Winner: Lies of P: Overture
Writeup by Matt Wardell
In the tradition of Souls-like DLCs, Lies of P: Overture turns back time to fill in the many mysteries surrounding Lies of P’s Pinocchio-inspired cast and the city of Krat before it fell to murderous puppets and the Petrification Disease. Overture’s varied bosses bring a fun yet fair challenge, and the new environments (a zombie zoo and puppet carnival, to name just the first two) make me question if I’ll ever settle for rats in sewers or dingy castles again. I love how the literary references of items, characters, and subquests go beyond Pinocchio’s lore into a variety of 19th and 20th century novels. More than anything, I was shocked by how strongly the story hits—I certainly don’t play Souls-likes to get teary eyed, but Overture pulled the strings of even my wooden heart again and again. This sizable DLC lifts Lies of P into the upper echelons of Souls-likes and is, in my opinion, the best Souls-like DLC of all time.
Runner-Up: Chained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant
Writeup by Patrick Gann
Chained Echoes was already a fantastic game. What more could developer Matthias Linda offer with the Ashes of Elrant DLC? While it doesn’t surpass the quality of the original title, the new story surrounding Lenne’s past and the Order of Leonar is a worthy addition indeed. The name Leonar and the secretive Order surrounding this person was something of a loose thread; Ashes of Elrant sews that thread back into the fabric of Chained Echoes, especially with the addition of a new playable character: “White Wolf.”
Toss in 40 minutes of great new music from composer Eddie Marianukroh, and you got yourself a stew going, baby!
