Soulslike Lies of P demo proves a huge success as it passes one million downloads

It’s looking good for Lies of P, as the game’s recently released demo has just passed one million downloads across all its platforms.

That’s a million downloads across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. Lies of P’s official Twitter account also highlighted that the soulslike take on the tale of Pinocchio hit the top three Twitter trends globally and reached 170,000 peak concurrent viewers on Twitch across all streamers checking out the game.

The Lies of P demo is available to download and play until June 27, but these are already some impressive stats for a new IP that isn’t launching until September 19. When it does, though, you’ll also be able to play the entire game on day one through Xbox Game Pass at no extra cost. 

My impressions of the Lies of P demo are similarly positive. Developer Neowiz has done an excellent job translating the Pinocchio fable into a soulslike format. The atmosphere is impeccably bleak but deftly avoids straying into edgy territory. Enemy design is also on point, with some truly horrifying bosses. If you have a phobia of puppets, though, you may want to steer clear.

It’s also drop-dead gorgeous visually, with even the 60fps performance mode popping off on console with accurate, moody lighting and impressively high-quality texture work. The game plays brilliantly, too, feeling as fluid as a Soulsborne while implementing its own unique twists on combat.

Thankfully, the Lies of P demo was generous enough that I had my fill as we wait for launch. It introduces the game’s early areas and concepts, the stunning Hotel Krat hub, and a handful of excellent boss fights that had me wondering just how creative the game will become in its latter stages. September 19 can’t come soon enough. 

Lies of P is one of many upcoming games we're looking forward to in 2023, and judging by the quality of the demo, the full release has a strong chance of making its way onto our best Xbox Game Pass games list at launch.