Lisa: The Painful (2014)

WTF am I playing?

This was on my radar for a while and then I got it for free on EGS. I finally played through the first chapter yesterday and DAMN does this game goes 110% with the weirdness.

I have to salute the single dev for their creativity. Overall the game is really well-made and fun to play at first, but the gameplay gets a bit tedious really fast (strong spikes in difficulty with little tools to manage), and it seems like the kind of game you'd play with a walkthrough on the side. I don't think I'll finish it, but definitely a strong presentation, I can see why it's so well received by the indie RPG crowd.

This game doesn't hold its punches, it throws you in the really depraved world of Olathe and I dont think I’ve felt both miserable (from a story standpoint) and happy playing a game.

It’s odd because the story is pretty messed up yet the game manages to uplift the player with its weird and wild humor. But man when it gets to the messed up scenes and imagery its hard to forget them.

Solid game and a definite recommend with a blind playthrough. Although I will say the combat in this game can get pretty repetitive and traversing areas can be tedious. Though its all worth it for the story

PROS

• Insane game world filled with surprisingly effective tonal shifts
• Alternates between humor, drama, and horror with aplomb
• Takes narrative choices further than most any other game I've played
• Bizarre music transports you into the game's demented reality
• A JRPG with potential character perma-death is a super interesting idea

CONS

• Boring navigation and level design
• Combat is more obnoxious than fun
• Chaotic difficulty curve and player progression is quite irritating

http://wp.me/p55m9h-NP

8.5/10

This review is for The Joyful. The Joyful is not as good as The Painful and lacks the true impact of the decision making and choices, and the battles can get a little tedious this time around. But I enjoy the "lone wolf" thing, even if it would have been better with an actual party. Still an emotional and interesting game though, just not quite as good as The Painful.