The creators of Lies of P took a surprising step and added difficulty settings to the game. The reason was simpler than expected: most of the developers at Nough Studio couldn’t even get halfway through their own project. In a documentary about the making of the game, the studio revealed details of its internal practice, “Game Days,” which led to this decision. The point is that a patch with difficulty modes was released for free on June 6, 2025, alongside the Lies of P: Overture expansion for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, while the full edition for Nintendo Switch 2 will be released on August 6, 2026.
South Korean Nough Studio has a tradition: every now and then, all employees put down their tools, pick up their gamepads, and play through the game like regular players. It’s called “Game Days”—the idea is to experience the project through the eyes of a consumer. The results were sobering. Combat Director Lee Jeong-hyun explained that during this run, it became clear that the combat designers and the most experienced testers were coping with the challenges without issue, but the rest—for the most part—simply couldn’t reach the halfway point in the allotted time. “We asked everyone to complete the game on a fixed difficulty level,” Jeong-hyun explained. “But those with less mechanical skill mostly couldn’t even get halfway through the game before the timer ran out.”
When the developers began using lower difficulty levels, internal reviews improved dramatically. The team began receiving significantly more positive feedback, which convinced the studio that additional modes would benefit casual players as well. It’s worth noting that Nough Studio practices something akin to signs of life during development—live feedback from the entire team, not just a small circle of hardcore players.
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What difficulty modes were added to Lies of P?
There are three of them, and each has its own name:
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Butterfly’s Guidance (a very easy mode, for those who want to focus on the story).
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Awakened Puppet (an easier mode, for those who enjoy action without the brutality).
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Legendary Stalker (the standard difficulty, which has been in the game from the very beginning).
The difficulty can be changed at any time through the Gameplay menu—no restarts or saving changes required. Everything works on the fly.
From “no difficulty settings” to “wider audience”: a change in the director’s position
Game director Choi Ji-won has long held the principle that Souls-likes should not have difficulty settings. Lies of P was originally released without any such options. However, in the lead-up to Overture’s release, this position changed dramatically. “We wanted to make sure a wider audience could play the game,” Choi said in an interview with VGC. He added, “By making adjustments to the development and introducing these difficulty options, we can offer an experience to different types of players. It broadens the base.” Essentially, the studio acknowledged that the only aspect that was holding some players back from enjoying the game was its hardcore nature, and that this could be addressed without compromising the core gameplay.
Community Reaction: Debating the Souls-Like Spirit
The decision to add easy modes wasn’t without controversy. Fans of the subgenre often consider the lack of difficulty adjustments part of the Souls-Like identity, and the addition of two easier options sparked debate. However, the developers remained unfazed: they had no intention of abandoning the idea of accessibility, but simply found a way to make the game more user-friendly without losing its spirit. As Lee Jeong-hyun noted, during the latest internal testing, it became clear that even the project’s creators weren’t always able to complete it on the standard difficulty, and this is evidence that the problem lies not in player skill, but in the design itself.
Lies of P: Overture – Release Date, Price, and Platforms
The Overture expansion was released on June 6, 2025. It costs 2,000 rubles on Steam in Russia. Available on:
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PC (Steam, Microsoft Store)
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PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
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Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
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Nintendo Switch 2 — Lies of P: Complete Edition will be released on August 6, 2026
Please note: the patch with difficulty modes is free for all owners of the base game. You only need to pay extra for the Overture story DLC.
Boss Rush and Death March: What else was added in the update
In addition to difficulty settings, two new modes have been added to the game for hardcore players:
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Battle Memories — rematches with bosses across five difficulty levels. You can replay any defeated enemy at any time.
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Death March — a classic Boss Rush mode where you fight bosses in a row, using limited health and items.
The pace of play in these modes is noticeably faster, so be prepared. The modes are unlocked after reaching at least one ending.
Once you’ve already purchased Lies of P, update the game—the difficulty settings will appear automatically. If you’re thinking about buying it, now’s the time: the base game is 50% off. Nintendo Switch 2 owners should wait until August 6th—the Complete Edition includes the original, Overture, and all patches. The developers have succeeded in making the game accessible to everyone—even those yearning for a quality Souls-like experience but not ready to spend dozens of hours mastering every boss. Head over to Krat—it now exceeds even the expectations of newcomers.
