LISA: THE PAINFUL REVIEW
Note: I give spoiler warnings for spoilers.
There's so much I could say about LISA. Honestly, I could probably talk about it forever.
I first played it in April of 2017. I then promptly replayed it a second time in May, and recently finished a third run (with a fourth unfinished one in between.) It has been amongst my very favorite games since that first run, and I expect it to remain there... Probably forever.
I truly think it's one of the best of all time, and something everyone should play, if they can stomach it. It certainly isn't a story that everyone will be able to sit through, but it's absolutely worth it if you can - for both the serious moments, and the humorous ones.
Here is a TW guide for LISA that I think people should see before heading in, because it really does deal with a lot of triggering topics. Still, don't let the dark nature deter you, unless you're really not good with that sort of thing. LISA has a lot to say, and it says it exceptionally well.
TW list: Parental abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual. The first two are shown on-screen, the last is implied.) Child rape (implied, talked about, common theme.) Drug usage and addiction (shown on-screen.) Suicide (shown on-screen.) Animal death (shown on-screen, once.)
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 4.5/5
Sound: 5.5/5
Story: 5.5/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Worldbuilding: 5.5/5
Achievements (Does not count toward overall score.): 5/5
Overall score: 5/5 [5.1/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
LISA is a simple 2D pixel game, but I honestly really love the style. I think that, in general, it's an underrated choice (especially with the current trend of AAA studios tending towards hyper-realistic graphics.) It suits LISA perfectly, and it looks great for being made by a single person. It's not anything groundbreaking, but it's really good.
Most of the character designs are great, too. There's so many unique-looking people, both allies and foes. The companions, the human enemies, the joy mutants - they're all so memorable. On the surface, there are many designs that seem like they would feel out of place - but they don't. A guy with a goose head who reads poetry? A spear-wielding tiger man named Tiger Man? Fish people? Angry snowmen with guns? Yeah, that all works. Because the humor and the world of LISA are already so absurd, all of the weird designs it presents you with just work.
(My only complaint with this aspect is that I'm not a fan of how some of the POC are portrayed. It's very stereotypical at times.)
I also love the use of color. Most apocalypse settings will refrain from palettes outside of browns, grays, and maybe reds. LISA doesn't take this road, though. There are lots of colors in the game - both in the locations and in the character designs. It's something that makes the world pop. (Side note, this is something I think Fallout 4 actually did right, too.)
The graphics are simple, yet charming. That, plus the designs and colors, make LISA a memorable visual experience.
Overall, 4.5/5.
Sound:
This game has, hands down, one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. I cannot overstate how much the music contributes to the atmosphere, and how good of a job it does. I really can't explain to anyone why it's so good, either - all of the tracks are just so catchy and fun (or unnerving, in some cases.) It's very unique, too. I've never heard any music like it, and I doubt I ever will again.
Besides that, there's not much sound design to review here, minus some audio cues and a few one-off jokes during dialogue. LISA doesn't really need a lot of sound, though. The cues serve their purpose, and the rest of the focus is given to the music (or the absence of it in some parts, which is just as effective.)
Overall, 5.5/5.
Story:
I truly believe that LISA has one of the most tragic, heart wrenching plots in any medium. It's one that you have to experience, instead of just reading about.
LISA has the capability of shifting perfectly between darkly comedic and downright nauseating in a heartbeat - and it often manages to do both at the same time. The world of Olathe is a dark reflection of toxic masculinity. Men who solve their problems with violence. Men who feel entitled. Men who are willing to hurt and traumatize to satisfy their own pleasures.
It's a story of a father chasing after his adoptive daughter, in an effort to keep her safe from the immeasurable danger she faces on her own... But then, the game makes you question whether he does so because he really loves her, or if it's because of his own deep-seated guilt related to his past.
Almost none of the people in LISA are good people, and almost none of them are innocent. There are times where, emotionally, it feels like a hopeless endeavor to continue trying. And yet Brad keeps marching forward, so why shouldn't you? No matter how difficult it gets, he is committed to mowing down every man who stands between him and rescuing Buddy - [SPOILERS] despite the fact that she doesn't WANT to be rescued by him. [SPOILER ENDING]
There are so many different plot threads, all interesting, all which tie together perfectly. Every one of these people are haunted by the death of one girl, years ago; even the title screen is haunted by her. Whether the people knew her or not, it doesn't matter. She's always there, lingering in the background.
The writing is amazing, too. The dialogue between characters is great. All of the serious moments feel natural and real. And the game is so funny. The jokes nearly always land, and are super entertaining.
Lastly, the ending is perfect. It genuinely makes me emotional every time I play through it again.
I will never forget the final words spoken in LISA, or everything leading up to them.
Overall, 5.5/5.
Gameplay:
The combat system is fairly simple. That's a complaint I hear often, but I don't personally see it as a negative. I don't think it NEEDED to be overly-complicated. What it does provide is fun and interesting. There are some cool combinations you can pull off, if you think about who you utilize as companions. There's a few different mechanics in the combat itself, too, such as the status effects (of which there are many), and the use of SP and TP on different characters.
I do think it's notable that, at some point, the combat CAN get pretty easy (minus some of the boss fights.) This largely depends on which route you take. I won't spoil much, but there is a chance to make the fighting much less taxing than it could be, at the cost of other in-game consequences.
There is also a Painful mode, which can add a new layer of difficulty. I've played it once, and it's a fun way to make replays a bit more challenging. I'm sure that when I inevitably play the game again in a year or two, I'll be playing this mode.
Overall, 4.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
Olathe is such a unique and interesting setting. It perfectly blends the dark aspects of the setting with the humor, creating an experience that no other game can offer. It is chock-full of fascinating characters, both one-off and recurring. There's endless little details, encounters, and jokes to discover. There are a lot of hints toward the plot and what's really going on, but it's left just vague enough to give you something to think about and theorize on even after the credits roll.
There is never a dull moment in LISA. Every in-game location has something to keep your attention and/or make you laugh.
(Side note, I love all of the wrestling jokes and references, given that I'm a huge wrestling nerd.)
Overall, 5.5/5.
Extra Category - Achievements:
This game has 68 Steam achievements total, which is quite a lot. I got the last one I needed for 100% on my last playthrough.
I really like the achievements themselves - the pictures, names, and descriptions are cool and build upon the world a bit. They're also fun to get, ranging from story progression, to simple world exploration, to defeating difficult side bosses.
Overall, 5/5.
Overall score: 5/5. LISA is nearly perfect in my eyes. There's so much to appreciate about it.
I highly recommend playing through it at least once. The story, characters, world, writing, and music will keep you entertained and engrossed from beginning to end. If you play it and enjoy it, I also recommend checking out The Joyful, which is a (much shorter) sequel that builds upon the characters and world further.
Note: I give spoiler warnings for spoilers.
There's so much I could say about LISA. Honestly, I could probably talk about it forever.
I first played it in April of 2017. I then promptly replayed it a second time in May, and recently finished a third run (with a fourth unfinished one in between.) It has been amongst my very favorite games since that first run, and I expect it to remain there... Probably forever.
I truly think it's one of the best of all time, and something everyone should play, if they can stomach it. It certainly isn't a story that everyone will be able to sit through, but it's absolutely worth it if you can - for both the serious moments, and the humorous ones.
Here is a TW guide for LISA that I think people should see before heading in, because it really does deal with a lot of triggering topics. Still, don't let the dark nature deter you, unless you're really not good with that sort of thing. LISA has a lot to say, and it says it exceptionally well.
TW list: Parental abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual. The first two are shown on-screen, the last is implied.) Child rape (implied, talked about, common theme.) Drug usage and addiction (shown on-screen.) Suicide (shown on-screen.) Animal death (shown on-screen, once.)
SHORT REVIEW
Visuals: 4.5/5
Sound: 5.5/5
Story: 5.5/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Worldbuilding: 5.5/5
Achievements (Does not count toward overall score.): 5/5
Overall score: 5/5 [5.1/5]
IN-DEPTH REVIEW
Visuals:
LISA is a simple 2D pixel game, but I honestly really love the style. I think that, in general, it's an underrated choice (especially with the current trend of AAA studios tending towards hyper-realistic graphics.) It suits LISA perfectly, and it looks great for being made by a single person. It's not anything groundbreaking, but it's really good.
Most of the character designs are great, too. There's so many unique-looking people, both allies and foes. The companions, the human enemies, the joy mutants - they're all so memorable. On the surface, there are many designs that seem like they would feel out of place - but they don't. A guy with a goose head who reads poetry? A spear-wielding tiger man named Tiger Man? Fish people? Angry snowmen with guns? Yeah, that all works. Because the humor and the world of LISA are already so absurd, all of the weird designs it presents you with just work.
(My only complaint with this aspect is that I'm not a fan of how some of the POC are portrayed. It's very stereotypical at times.)
I also love the use of color. Most apocalypse settings will refrain from palettes outside of browns, grays, and maybe reds. LISA doesn't take this road, though. There are lots of colors in the game - both in the locations and in the character designs. It's something that makes the world pop. (Side note, this is something I think Fallout 4 actually did right, too.)
The graphics are simple, yet charming. That, plus the designs and colors, make LISA a memorable visual experience.
Overall, 4.5/5.
Sound:
This game has, hands down, one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. I cannot overstate how much the music contributes to the atmosphere, and how good of a job it does. I really can't explain to anyone why it's so good, either - all of the tracks are just so catchy and fun (or unnerving, in some cases.) It's very unique, too. I've never heard any music like it, and I doubt I ever will again.
Besides that, there's not much sound design to review here, minus some audio cues and a few one-off jokes during dialogue. LISA doesn't really need a lot of sound, though. The cues serve their purpose, and the rest of the focus is given to the music (or the absence of it in some parts, which is just as effective.)
Overall, 5.5/5.
Story:
I truly believe that LISA has one of the most tragic, heart wrenching plots in any medium. It's one that you have to experience, instead of just reading about.
LISA has the capability of shifting perfectly between darkly comedic and downright nauseating in a heartbeat - and it often manages to do both at the same time. The world of Olathe is a dark reflection of toxic masculinity. Men who solve their problems with violence. Men who feel entitled. Men who are willing to hurt and traumatize to satisfy their own pleasures.
It's a story of a father chasing after his adoptive daughter, in an effort to keep her safe from the immeasurable danger she faces on her own... But then, the game makes you question whether he does so because he really loves her, or if it's because of his own deep-seated guilt related to his past.
Almost none of the people in LISA are good people, and almost none of them are innocent. There are times where, emotionally, it feels like a hopeless endeavor to continue trying. And yet Brad keeps marching forward, so why shouldn't you? No matter how difficult it gets, he is committed to mowing down every man who stands between him and rescuing Buddy - [SPOILERS] despite the fact that she doesn't WANT to be rescued by him. [SPOILER ENDING]
There are so many different plot threads, all interesting, all which tie together perfectly. Every one of these people are haunted by the death of one girl, years ago; even the title screen is haunted by her. Whether the people knew her or not, it doesn't matter. She's always there, lingering in the background.
The writing is amazing, too. The dialogue between characters is great. All of the serious moments feel natural and real. And the game is so funny. The jokes nearly always land, and are super entertaining.
Lastly, the ending is perfect. It genuinely makes me emotional every time I play through it again.
I will never forget the final words spoken in LISA, or everything leading up to them.
Overall, 5.5/5.
Gameplay:
The combat system is fairly simple. That's a complaint I hear often, but I don't personally see it as a negative. I don't think it NEEDED to be overly-complicated. What it does provide is fun and interesting. There are some cool combinations you can pull off, if you think about who you utilize as companions. There's a few different mechanics in the combat itself, too, such as the status effects (of which there are many), and the use of SP and TP on different characters.
I do think it's notable that, at some point, the combat CAN get pretty easy (minus some of the boss fights.) This largely depends on which route you take. I won't spoil much, but there is a chance to make the fighting much less taxing than it could be, at the cost of other in-game consequences.
There is also a Painful mode, which can add a new layer of difficulty. I've played it once, and it's a fun way to make replays a bit more challenging. I'm sure that when I inevitably play the game again in a year or two, I'll be playing this mode.
Overall, 4.5/5.
Worldbuilding:
Olathe is such a unique and interesting setting. It perfectly blends the dark aspects of the setting with the humor, creating an experience that no other game can offer. It is chock-full of fascinating characters, both one-off and recurring. There's endless little details, encounters, and jokes to discover. There are a lot of hints toward the plot and what's really going on, but it's left just vague enough to give you something to think about and theorize on even after the credits roll.
There is never a dull moment in LISA. Every in-game location has something to keep your attention and/or make you laugh.
(Side note, I love all of the wrestling jokes and references, given that I'm a huge wrestling nerd.)
Overall, 5.5/5.
Extra Category - Achievements:
This game has 68 Steam achievements total, which is quite a lot. I got the last one I needed for 100% on my last playthrough.
I really like the achievements themselves - the pictures, names, and descriptions are cool and build upon the world a bit. They're also fun to get, ranging from story progression, to simple world exploration, to defeating difficult side bosses.
Overall, 5/5.
Overall score: 5/5. LISA is nearly perfect in my eyes. There's so much to appreciate about it.
I highly recommend playing through it at least once. The story, characters, world, writing, and music will keep you entertained and engrossed from beginning to end. If you play it and enjoy it, I also recommend checking out The Joyful, which is a (much shorter) sequel that builds upon the characters and world further.
2 Comments
I love your review, I understand why you liked it so much and judging by the rest of the games you played I find we share a similar taste. I liked LISA (3.5/5.0), I just finished it this night and told the whole plot to my SO at brunch and I realized I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.
While describing the whole plot, painting a clearer picture of what I just played I found it's blatant how dark and depressing the story is, how difficult, disgusting and depraved the theme is. The thing about LISA is that I mostly never felt those harsh themes, it never really "got me" or punched me in the gut. Telling the plot was harder than experiencing it in game for me.
I've been playing quite a few of these RPG Maker games with difficult themes lately (I loved Omori (5/5)). I think the issue in LISA for me was the narrative rhythm and how the creators used the usual plot devices to tell the tale of Brad and the lore of Olathe. It just didn't work that well for me.
> ![SPOILERS]
> The main example, during the ending when you have that Oldboy (2003) fighting scene where you face multiple waves of Rando henchmen and you're forced to eat all those Rando Rations you found earlier and then you're at full HP/SP and somehow your sprite is completely fucked up on the verge of death (I guess since Brad's transforming he has superhuman strength)… but then earlier you get the hint your Joy addiction is in the final phase and you're beginning to trasform so your attacks changed which I thought was cool so they may not have found a satisfying solution for the final combat scenes.
>
> The only real time I got feels was at the start in that sequence where Brad finds Buddy the first time and we see them grow older together.
I think the main thing is also that I didn't feel the weight of Brad's psyche even having played LISA: The first before this because you don't really have the whole picture on why he's doing it without replaying the game multiple times and fully marrying the lore by reading further material.
My other complaint thing at its core is the game lacks a certaing polish and at its state is a little raw and rough. While playing Lisa: The first I was amused by the low effort sound design which in LISA: The painful improved by a lot, mostly the music, but still is used minimally. One could argue this worked for this wasteland world because it made you feel isolated and lonely at times in a way that made me reminish playing old games that had that "emptiness aura".
I loved the plot, the worldbuilding, I'm completely with you. It's fucking cool, the characters are either complete Mad Max: Fury Road level badasses or just completely ridiculous. The rest are how I imagine normal people would humanly behave in such a situation. The wrestlers, the warriors, the people in drag, the extreme masculinity sweated by this world. The bikes, the drinking, the drugs. The impossibile choices you have to make.
I liked LISA, I just don't think the game was worthy of the plot and the world building.
Notes: sorry for randomly dropping my thoughts and critiques on your review especially since you loved it. I just wanted to talk about LISA with someone! I'm gonna go play LISA: The Joyful now.
While describing the whole plot, painting a clearer picture of what I just played I found it's blatant how dark and depressing the story is, how difficult, disgusting and depraved the theme is. The thing about LISA is that I mostly never felt those harsh themes, it never really "got me" or punched me in the gut. Telling the plot was harder than experiencing it in game for me.
I've been playing quite a few of these RPG Maker games with difficult themes lately (I loved Omori (5/5)). I think the issue in LISA for me was the narrative rhythm and how the creators used the usual plot devices to tell the tale of Brad and the lore of Olathe. It just didn't work that well for me.
> ![SPOILERS]
> The main example, during the ending when you have that Oldboy (2003) fighting scene where you face multiple waves of Rando henchmen and you're forced to eat all those Rando Rations you found earlier and then you're at full HP/SP and somehow your sprite is completely fucked up on the verge of death (I guess since Brad's transforming he has superhuman strength)… but then earlier you get the hint your Joy addiction is in the final phase and you're beginning to trasform so your attacks changed which I thought was cool so they may not have found a satisfying solution for the final combat scenes.
>
> The only real time I got feels was at the start in that sequence where Brad finds Buddy the first time and we see them grow older together.
I think the main thing is also that I didn't feel the weight of Brad's psyche even having played LISA: The first before this because you don't really have the whole picture on why he's doing it without replaying the game multiple times and fully marrying the lore by reading further material.
My other complaint thing at its core is the game lacks a certaing polish and at its state is a little raw and rough. While playing Lisa: The first I was amused by the low effort sound design which in LISA: The painful improved by a lot, mostly the music, but still is used minimally. One could argue this worked for this wasteland world because it made you feel isolated and lonely at times in a way that made me reminish playing old games that had that "emptiness aura".
I loved the plot, the worldbuilding, I'm completely with you. It's fucking cool, the characters are either complete Mad Max: Fury Road level badasses or just completely ridiculous. The rest are how I imagine normal people would humanly behave in such a situation. The wrestlers, the warriors, the people in drag, the extreme masculinity sweated by this world. The bikes, the drinking, the drugs. The impossibile choices you have to make.
I liked LISA, I just don't think the game was worthy of the plot and the world building.
Notes: sorry for randomly dropping my thoughts and critiques on your review especially since you loved it. I just wanted to talk about LISA with someone! I'm gonna go play LISA: The Joyful now.
@yaserahmady i loved reading your comment! although we disagree about LISA in some ways, i find your points very interesting and well-thought-out. i may respond with my own thoughts at some point when i'm less busy! thank you for reading my review and taking the time to share!!
localghost
2 years ago