Lisa (The Painful)

Has anyone tried playing the game Lisa? I got it for my birthday recently but I haven't tried it out yet. I've heard that it's good but also that it can be really depressing/upsetting to play, so I've been putting it off :sweatsmile:

If you've played it, what did you think of it? I know that the game forces you to make lots of tough decisions -- did you have trouble with them, or was it easy for you?

Also, do you have any recommendations for first-time players of the game? Or things you wish you'd known before you started?

I saw it, I bought it, I have it on my Steam library... and I never played it. But it looks promising, and a lot of people compare it to Undertale - which is a good thing!
I don't have the DLC of the game (The Joyful), but since I haven't even played the main game yet I don't really need for now. One day I will play it, during my random-backlog-search-what-should-I-play-now.

I got so excited when I saw this forum topic. I LOVE the Lisa series, and I definitely think every gamer that's a fan of rpgmaker-style games need to give it a shot. It's way way way way WAY darker than Undertale though, I will have to warn beforehand. It's best to know just how dark it is when going in. It's also ridiculously funny (also in a kind of dark way, but in a way that I loved).

I don't specifically remember any particularly hard choices to make? If they were there, then they were fairly obvious choices. If anything, the game experience itself does vary slightly depending on which companions you pick up and such, and it does get pretty difficult later. You may want to use walkthroughs if there are specific companions that you want, as some of them really help you later on in harder battles. The experience of the game itself is phenomenal, though, and I'm really excited that you're giving it a shot!

The Joyful is fantastic as well, also has this legendary song (which tbh is the real reason why I played Lisa in the first place) and an equally emotional and amazing storyline. I think I enjoyed the Joyful more, but both are incredible games.

I know the game and I've heard/read a lot about it. I'd say that its main inspiration lies in the Earthbound series (Mother 3, specifically), to which it makes lots of references, but with way darker tones, so definitely try it out if you like it. Undertale also takes inspiration from that series, so that's why the two are so similar.

It's not a game for everyone, that's for sure. It's unsettling and it can be very unpleasant, but not in the way a horror game would be. Everything from the game's premise, its actual execution and the settings gives eerie vibes.

Someone told me before I tried this game: LISA constantly draws you in and repels you in ways you would never expect. I didn't really know how to take that, so I decided to try it and see for myself. The protagonist is brad, a former drug addict who uses this drug named Joy that will really help you through gameplay. Brad's constant struggle with Joy addiction affects the player at almost all times. He goes through withdrawals, which puts a serious damper on his damage; he doles out nothing but critical hits when "Joyed"; and he sometimes stabilizes.. but it's up to the player whether to give him Joy or not.
It's tough to make this decision. I'll let you imagine the rest. Like everyone said, it is unsettling.