One of the most surprising things about Lies of P is how well its brand of Souls-like gameplay and its Bloodborne-esque horror world map onto the story of Pinocchio. Neowiz Games' spooky industrial setting full of murderous automata is a shockingly perfect match for the fairy tale, which provides themes and a plot that mix nicely with the darkness inherent to the genre.

It also helps that Pinocchio is in the public domain, making it open for strange video game adaptations such as this one. And Neowiz hints during the mid-credits scene for Lies of P that it's not done looking to the public domain for more games in the series. In fact, the adaptation teased in that scene is one I absolutely never would have guessed at.

It's in that spirit that we've put together a list of other public domain stories that could become some Lies of P sequels. They'd be unhinged and ridiculous, but Pinocchio is kind of an unhinged and ridiculous choice, and that's to say nothing of what Neowiz already teased in the ending of Lies of P. So here are 10 public domain stories that also deserve the Souls-like treatment.

A Christmas Carol

In hindsight, it's so obvious. Ebenezer Scrooge is assaulted by ghosts for his past sins and hauled away to the spirit world to account for them. Put a Threaded Cane in that guy's hand and the Souls-like basically makes itself. Imagine searching the world for the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future in order to murder them. Imagine a horrific and huge Tiny Tim waiting for a boss fight at Bob Cratchit's house, mutated by the vicious disease that afflicts him as he succumbs to a fate he could have avoided if only you'd been willing to pay his dad a living wage. Even Scrooge's miserly ways feel like they'd play pretty easily into some kind of Dragon Rot system. Will you learn the benefits of charity and murder your fellow evil capitalists, or fight against the redistribution of your wealth and slaughter the poor? Sounds like an excellent Souls-like world to me.

Worst case, make Scrooge fight the Skeletrex and the Bone Brigade and call it a day.

The Wind in the Willows

You might be struggling to figure out how a story about a group of animals helping their rich friend do stupid things could make for a Souls-like, but you haven't considered the tale of Mr. Toad. Once a pillar of his community, he falls from grace and is discarded by society for the mere act of incredibly reckless driving, endangering countless lives, and crashing and destroying seven separate motorcars. Sentenced to languish in prison for decades, Mr. Toad gets another chance when he meets the mysterious daughter of his jailer and escapes his imprisonment, and that sounds like a pretty smooth place to start a game. As Mr. Toad, you'll have to fight and sneak your way out of jail before turning your sights to Toad Hall, your family home. Gathering your allies, Mr. Badger, Mr. Rat, and Mr. Mole, you'll set out to free Toad Hall from the weasels and ferrets who've moved in. Toad Hall must be liberated, but the question of whether Mr. Toad will succumb to his bloodlust and his insatiable desire to jump in a motorcar and plow through a London market will be ever-present. Your choices matter.

Peter Rabbit

Years ago, Peter Rabbit's father disappeared after venturing into the garden of Mr. and Mrs. McGregor. Now, his son will uncover the truth of what happened, while facing the horrific creatures who live under the thrall of the McGregors. It's a layup for a Souls-like, in which a tiny rabbit who wears a cool jacket must face down enormous farmers, their wives, and their cats. Throw some fog and shadows over some rows of cabbages and suddenly you have a horror locale. Even spookier is uncovering what happened to Peter's father--the "accident" of him winding up in Mrs. McGregor's pie. When you've got huge monsters that eat your protagonist, it's not hard to see the possibilities of hooking him up with a Berserk sword and a dodge roll.

The Great Gatsby

Not every public domain Souls-like has to be a fairy tale or involve animals. The Great Gatsby is an ideal setup for some class warfare as Nick Carraway tries to uncover the mystery of what happened to his friend Gatsby, who disappeared soon after laying hands on a strange power. As you seek the Green Light, you can make your way through rich society where a town full of decadent floozies drinks to excess and destroys whatever lives wander into their path. Who can you trust in East Egg? Which characters hide the corruption of the Gilded Age within their souls? What kind of monster will those big eyeglasses inspire? What secrets will using the Leonardo Toast emote reveal?

The Scarlet Letter

A story set in 1640 Boston where a whole town turns against a woman and threatens to take her daughter? C'mon, too easy.

The Call of the Wild

Jack London's story of a sled dog fighting to survive in the Yukon has Souls-like written all over it. After being abducted out of a comfortable life as a pet, Buck becomes a sled dog in the Yukon and must fight free of various awful masters in order to gain his freedom. The book is full of fights between Buck, other dogs, wolves, and humans, and putting you in the role of a Souls-like dog instead of having to constantly murder them would be a nice change of pace. Sled-dogging the few good humans in the story around also feels like it has potential for some Bloodborne Kart-style antics, and Souls-likes could use more antics in general.

Sherlock Holmes

We've got all sorts of Sherlock Holmes adaptations, but we've never had one that mixes deductive reasoning with spending 14 hours fighting a monstrous demonic Hound of Baskerville. Imagine having multiple suspect bosses you could fight with your cane sword or corncob pipe or whatever, but you have to gather clues to figure out which is your culprit. Kill the wrong suspect and you'll have to deal with the Hunter of Detectives, Dr. John Watson.

Dr. Doolittle

One of the cooler things third-person-shooter Souls-like Remnant 2 did this year was give you a character class that included a dog companion. The question is, why stop with a dog? Veterinarian Dr. Doolittle can talk to all animals, which opens up a ton of possible gameplay mechanics as animals like parrots and crocodiles help act as weapons. Dr. Doolittle has adventures like getting shipwrecked and dealing with pirates in the original stories, but sending him to exact revenge against society on behalf of exploited animals seems like a better way to use his many animal-talking skills.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde's play is a fun comedy about two guys pretending to be named Ernest in order to live double lives, escape social obligations, and woo women who are weirdly fond of the name Ernest. As a Souls-like, though, it's a story about a man named Ernest who is suddenly hunted for crimes committed by a doppelganger claiming to be him. Of course, you're not Ernest either--there is no Ernest. So who's committing the murders? (Oh, by the way, they're murders.) Throw in some identity-swapping mechanics that unlock different move sets, side quests that depend on you using the right name with the right people, maybe a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibe (also in the public domain, no sweat), and a frightening foggy London setting, and you're good to go.

The Night of the Living Dead

Sure, George Romero's zombie movie classic seems way too easy and obvious an adaptation into a Souls-like. But what if the game constantly suggests that maybe all the zombies you're dismembering aren't zombies at all? What if this plague of the undead is all in your head? What if you are the real monster? Makes you think, doesn't it?