lie of p
"Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right. Just dance with me all through the night."
Lies of P is better than it has any right to be. It commits to the bit in a way that never once flinches, or winks, or acts ashamed of what it is. It takes every bit of what's on offer from the original Pinocchio story and weaves it into a deeply weird but deeply believable nightmare of a city, given over to pride and excess and greed.
The characters are what really makes it work: big, bold outlines, and lots of them, and well-rendered. Your constant companion, the talking cricket (wryly named "Gemini" to avoid the Disney name "Jiminy") is so well written and performed as a Navi-on-your-shoulder. You're surrounded by weirdos, both friend and foe. And more than any other Soulslike, the game tells you when and where you can go talk to them. There's sidequests in this game and the game does a lot to highlight them for you in a way that's very welcome.
And on top of that, it's fun. It doesn't necessarily have the depth of combat - or player path - to make it worth revisiting in the same way that one might replay a Souls or Bloodborne, but for one playthrough, this was my favorite game. Extraordinary. I can't wait for whatever they make next.