When a Soulslike developer admits their combat system “did not turn out quite as we intended,” you know something went seriously wrong. Lies of P: Overture has managed to unite the community in ways nobody expected, just not for the reasons Neowiz probably hoped for.
Director Choi Ji-Won broke his silence today with a video message that essentially amounts to “we hear you, we messed up, and we’re going to fix it.” But the question is whether the damage to player trust can be repaired as easily as the DLC’s broken difficulty scaling.
Shadow drops and shadow bans from the community
The Lies of P: Overture DLC shadow-drop at Summer Game Fest on June 6th caught everyone off guard, but not in the good way developers usually hope for. What should have been a celebration of expanded content quickly turned into a masterclass in how to anger your most dedicated players.
The addition of difficulty options alone was enough to ruffle feathers. Ji-Won had previously stated in 2023 that Soulslike games shouldn’t have difficulty options, making this reversal feel like a betrayal of core principles. But the real controversy erupted when players discovered the DLC’s difficulty scaling was completely broken.
Level 300+ players found themselves getting demolished by basic enemies, even on the supposedly “normal” Legendary Stalker difficulty.
The community response was swift and brutal, with Reddit moderators resorting to creating mega threads to contain the flood of complaints about unfair damage scaling and one-shot mechanics.
In today’s Director’s Letter video, Ji-Won acknowledged the mess his team created:
Among all the feedback, we are paying the closest attention to the combat experience. We identified areas that did not turn out quite as we intended. Therefore, we are reviewing various adjustments, including difficulty reduction.
The admission feels both refreshing and concerning.
Refreshing because developers rarely admit their mistakes this directly. Concerning because it suggests the DLC shipped without proper testing for high-level characters, which is inexcusable for content that requires Chapter 9 completion to access.
The complexity excuse and what it really means
Ji-Won’s explanation for why said combat fixes are taking so long reveals either genuine technical challenges or convenient excuses for poor planning. The director emphasized that combat changes require extensive work, but this raises uncomfortable questions about the development process:
However, combat is one of the most fundamental experiences in Lies of P, so any modifications or changes require meticulous work and thorough testing. We are still reviewing the specific details and schedule for a patch, but we wanted to let you know as soon as possible why it’s taking our team some time, and the general direction we’re heading.
This statement essentially admits that the Lies of P DLC launched without the “meticulous work and thorough testing” that should have happened before release. Players paid $30 for what amounts to a beta test of broken difficulty scaling.
The lack of a concrete timeline for fixes adds insult to injury. While Ji-Won promises the team will “do our absolute best to deliver a better experience as soon as we can,” vague commitments don’t help players stuck with unplayable content right now.
The irony isn’t lost that a studio capable of creating one of the best Soulslikes in recent memory somehow botched the difficulty scaling so badly that even hardcore fans are calling it unfair rather than challenging.
What’s your take on the Lies of P: Overture difficulty controversy? Should developers be given more time to fix their mistakes, or is shipping broken DLC inexcusable regardless of intentions? Share your thoughts below!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
