Going up against the toughest bosses yet in Lies of P was always going to be difficult for an Elden Ring flunkie like myself, but right now, I'm on fire. Headphones around my neck with the volume turned right down, all I can hear is the sharp hiss of my own voice as I count my way through Fallen Archbishop Andreus' attack pattern. "One and two, three and hit, four, five…six-seven-hit." My hands are still trembling with the telltale sign of an adrenaline rush – I'm so close to finishing this fiend off for good, and usually, this is where I would falter.
I've long been drawn to some of the best FromSoftware games for their stunning design concepts, but I'm also afflicted with a terrible curse: I'm just not very good at playing them. Don't get me wrong, I've chipped away at a fair bit of Elden Ring, Lords of the Fallen, and Bloodborne in the past, only to abandon each one after hitting a brick wall. While sitting down to play Lies of P, though, I've finally cracked it. By treating this punishing action-RPG like the rhythm game I loved when I was 7, I've conquered my own rattled nerves – and actually got better at playing it.
