The difficulty ofLies of P’s bosses is well-documented by this point, with many an early concession or thrown controller resulting from the general challenge of the game. The Stalkers, a mercenary group of animal mask-donning vigilantes, serve as some of the more frequent mini bosses in between these poignant encounters.
Fortunately for P, the Stalkers tend to be squishy humanoid punching bags compared to the tanky, hulking mechs and monsters on the boss roster. Few of them offer a challenge more difficult than that of a tutorial boss, though they do serve to flesh out the nebulous plot and lore of the game a bit more.
Krat Central Station Platform (Chapter 9)
Reward
Mad Donkey’s Mask, Mad Donkey’s Hunting Apparel, Krat Town Hall Key, Enigma Assembly Tool
Robber Weasel is not only the easiest Stalker in Lies of P, but perhaps the easiest boss in the game. You’ll have a harder time dealing with the swarm of flour sack babies onRosa Isabelle Street.
This measly weasley chump doesn’t throw anything at you that you’ve not already faced 100 times by this point, except maybe some nonsense dialogue about not wanting to die as she is, in fact, dying. Bold choice of words for a mini boss who’s arguably easier than the Police Puppet you fight in the same room about 30 minutes into the game.
Alchemists' Bridge
Welcome to Stalkers 101, your professor:Mad Donkey. You’ve already defeatedParade Masterat this point so you have some expectation of how this fight’s going to play out. And play out as expected it certainly does, with your raging Donkey-headed foe sending plenty of telegraphed but delayed attacks your way.
Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to run away from most of his wind-ups as he gives newbies more experience learning blocks and parries. He’s also easy to skirt and hit with backstabs, which makes him look like even more of an ass in the end.
Cable Railway Key, The Atoned’s Mask
You’ll encounter The Atoned in every playthrough, but whether they become hostile towards you or not depends on your willingness to give the Stalker signal. Fail to strike a pose, and she’ll grease up her weapon with decay and aggro you. It’s a completely optional battle, though her dog mask is only obtained through bloodshed.
The mask says something about having “escaped incomprehensible death.” Imagine that… Narrowly avoiding the clutches of unspeakable death only to fall victim to the hands of actual factual Pinocchio. Er, P. Yes, just P.
Survivor’s Mask, Survivor’s Hunting Apparel, Stalker’s Promise Gesture
Oh the cruel irony of striking down a Stalker the game has the audacity to name ‘Survivor.’ This mouse-masked fella has plenty of quick strikes and flurries to interrupt your combos, but it’s abundantly clear that no one every taught him how to avoid a table.
If you’re struggling in this fight, you may use the feng shui to put distance between yourself and your enemy, and eventually turn the Survivor into… well, anything but. You can also avoid the room altogether and skip the fight if you’re still struggling in the early game.
The White Lady’s Locket, The White Lady’s Mask
The White Lady doesn’t test your prowess of the game mechanics so much as your ability to step slightly to the right to dodge roughly 90 percent of all her attacks. She spends as much time twirling and backstepping as she does jabbing at you, leaving her one licensed choreographer away from creating the hottest new dance crazy.
The real tragedy is the way she smashes the rotating statue on the way in. You’ve got a vendetta, sure, but don’t mess up the decor! For that, you must die. That and the gates are closed off until the battle ends.
Owl Doctor’s Mask
Owl Doctor. You’ll Doctor. He, She, It Doctor. Doesn’t matter, you’ll encounter this Stalker somewhat unexpectedly in a hut centered in the Barren Swamp, possibly right after getting smacked around by the duelPuppets of the Futureand that annoying ballista.
This Doctor must’ve forgotten his Hippocratic Oath because he’s immediately out for your blood. He’s got all your standard slashes and swipes, and channels his innerNarutowith frequent kunai throws. It’s got more variation than the typical Stalker fight, though nothing too surprising by the half-way point of the game.
Black Cat’s Mask
If passing by a black cat is deemed bad luck, surely killing one is a disastrous mistake, right? Thankfully for the benevolent among you, Black Cat is an optional fight if you choose to befriend him. For those of you with murderous intent, he doesn’t pose much of a risk.
In battle, he’s like The White Lady, just slower and brandishing a longer, pointier stick. At this point in the game you can basically tank the fight without fear of dying, though you’ll get the Black Cat mask regardless of which way you decide to handle this encounter.
Red Fox’s Mask
The difficulty of Stalker mini bosses lies on a gradient from Robber Weasel to Red Fox at the other end. She dodges backwards constantly and has one of the coolest attacks in the game, a 6-part fury attack with a satisfyingly rhythmic feel to it.
Of course,you can avoid this fight altogetherif you didn’t kill Black Cat. You didn’t kill Black Cat right? Oh… Well, what’s done is done. Might as well take out his sister too and cop that fancy fox mask for yourself. Oh, you get the mask even if you spare her? Well, carry on then.
