THIS is what’s beyond thunderdome
Woo boy, where to even start; I guess I will just start by saying that Lisa: The Painful is quite the experience. Having released in 2014 with the funding from a Kickstarter campaign and has developed something of a cult following in the years since. Fast forward to 2023 and Lisa is seeing a definitive re-release by Serenity Forge and this was my first time even hearing about this game and I honestly can’t say this enough; it was an experience.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
Lisa takes place in the land of Olathe, a once picturesque slice of Americana that has since been forever changed since the ‘white flash’. The apocalypse led to the death of almost, if not all the woman in Olathe. Now what remains is a land full of crime, debauchery and just utter weirdness. It is a truly awful place and proof positive that the world NEEDS women. The story in Lisa: The Painless focuses on one Brad Armstrong; Brad is a one-time martial arts instructor and a current drug addict. Brad spends his days with his pals getting high on ‘Joy’ (which is a popular drug name in video games) until one day he hears a wailing child and is shocked to find a little girl.
Lisa: The Painful plays out like a 2D party-based RPG that is heavily inspired by Earthbound. Players will control Brad and two other party members as they roam the wild lands of Olathe. While players explore, they will engage in the ever-important item collection, exploring and of course combat which is turn based in nature. Lisa offers a deep roster of characters to choose from capping out at around 30, each with unique abilities that impacts gameplay. Some deal more damage to bosses while others may have a ‘Joy’ addiction, which can be tricky to deal with because with addiction comes withdrawals which is something players will have to deal with as well. All of this adds up to a combat system that is up to the player to decide how best to utilize these abilities for success in combat.
One of the most unique things (there are many with this grim game) is that enemy encounters are static, you will fight that enemy once and not again. This is certainly a different approach to enemy design in RPG’s but it makes sense in this grim world and leads to one of my issues with the game which is the difficulty. I don’t even know what to say other than it makes zero sense that this world is as dark and depressing as it is to then have the combat be just as merciless. Each enemy feels like a boss encounter and just adds to the overall bleakness of the game’s world, oh I forget to mention that there is permadeath here. Meaning your party members can die, leave Brad or even be kidnapped just because you chose to spend the night in an unsecure building; Olathe is a truly terrible place.
Lisa: The Painful is just a perfect name for this game as it evokes such emotions while playing. Depending on the gamer though this dark, sometimes humorous, always shocking world could be just the ticket to see something polar opposite from say a Final Fantasy. I certainly walked away from this game not feeling the light and pride of finishing the usual RPG’s, Lisa: The Painful is a bleak experience but one that is worth it if you can stomach it.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
