Star Wars Jedi Should Take a Page Out of Lies of P’s Playbook

The Soulslike genre has come a long way in a pretty short amount of time. Pioneered by the titular Dark Souls, the Soulslike genre now encompasses a vast array of games, coming from all different areas of the gaming landscape. While most Soulslikes still stick with the dark fantasy themes laid out in FromSoftware’s original source material, many Soulslikes have decided to bend the genre’s rules to fit around some pretty unique settings and themes. The most recent example of that is via Lies of P.

Released just a few weeks ago, Lies of P has been one of the most anticipated Soulslikes for quite some time, with its fantastical Belle Epoque setting making it immediately stand out from its competitors. Taking on the role of Pinocchio, Lies of P tasks players with slicing, dicing, and dodge-rolling their way through Krat, a gothic city recently overrun with frenzied puppets and other horrors. But its plot and setting aren’t the only unique elements Lies of P brings to the Soulslike genre, and there’s one mechanic in particular that would work perfectly in the Star Wars Jedi series.

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Star Wars Jedi Should Borrow Lies of P’s Customizable Weapons

As is the case with any good Soulslike, Lies of P puts a strong emphasis on challenging but fair skill-based combat, and it gives the player plenty of tools to find the playstyle that’s most suited to them. One of the most integral aspects of Lies of P‘s combat is its customizable weapons. Again, much like any other Soulslike, Lies of P is home to a slew of unique weapons, from swords, sabers, and small knives to heavy hammers. But the unique thing about Lies of P is that almost all of its in-game weapons come with two main components, the Blade and the Handle.

Each Blade and Handle in Lies of P comes equipped with its own set of stats and unique qualities, as well as special abilities known as Fable Arts. These Fable Arts range from simple buffs that can be used in the middle of battle, to flashy special attacks that deal a great deal of damage.

This means that after acquiring the weapon, players can mix and match many of the game’s Blades and Handles, creating their own unique makeshift weapons packed with a unique combination of abilities and stats. Therefore, Lies of P has incredible weapon diversity and allows for creative freedom when tackling any enemy.

As the Soulslike genre is still relatively young, it’s often the case that any highly-praised, innovative feature from one game quickly becomes a staple of the entire genre, and Lies of P‘s weapon combination system seems like it could be the next big thing. If there’s one Soulslike series that could make great use of this weapon combination mechanic, it’s Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi series. While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor improved upon its predecessor’s formula in almost every way, there’s still plenty of room for improvement in a third game in the series, and even its excellent combat mechanics could use an upgrade or two.

One of the biggest highlights of the Star Wars Jedi series so far has been its variety of lightsaber stances. In Fallen Order, players could switch between a single-bladed stance and a double-bladed stance. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor took this basic concept and ran with it, giving players a total of five completely unique lightsaber styles to experiment with.

What would take this system to the next level is Lies of P‘s weapon combination mechanic, letting players swap out their lightsabers’ kyber crystal, blade type, and maybe even the lightsabers’ internal components, each of which would have its own unique set of stats and special qualities, such as increased damage using a particular stance, or an increased parry timing window.

Lies of P is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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