Review of Narrative in "Lisa: The Painful RPG"
Plot Overview When the player opens up the game, they’re immediately met with a simple box of menu options juxtaposed with the image of Lisa hanging from a noose. A slow, ominous song, fittingly titled “The Siren’s Call,” plays over this menu as though it’s begging the player to continue. This menu never changes and the player must thus be reminded of Lisa’s suicide every single time the game is started up. This image ends up looming over the player just as it looms over Brad, connecting them together even if the player may not realize it at first. Though this may just seem like a simple menu, it subtly ties itself into the plot in an important way by putting the player into Brad’s headspace whenever they start or continue their journey. Lisa ’s actual gameplay begins with a brief look into Brad’s childhood. In the opening scene, a group of bullies accuses someone of stealing their ball, which leads to Brad taki...