Lies of Pis an intriguing Soulslike video game adaptation of the original 1883 fantasy story The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Most of the references follow characters from Collodi’s work, but you might further find nods to other adaptations of Pinocchio throughout, such as the 1940 Disney animated movie.
If you aren’t that familiar with the 19th-century text and are more versed with del Toro’s animated film, Disney’s live-action remake with Tom Hanks, or the original Disney animation, prepare to find out some darker stuff you didn’t know about. And you’ll soon see how the dark fantasy Soulslike elements of Lies of P are a perfect canvas for Pinocchio’s story.
Beware of spoilers for Lies of P below.Updated on May 11, 2025, by Dennis Moiseyev:Lies of P means business when it sets out to be an adaptation of Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio. The references to the characters, settings, and essential plot developments of Pinocchio’s story appear plentifully in some way throughout the gameplay. It’s truly impressive just how many the development team managed to fit into a Soulslike game, with even more now discovered.
17Lorenzini Venigni - A Name That References Two Other Real Names
Lorenzini Venigni is a successful, filthy rich, and super vainglorious inventor andfactory owner of Venigni Works, where all the puppets now stalking the streets of Krat were created. He also reminds you of the character Mangiafuoco from the original story. While his full name sounds odd and may be fun to rhyme, his first name, Lorenzini, was invented as a tribute to the story’s creator.
While the last name Collodi is what the author is well-known by, it’s actually a pseudonym he used to publish his work, and Lorenzini is Carlo’s actual last name. Collodi is the name of the village in the city of Pescia in Tuscany, where his mother was born and where Carlo would grow up.
Lorenzini’s surname Venigni becomes an homage to Oscar-winning actor, writer, and director Roberto Benigni, replacing the “B” with a “V.” Benigni portrayed Pinocchio in the 2002 live-action film, which he also co-wrote and directed. In 2019, Roberto Benigni returned to the cinema world of Pinocchio playing Geppetto in Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio. You might also know him for Life Is Beautiful, To Rome With Love, and The Tiger and the Snow.
16The Gold Coin Tree - Featured In The Original Tale And Saban’s The Adventures Of Pinocchio Anime
The Gold Coin Tree in Lies of P has as much significance in the gameplay as in the original book. The tree in The Adventures of Pinocchio was a false promise and scheme plotted by the deceitful fox and cat to whom Pinocchio was gullible. They told Pinocchio if he planted his coin in the special Field of Miracles, an entire coin tree would grow and make him rich. But really, it was a way to rob P of his coin, and no such tree ever came to exist.
The Gold Coin Tree was also the focus of episode 23 of Saban’s 1972 The Adventures of Pinocchio anime, but the change was that it actually came to life just as you see it in the game. In Lies of P, the tree becomes vital for the Gold Coin Fruit you’re able to grow, which can be used inthe quest for giving Anotnia the cure, buying new Wishstones, and exchanging for Star Fragments to summon Specters.
15Venigni’s Submarine, The Pistris - The Terrible Dogfish
The Terrible Dogfish is an iconic antagonist in Collodi’s book, a giant sea monster the size of a whale that swallows Geppetto and has him stranded and surviving inside it for years without Pinocchio. In the Disney version, the design was a much friendlier-looking sperm whale named Monstro, but Guillermo del Toro’s stop-motion film and the 2022 live-action remake created a more faithful creature.
Lies of P chose to include the Terrible Dogfish as an easter egg rather than it being an actual boss you had to fight in the story, which feels somewhat of a letdown. Venigni’s submarine that you take to the Isle of Alchemists is called the Pistris, the Latin term for a sea monster, and the design and the way it shoots out of the water is very similar to the Terrible Dogfish.
14Alidoro - A Mastiff Who Rescues Pinocchio In The Book
Alidoro and Pinocchio both needed each other through the events that occurred in the book, and it’s sort of the same relationship in the game. Alidoro is a merchant who can certainly ease some of the difficulty you’ll face in the game byequipping you with special weaponsin exchange for the Rare Ergo bosses have dropped for you.
Although he may be outfitted with a cuter German Shepherd mask in Lies of P, Alidoro is a Mastiff in the book. Pinocchio saved the dog from drowning, and Alidoro later returned the favor by helping Pinocchio escape the Green Fisherman, who planned to eat the puppet.
An important part of Pinocchio’s story is when he meets a nefarious character called the Coachman in the Land of Toys, a place that also shows up in the movie as Pleasure Island. In this location, Pinocchio starts transforming into a donkey along with his friend, believing it’s a disease called Donkey Fever. While Pinocchio eventually recovers from his donkey form (getting eaten by fish, no less), the same can’t be said for his companion.
The donkey in Lies of P comes in the form ofan early game boss named the Mad Donkey(itself sounding like Mad Cow disease), who’s threatening Geppetto outside his carriage, which is also symbolic since donkeys pull the Coachman’s carriage in the tale. Once you beat him, you can take his costume and transform P into a donkey in the game with the coat and mask.
12Giangio - Farmer In The Adventures Of Pinocchio
In The Adventures of Pinocchio, Giangio is the name of a farmer who owns the donkey form of Pinocchio’s friend Romeo, also called Farmer John, and the person Pinocchio eventually ends up working for. Well, there’s a Giangio in Lies of P posing as a merchant in the St. Frangelico Cathedral who takes your Gold Coin Fruit to offersome of the best Wishtoneson the market.
Giangio is a very mysterious, almost creepy figure who is quick to be nice and cordial with Pinocchio, but the ending reveals he was a deceitful villain this whole time and a far more powerful Alchemist than Simon Manus. In the post-credit scene, you learn he’s the immortal historical figure Philippus Paracelsus and a key leader in the spread of Petrification Disease for eternal life.
11Romeo, King Of Puppets - Pinocchio’s Buddy Candlewick, Or Lampwick
Pinocchio’s human friend in the story is named Candlewick, the one who also gets turned into a donkey in the Land of Toys and sold to a farmer by the Coachman. The animated film uses the name Lampwick for the character, but those are both just nicknames for Romeo. In Lies of P, Romeo is of course the King of Puppets, who’s believed to control all the lesser puppet enemies plaguing Krat.
Perhaps not a donkey here, but instead animmensely challenging mechanical puppet boss, Romeo has something in his dialogue that further bridges this connection to the storybook character. He refers to you as Carlo, thanking you as though you’ve known each other. And it turns out the ending reveals Pinocchio was created with Carlo’s memories – Geppetto’s actual son.
The name Carlo is also significant because it’s dedicated to the name of the author and literary creator of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi. Guillermo del Toro’s 2022 Netflix adaptation of Pinocchio in stop-motion also saw Geppetto lose a son whose name was Carlo.
10Black Rabbit Brotherhood And The Owl Doctor - Faithful Storybook Bosses
Pinocchio meets many animals throughout his fantasy journey, and some more that show up in Lies of P include the Black Rabbit Brotherhood and the Owl Doctor. These are bosses like the Mad Donkey, Stalkers wearing different costumes, and probably the most one-to-one with the source material in terms of character design.
The Blue Fairy had a band of rabbits come in carrying a coffin for Pinocchio when he was near death and rejecting his medicine as a scare tactic. That’s precisely how the Brotherhood greets P in the game, the Eldest carrying a wooden coffin labeled “Liar.” Owl was one of the doctors the Fairy consulted with regarding Pinocchio’s health and featured here in the same profession, just more deadly.
9Antonia - Innkeeper And Antonio Reference
Antonia’s character can have double significance in Lies of P’s story. First,she’s the owner of Hotel Kratand thus its innkeeper, a minor character in Carlo Collodi’s story who tells Pinocchio deceiving information he’s fed that gets Pinocchio robbed and hanged. The other reference lies in her actual name.
Antonia is a name awfully close to Antonio, who was a quintessential character in the creation of Pinocchio in the original book. Master Antonio was the first to discover the talking log that would become carved into Pinocchio, as it gave him enough concern to get it off his hands and pass it over to Geppetto. And like the book, Antonia and Geppetto are friends in the game.
8Spring The Hotel Cat - Lies Of P’s Figaro
Just like Geppetto had a pet cat named Figaro in the 1940 movie, your sanctuary of Hotel Krat also has a resident cat named Spring. It’s not the same tuxedo colors as Figaro, as it looks more like the protagonist ofStray, and this cat hangs around with all the characters in their rooms inside the establishment. You’ll spot the kitty in various locations, like behind Polendina’s reception desk.
Figaro was not adapted from Collodi’s book but wasan original and adorable Disney cat charactercreated for the film. It looks like the developer Neowiz went with the Disney version for this character, seeing an opportunity to put a cat in their game like many others have been doing recently. And who doesn’t love having a comforting cat after all that horror outside?
