Lies of P is a dark fantasy soulslike that retells Pinocchio’s story with a grim twist. It’s replicating Bloodborne‘s vibe which not many other big-budget games have tried. The parallels are so blatant between the two that it almost comes as a detriment to the game.
What Bloodborne doesn’t have is a hanging puppet with a sign reading “APAB” on it. Lies of P doesn’t have one either now, as it was removed from the game before release.
The sign appeared in one image, referencing the saying “All Cops Are Bastards” or ACAB. It stands out so much that it caught the eye of videogames.si’s Georgina Young, who interviewed Lies of P‘s director Ji-Won Choi about it.
Despite being such a small part of the game, Choi was happy to talk about it. He clarified that the sign stands for “All Puppets are Bastards” before jumping into its removal.
The sign’s removal came down to not wanting to be “judged based on following trends,” according to Choi. Lies of P had several other “risky factors” removed to not alienate players.
If left in the final product, it could have echoed something like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided‘s “mechanical apartheid” which was seen as being in bad taste. Lies of P differs in that APAB never took a large role its marketing.
A part of me wonders if other in-game signs took real-life inspiration since the other signs had no elaboration. Puppets are the game’s antagonists, and their depiction could have also taken more real-world inspiration at one point.
This hypothetical version of Lies of P and the sign are not in the final product. At least the game’s message still appears to be that all puppets are bastards.
