites call the place home.
Lies of P begins shortly after the Puppet Frenzy begins, an event where every puppet in Krat suddenly goes mad and begins to slaughter every living thing around the town. Pinocchio is awakened by Sophia, a character inspired by the novel’s Blue Fairy character, who wants him to stop the Puppet Frenzy alongside his creator, the most legendary puppet creator in Krat, Geppetto.
From there, Pinocchio fights his way through Krat to save Geppetto, and then to stop both the Puppet King and a group called the Alchemists. The Puppet King is the one controlling the frenzied puppets and the Alchemists are a group of scientists who harnessed the Petrification Disease, a disease that broke out at the same time as the Puppet Frenzy and turns humans into Resident Evil style violent monsters, to advance human evolution.
The lies or truths Pinocchio tells throughout Lies of P will affect certain points in the story and most notably the type of ending the player gets, but all of the major story details laid out up until this point will remain the same regardless of what the player chooses.
The Endings
There are two main endings awaiting the player once they’ve fought through the Isle of Alchemists and have defeated the man who is either the last or second-to-last (depending on the final choice of the player) boss. Pinocchio finds Geppetto, previously kidnapped and brought to the island by the Alchemists, who congratulates the puppet and tells him he can turn him into a real boy. The only thing Geppetto needs to do this is Pinocchio’s heart. The player can then decide whether or not Pinocchio willingly gives his heart up to Geppetto.
If Pinocchio doesn’t give his heart, Geppetto will try to forcibly remove it by activating the true final boss called the Nameless Puppet. Ultimately, even when the player beats the Nameless Puppet, a cutscene will still show the boss queueing up to kill Pinocchio when Geppetto steps in between them and is then killed protecting his most loved creation. Geppetto’s last words before he dies will vary based on the choices made by the player throughout the game, he will either scold Pinocchio or apologize to him.
If Pinocchio does give his heart, Geppetto will embrace the puppet and praise him one last time before pulling his heart out. As Pinocchio lays on the ground dying, the last thing he sees is Geppetto putting his heart into something in a case that comes to life right as Pinocchio dies. It’s ultimately revealed that Geppetto used Pinocchio’s heart, and all of the Ergo collected through the deaths of nearly everyone in Krat, to revive his dead son Carlo. It ends with Geppetto’s haunting final line, “This finally feels like family.”
There are other points in the story that can be affected by Pinocchio’s actions, like the ultimate fate of Sophia, who is revealed to actually have been an illusion throughout most of the game whose real body is mutated and dying on the Isle of Alchemists. Through a specific series of lies and other actions taken throughout the game, the ending where Pinocchio withholds his heart from Geppetto can be extended with a scene where Pinocchio transfers Sophia’s life force into a puppet and then collapses in her arms. It’s ambiguous, at least as of right now, as to whether Pinocchio sacrifices his life for her or simply collapses from exhaustion. Now that the Lies of P story is explained, we hope it answered your questions.
