LISA: The Painful is a game that I knew nothing about going in, but kept me hooked from start to finish.
I have a hard time finding RPGs that grip me, but this one excelled at it.

It shows the remnants of a post-apocalyptic land where morals have no place. Through a mixture of tragedy and comedy, the game tells a journey of a broken man in search of someone important to him. It holds no punches on what it throws at you, making you question what truly is important and what is worth sacrificing for your goals.

During the course of the game, you will be forced to make difficult and heart-wrenching choices that will permanently affect you, those around you and the in-game world, whether you like it or not. Due to their nature, they instill a sense of consequence in your actions, so I don't recommend "savescumming" as it detracts from the experience.

Arguably, an RPG isn't a true RPG without a combat system, and LISA is no exception. Although not innovative, it is easy to get the hang of right from the start, and is a load of fun. Each character has their own fighting style or weapon, so you can create your own ideal party according to your playstyle. To add to that, each enemy in the game is unique, making it feel like you really are fighting real people with real feelings and problems of their own, as well as things they care for and wish to protect, which contributes towards the sense of consequence your actions have.

The soundtrack is also very good. Apart from its quality, it accompanies each scene well, knowing when to step in at the right time, when to tone down, but also when to simply to step out to allow the moment to breathe and present itself.

As for the artstyle, it is quite fitting for a game like this, as it allows for both comedic and raw scenes, which can be found all throughout LISA.

The game also has an added difficulty level (Pain Mode) that can be toggled or not in the first few minutes of a new save file. It presents a good challenge, as well as being important for the story. However, it is recommended for a later playthough.

"LISA: The Painful" has a DLC called "LISA: The Joyful" that takes places right after the events of the base game. It wraps everything up in a great way so I recommend getting it too. It is possible to understand the story well with just the base game, but it has some really good moments that you don't want to miss out on, apart from more character development and closure, which is great on its own.

All in all, I consider this a great game, one that I have grown deeply fond of, and can't recommend enough. It was a truly amazing experience, definitely my favorite game of its kind. I hope you have such a good time with it as I did.
And once again, no savescumming.