in a terrible disgusting world full of toxic masculinity, overwhelming violence, and drug-induced mutation, somehow LISA manages to achieve a perfect tonal balance through and through. you'll be saying wtf a LOT, feeling incredibly terrible and heartbroken about what you can and cannot do with those you care about, while also finding moments of humor and fun throughout the entire experience. the second this game started it sucked me deep into its atmosphere, and little did I know I would never be sucked out. this game is certainly painful (as it explicitly states) but in a way that really helped draw me into every single second, not many games can do that tbh.

oh and turns out that with the new release of the definitive edition, there are a few different versions you can play (I personally recommend starting with the original version before the definitive edition.) I played about 20 minutes of the definitive version, and it already puzzled me a bit with changes in the sound design amongst other things. One of the things I love about this game is all the super crunchy and intense sounds in battles, but that seems to be lessened in the new version :/ I'm still going to play it soon, but as it stands the OG is a game you absolutely should not miss.