Even Lies of P’s Developers Couldn’t Beat Their Own Game!
If you’ve ventured into the dark, puppet-filled world of Lies of P, you know it’s a brutal challenge that doesn’t pull any punches. Hailed as one of the best Soulslike games not made by FromSoftware themselves, its unforgiving combat and intricate boss battles have tested the mettle of countless gamers across Pakistan and beyond. But here’s a surprising twist: it turns out even the very people who created this masterpiece found it incredibly tough!
That’s right, Nough Studio, the brilliant minds behind Lies of P, introduced easier difficulty options to the game shortly after its launch, and the reason is pretty wild: a significant number of their own developers couldn’t even make it halfway through their creation during internal playtesting. Talk about a reality check!
This fascinating insight comes from a recent behind-the-scenes look into the game’s development. Combat director Lee Jeonghyeon shed light on what the studio calls “Game Days.” This is a period where everyone at the studio steps into a player’s shoes, grabs a controller, and tries to navigate the treacherous world they’ve built. The goal? To experience the game as players would.
Jeonghyeon revealed, “Originally, we had everyone do a full playthrough on a fixed difficulty.” While the combat designers and more mechanically skilled team members managed to conquer the challenges, the story was very different for others. “For those who weren’t as mechanically skilled,” he explained, “most couldn’t even get halfway before time ran out.”
This eye-opening experience led to a crucial decision: they needed to introduce lower difficulty settings so that everyone on the team could complete a full playthrough. The impact was immediate and positive. Once developers started using these new options, the studio received “a lot more positive feedback” internally. This feedback was the convincing factor that adding difficulty options would genuinely benefit players.
The debate around difficulty settings in the Soulslike genre is always heated, with purists often arguing against any concessions. However, Lies of P’s developers clearly saw the value in making their excellent, fairytale-infused adventure more accessible. This move, delivered with a major post-launch update, has allowed more players to experience the full narrative and the incredible world of Krat without being constantly walled by its high difficulty. It’s a testament to Nough Studio’s commitment to player enjoyment, proving that even the toughest games can benefit from a little flexibility.
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