Growing up, we were taught to tell the truth, because only bad people lie. But what if this wasn’t the case?
What if lying wasn’t an inherently evil thing? Lies of P explores this concept with its lie morality system—which is only natural, considering The Adventures of Pinocchio is its inspiration.
Throughout his journey, P is confronted with various situations where he must either confess the truth or tell a lie. The morality system is very subtle, so we are going over everything, with all lie or truth choices, in our Lies of P guide for the lie system.
How the lie system works in Lies of P
Please note that the lie system is an integral part of Lies of P‘s central plot, and as such, this guide covers some spoiler-heavy moments.
At several key moments throughout the main story of Lies of P, you are asked a question, and you can choose between two different responses. One response is the truth, and the other, a lie. The responses are not labeled as such, though, so make sure you’re paying attention, or you might miss out on some crucial context.
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You will know these decisions are coming up because a clock appears in the middle of the screen, and ticking can be heard as the clock hand starts winding down. You have a limited amount of time to make a selection during these decisions, so don’t think for too long.
The very first instance of this is at the beginning of the game, when you reach Hotel Krat for the first time. Sophia tells you that the hotel defense system is designed to only let humans in, so P must lie and tell the system he is human to get inside.
If you decide to lie, a red glow appears around P and a mysterious phrase is displayed. The game has an invisible counter for humanity, and every time P lies, he gains a little bit of humanity. He can also gain some humanity by using listening to music records and using gestures in the right spots.
There are a few ways to track how much humanity P has gained. The first way is to simply look at what phrase shows up when you lie. It starts out with “Your springs are reacting,” then it turns into “The Ergo is whispering,” and it continues on. Once you start seeing “You feel warmth,” that means your humanity is pretty high.
The second way requires you to recover a stolen painting of P from the Malum District and return it to Geppetto. After the portrait is hung up, the nose extends every time you lie, and it actually becomes a secret weapon if you lie enough.
The third way involves interacting with the fluffy kitty that can be occasionally seen hanging out on the second floor of the hotel. If you’re low on humanity, the cat hisses at P. If you have a moderate amount, the cat lets P pet him discreetly. If you have high humanity, P picks up the cat!
So, what the heck is humanity for? It’s for one thing and one thing only: seeing the best ending of Lies of P. As you approach the end of the game, you are faced with two very important decisions regarding the fates of Sophia and Geppetto. The choices you make here determine what ending you get, with humanity factoring into one of them.
- Ending 1: Let Sophia live, and give your heart to Geppetto. This ending is considered to be the bad ending.
- Ending 2: Give Sophia peace, and keep your heart. Leads to the Nameless Puppet true final boss, and the neutral ending.
- Ending 3: Give Sophia peace, and keep your heart. The first half of this ending is similar to ending 2, but if your humanity is high enough, the latter half is quite different.
So, if you want to see the best ending to Lies of P, you need to lie as much as possible. This falls in line with the central theme of the game about lying and how it doesn’t always need to come from a malicious place.
Every lie or truth choice in Lies of P
Here’s a list of all the lie or truth choices in the game. Keep in mind that depending on how diligent you are with the side quests, you may not see all the lie or truth decisions in the game.
One thing to note for the Arlecchino riddles is that the lie is considered to be the correct answer, so make sure you pick those to get all the rewards.
| Question | Lie | Truth |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Krat Defense System: Who are you? | Human | Puppet |
| Weeping Woman: Isn’t my baby adorable? | She’s a cute baby | That’s a puppet |
| The Atoned: Are you… a Stalker? | Give the Stalker’s greeting | Do nothing |
| Alidoro: Do you know of such a place? | Venigni Works | Hotel Krat |
| Alidoro 2 | Elysion Boulevard | Hotel Krat |
| Julian the Gentleman: Who ever heard of a human and a puppet in love? | I saw the message she left, saying she loves you | I’ve never seen that happen before |
| Antonia: Do I still have a flicker of the beauty captured in that portrait? | Of course | There is nothing left |
| Polendia: Have you ever met a puppet who loves a human? | Show the wedding ring | There’s no such puppet |
| Simon Manus: What do you suppose our cure has created here? | Hope of a cure | Monsters |
| Eugénie: Did the gloves make Alidoro happy? | He was happy | He was angry. He said the gloves were rubbish |
| Belle: Is my partner safe? | He was killed in action fighting a puppet | He became a monster |
| Venigni: What, or who, was behind the Frenzy? | I couldn’t hear | Geppetto caused the Puppet Frenzy |
| Simon Manus: Sophia… What have you done to her? | I liberated her from Arche Abbey | I gave her peace |
| Arlecchino riddle 1 | Human | Monster |
| Arlecchino riddle 2 | Candle | Boa Constrictor who finished digesting |
| Arlecchino riddle 3 | Egg | Glass |
| Arlecchino riddle 4 | Ergo | A bruise |
| Arlecchino riddle 5 | No | Yes |
| Arlecchino: Which one are you? | Human | Puppet |
So, lying is the way to go. However, one thing to keep in mind is that you do not need to lie ALL the time, just enough to get your humanity high. In fact, there are moments where it might be better to tell the truth, such as when Alidoro is asking for a safe place to go, as this will bring him to the hotel much quicker than lying to him. Alidoro is needed to get the powerful boss weapons, so you don’t want to delay that.
Published: Sep 28, 2023 06:53 am