Lies of P arrived in 2023 as the strongest non-FromSoftware Soulslike anyone had shipped. Round8 Studio proved the category could deliver outside its originating studio. HAWKER operates in adjacent territory at much smaller scale: same precision-combat philosophy, very different genre and scope. This piece from the team at Tyrian Games compares the two directly.
TL;DR
- Lies of P is Round8 Studio's 2023 Soulslike set in a dark-Pinocchio belle-epoque world.
- HAWKER is a grimdark shopkeeper roguelite with precision action combat and Breton folklore, launching September 2026.
- Both are non-FromSoftware games committed to tight precision combat with parry mechanics.
- Scale, genre, and specific mechanical systems differ substantially.
- Lies of P players who want a smaller-scale adjacent game may find HAWKER worth tracking.
Quick overview
Lies of P (Round8 Studio / Neowiz, 2023). Third-person Soulslike with specific Pinocchio-inspired narrative in a dark belle-epoque setting. Weapon-assembly mechanics, precision parry system, boss-focused combat. Team of around 40 developers. Runtime 30-60 hours main.
HAWKER (Tyrian Games, 2026). Grimdark top-down shopkeeper roguelite with real-time action combat. Thirty-day deadline. Breton folklore setting. Team of around 8 developers. Runtime 25-40 hours at Early Access.
Combat philosophy
Lies of P commits fully to the Soulslike combat philosophy: stamina management, precision parry timing, weapon variety with specific move sets, and boss encounters that demand practice. The combat feel is among the most polished in the category.
HAWKER commits to precision combat philosophy adapted to top-down perspective. Dagger plus flintlock loadout. Parry-focused defensive system. Stamina management. Boss encounters with specific patterns. The feel is adjacent to Lies of P's Soulslike sensibility but scaled and adapted.
Verdict: Lies of P for third-person Soulslike precision. HAWKER for top-down precision action.
Scale
Lies of P is substantial. Multiple zones across the city of Krat. Dozens of enemy types. Complex weapon-crafting system. Substantial NPC rosters with specific storylines. Production at mid-AAA scale within the indie category.
HAWKER is focused. The duchy of Ysward is smaller than Krat. Fewer enemy types. Shop management rather than weapon crafting. Smaller NPC roster with focused character work. Production at indie scale.
Verdict: Lies of P for epic Soulslike scope. HAWKER for focused roguelite scope.
Setting
Lies of P uses the belle epoque as a specific inspiration for Krat. The architecture, the costume design, and the technological level all draw on late-nineteenth-century European specifics reinterpreted through dark fantasy. The Pinocchio narrative source is referenced explicitly while reimagined darkly.
HAWKER uses Breton folklore as a specific inspiration for Ysward. Different cultural source, similar commitment to cultural specificity. Both games treat their inspirations as foundations rather than decoration.
Verdict: Different specific cultural frames, same underlying principle.
Narrative
Lies of P tells a specific story about Pinocchio, Geppetto, and the puppets of Krat reimagined through dark fantasy. The narrative has clear beginning, middle, and end with specific branching choices around the game's central moral theme: the protagonist's capacity to lie.
HAWKER tells a specific story about the Hawker's thirty days in Gwiravon and the journey toward Keridann. Narrative has clear structure with extensive branching based on shop decisions, combat outcomes, and NPC interactions. More branching variety than Lies of P's narrative.
Verdict: Lies of P for tight narrative arc. HAWKER for branching narrative depth.
Weapon systems
Lies of P's weapon-assembly system is one of its signature mechanics. You combine weapon heads and handles to create specific weapon variants. The combinations produce substantial mechanical variety across a single playthrough.
HAWKER's weapon system is simpler: the Hawker uses a dagger plus flintlock loadout throughout. Mask loadouts provide the variety layer instead. Different structural approach to player expression through equipment.
Verdict: Lies of P for deep weapon crafting. HAWKER for mask-based variety system.
A first-hand Hawker design note
One specific thing we studied in Lies of P was the parry timing. Round8 calibrated their parry window with extraordinary precision. Too tight and players fail constantly; too loose and parries feel unearned. The specific window Lies of P uses is a benchmark for the category.
HAWKER's parry went through multiple iterations partly in reference to Lies of P's work. Our early parry windows were too generous (testers could parry without really reading enemy intent) and later windows were too tight (testers failed parries they felt they'd earned). The current window sits closer to Lies of P's calibration than to our earlier attempts.
This didn't happen by copying Lies of P directly. Our top-down perspective and specific moves demand different specific tuning. But studying what Round8 achieved gave us a reference point for what good parry feel actually is. Without that reference, we'd have been calibrating in the dark. See our parry mechanics piece for the detailed iteration history.
The non-FromSoftware Soulslike category
Lies of P mattered commercially because it proved Soulslikes could ship from non-FromSoftware studios and deliver the specific feel players expect. Before Lies of P, most attempts had fallen short of the bar. Neowiz and Round8 set a new standard.
The category has continued to develop. Black Myth: Wukong in 2024 showed a different cultural take on Soulslike. Mortal Shell and Thymesia established smaller-scale precedents. Several 2026 releases are continuing the work.
HAWKER isn't a Soulslike proper. We're a shopkeeper roguelite with Soulslike-adjacent combat. But the category's development matters for us because it validates the audience for precision dark fantasy combat outside FromSoftware's games specifically. Players who love Lies of P and Wukong are players who might also respond to HAWKER's specific take on adjacent combat feel.
Which to play first
If you've played neither: Lies of P first if you want the direct Soulslike experience. HAWKER first if you want shop management with precision combat.
If you've played Lies of P and want more: the DLC and any follow-up from Round8. Dark Souls 3 if you haven't. No Rest for the Wicked for isometric adjacent. HAWKER for much smaller scale adjacent.
If you want the specific Pinocchio narrative: Lies of P is the only game that delivers this specifically. No substitute exists.
If you want grimdark shop management: HAWKER over Lies of P. The shop is HAWKER's primary system.
FAQ
Is HAWKER like Lies of P?
Adjacent rather than direct. Both commit to precision dark-fantasy combat with parry mechanics. Genre (shopkeeper roguelite vs Soulslike) and scale differ substantially.
Does HAWKER match Lies of P's production values?
No. Round8's team is roughly five times ours. HAWKER operates at focused indie scale rather than mid-AAA scale.
Is HAWKER's parry as tight as Lies of P's?
Different perspective and specific moves, but calibrated with similar design philosophy. We studied Lies of P's parry while tuning our own.
Does HAWKER have weapon crafting?
Not in Lies of P's sense. HAWKER uses a fixed weapon pair (dagger plus flintlock) with mask-based variety instead.
How long is Lies of P?
Main content roughly 30-60 hours. DLC extends substantially.
When does HAWKER release?
Early Access September 2026. 1.0 targeted mid-to-late 2027.
Spoiler wall
This piece covers publicly known content. No HAWKER narrative content sits behind the spoiler line here.
The significance of Lies of P's commercial success
Worth dwelling on what Lies of P proved commercially. The game sold millions of units, received critical acclaim, and validated specifically what the category could achieve outside FromSoftware. This mattered for three reasons.
Players were willing to engage with non-FromSoftware Soulslikes in serious numbers. The audience wasn't locked to a single studio.
Publishers became willing to fund non-FromSoftware Soulslikes at larger scales. Neowiz's commitment proved the category could return AAA-adjacent investment.
Other studios saw a clear commercial path for their own entries. Multiple Soulslike projects accelerated development after Lies of P's success.
HAWKER benefits from this environment. We're not competing for Lies of P's specific audience, but the broader audience validation for precision dark-fantasy combat helps every game in the adjacent space. Players who've been primed by Lies of P to expect tight combat feel bring those expectations to HAWKER and find them (we hope) met.
The Korean studio context
Round8 Studio is based in Korea, which has become a significant game development hub over the 2020s. Korean studios have produced specific distinctive work across multiple genres: Smilegate on cross-platform action, Nexon on MMOs, Pearl Abyss on specific niche RPGs, and now Round8 on Soulslikes.
The Korean context brings specific production values, specific aesthetic sensibilities, and specific commercial reach (particularly into Asian markets) that Western indies can't match directly. Lies of P's success is partly downstream of this Korean studio ecosystem.
HAWKER is an Australian indie with very different context. We can't match Korean production scales. But we can commit to our own specificity (Breton folklore, Australian studio culture, small-team focus) as our answer to what Korean studios bring. Both scenes produce distinctive work through different routes.
The "Soulslike-adjacent" design space
Worth flagging that HAWKER and other games occupy a specific "Soulslike-adjacent" design space that isn't quite Soulslike proper. Games in this space borrow specific combat philosophy (precision timing, parries, deliberate pacing) without committing to the full Soulslike structural package.
Hollow Knight is often cited as Soulslike-adjacent despite being a Metroidvania. Dead Cells borrows combat feel without being a direct Soulslike. Elden Ring Nightreign pulls Soulslike elements into a battle royale frame. The adjacent space is rich because the combat philosophy is portable even when the full genre package isn't.
HAWKER sits in this space. We have Soulslike-adjacent combat feel wrapped around a shopkeeper roguelite structure. Players who love the specific feel of Soulslike combat without wanting the full Soulslike experience may find HAWKER's combination interesting.
This is a specific positioning that didn't exist as a clear category a decade ago. The Soulslike label has diffused enough that "adjacent" became a meaningful term. Games that would have been pure action RPGs in 2015 now get positioned against Soulslike expectations, for better and worse.
The difficulty accessibility conversation
One ongoing industry conversation relevant to both Lies of P and HAWKER is around difficulty accessibility. Soulslikes famously have limited accessibility options, which critics and some players have pushed back against.
Lies of P offers some difficulty adjustment through specific weapon and mechanical choices but doesn't include explicit difficulty settings. The design choice is consistent with Soulslike category norms.
HAWKER's accessibility approach differs because we're not strict Soulslike. We offer specific accessibility options around input remapping, visual contrast, text sizing, and combat timing adjustments for players who need them. We've tried to maintain the game's challenge while letting players with specific accessibility needs engage with the content.
The right balance on this is contested across the industry. Our position is that challenge and accessibility are often solvable simultaneously with careful design rather than with crude difficulty sliders. Lies of P's approach works for Lies of P. Ours works for HAWKER. Both are legitimate.
Closing
Lies of P and HAWKER are both non-FromSoftware dark fantasy games with precision combat. Very different scales, very different genres, same commitment to tight action feel. Players who loved Lies of P and want smaller-scale adjacent work may find HAWKER worth tracking.
Next read: Parry mechanics in action roguelites, or HAWKER vs No Rest for the Wicked.