LISA: The First

About

LISA: The First is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Dingaling Productions and was released on March 20, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Explore Lisa Armstrong’s mind as she tries to cope with the burden caused by her father Marty. Traverse a slipping reality as you attempt to leave home and recover your memories. Only, escape is not so easy. Features and Gameplay - LISA the First is a short and surreal exploration game reminiscent of retro-RPGs. - Navigate the twisting world of Lisa’s mind, finding hidden doors an…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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80%

Audience ScoreBased on 259 reviews

story11 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The game delivers a haunting and emotionally impactful story that explores themes of trauma and abuse effectively through symbolism and atmosphere.
The surreal visuals and unsettling, eerie soundtrack contribute strongly to the game's immersive and disturbing experience.
It is a short, free game that provides important context and backstory for the LISA series, especially for LISA: The Painful fans.

Gameplay is often frustrating, especially due to difficult spider enemy segments that are poorly designed and disrupt pacing.
The game suffers from technical issues including bugs, softlocks, bad controls (notably on some platforms), and unreadable text at times.
Its cryptic progression and puzzle design can cause confusion and excessive backtracking, making it hard to follow without using guides or walkthroughs.

story
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
74%
8%
The story of "Lisa: The First" is a tragic, psychologically heavy narrative about a young girl named Lisa suffering from familial abuse and neglect, conveyed through cryptic, symbolic, and often unsettling gameplay and text. While praised for its raw emotional impact and thematic depth, it can be difficult to follow, is sometimes marred by frustrating gameplay elements, and is often recommended primarily to those interested in the lore of the Lisa series or dark, artful storytelling. Overall, it serves as a meaningful but niche prelude to the sequels, with mixed reception due to its presentation and execution.
- “The story itself is told well, fed in bits to the player through text and sometimes subtle (and sometimes not-so) messaging.”
- “Lisa: The First is the tragic story of a young girl named Lisa and her father Marty, told in a similar way Yume Nikki told its story - absurdist dreamlike RPG Maker levels with symbolism everywhere.”
- “Excellent case of telling a story through gameplay.”
- “The game tends to force you to explore a lot of repeating maps to pad out its gameplay, and the story isn't that interesting either.”
- “Lisa: The First tells a story confusingly and the storytelling is done cryptically, forcing you to decipher what happened yourself.”
- “This game aged quite horribly, with plot that is purely done for shock value and just a worse version of Yume Nikki.”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
78%
11%
The gameplay is generally seen as simplistic and occasionally frustrating, with repetitive exploration and imprecise controls detracting from the experience. Although it serves to convey the story through its mechanics, many find the puzzle and precision sections tedious and poorly optimized, making it less enjoyable compared to later entries in the series. Overall, the gameplay is often described as a basic walking simulator with limited engaging elements.
- “Excellent case of telling a story through gameplay.”
- “The gameplay consists of a 2D top-down walking simulator; you navigate your way through a strange, distorted, fragmented series of maps, which contains a chain of relatively simple puzzles and a few sections of maddening evil-spider-dodging hell.”
- “Even though the gameplay is simple, reaching the area where you can find the objects is not as simple as you think.”
- “Like many other freeware games of its time, the gameplay is also a bit janky, leading to some frustrating moments during sections where precision is required.”
- “They're a section of precision movement/timing puzzles, randomly put into a game obviously not about mechanical skill and more about artful presentation. Thematically they're cool but the gameplay around them is tedious and puts the real game on hold.”
- “The gameplay felt like World's Hardest Game from Cool Math Games but with worse controls, making it more annoying than rewarding.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
31%
16%
The music in the game is widely praised for its dark, industrial, and haunting soundtrack that effectively sets a moody, oppressive atmosphere. It features eerie sound design, distorted samples, and a persistent main theme that ties into the series, enhancing the emotional and unsettling experience. Overall, the OST is considered a standout element, crucial to the game's tone and immersive storytelling.
- “Such amazing presentation of its themes and narrative, coming mostly from its excellent sprite work and the music.”
- “Amazingly dark and sad prologue to Lisa, about half an hour long but gets the point across well, repulsing you with its subtle themes, soundtrack is horrifying being comprised of mainly soundscapes of distorted samples. Definitely play this with some good headphones cranked just loud enough, play at night in the dark to get that chilling creepy feeling.”
- “The game’s sound design amplifies the unease, using eerie silence, distorted music, and unnerving audio cues to create an oppressive atmosphere.”
- “Amazingly dark and sad prologue to Lisa, about half an hour long but gets the point across well, repulsing you with its subtle themes. The soundtrack is horrifying, comprised mainly of soundscapes of distorted samples. Definitely play this with good headphones cranked just loud enough, at night in the dark to get that chilling creepy feeling.”
- “The music can be stressful and uncomfortable at certain places, and the graphic turns into madness and violence. Definitely not a relaxing game for Sunday night.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The graphics feature retro-styled pixel art with a surreal, abstract, and macabre aesthetic reminiscent of games like Earthbound and Undertale, effectively enhancing the unsettling atmosphere. While visually intriguing and hinting at the story, some players find the graphics disturbing or even physically uncomfortable. Overall, the visuals contribute strongly to the game's haunting, experimental tone but may not appeal to everyone.
- “If you like the surreal visuals and atmosphere of other RPG Maker games, you might be interested in this, as this game contains a lot of abstract environments and visuals.”
- “The game seems to leave a lot of hints in the visuals to explain what was happening to the main character without explicitly explaining it.”
- “The graphics are retro-styled pixel art with a macabre aesthetic which I found quite potent.”
- “The graphics, in particular, can make you feel sick or dizzy.”
- “Graphics bad too!”
- “The game doesn't last much, usually taking 1-2 hours to beat, simple graphics and a haunting soundtrack.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The atmosphere is notably surreal and unsettling, enhanced by abstract visuals and eerie sound design that creates a strong sense of unease. Fans of RPG Maker games and the Lisa series will appreciate its thematic connections and oppressive mood, though certain segments, like the spider section, may disrupt the immersion. Overall, the game offers a unique, short experience that complements its predecessor without being overly intense.
- “If you like the surreal visuals and atmosphere of other RPG Maker games, you might be interested in this, as this game contains a lot of abstract environments and visuals.”
- “The game’s sound design amplifies the unease, using eerie silence, distorted music, and unnerving audio cues to create an oppressive atmosphere.”
- “And I think the OST was done pretty well since it harmonized well with the whole atmosphere the game was trying to present.”
- “But that spider section is just no bueno and pulls you right out of the intrigue and atmosphere.”
- “You don't have to take it too seriously about escaping, just feel the basic atmosphere and the background story of Lisa, otherwise you may get frustrated about it.”
- “This game is a predecessor to the game Lisa, with many elements later taken up by the next game. I recommend it if you want to know what to expect in a less hardcore level atmosphere and dialogue, and for only 1 hour for someone unfamiliar with the game.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including soft locks, broken text, and unresponsive controls, significantly affecting stability. While some players manage to progress with guides and patience, overall performance remains problematic and detracts from the experience.
- “If you're looking to get more lore on Lisa then 100% play this game. I found it fun and the story captivating, but it's super buggy with lots of issues during my run, and I was unable to read anything due to broken text.”
- “Oh cool, they did nothing to fix the glitches or the issue where no controls work after closing and opening the game.”
- “I played the original back when it came out several times and it was never this buggy.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a heartbreaking and emotionally intense story that resonates with fans of related titles like Lisa the Painful and Lisa the Joyful. However, some players find the experience frustrating and unsettling, with certain puzzle and gameplay elements detracting from the emotional impact. Overall, while emotionally powerful for some, it may be off-putting or distressing for others.
- “Heartbreaking story.”
- “This game has a very interesting story, and it ties into two pieces of media that made me cry at the end (talking about Lisa the Painful and Lisa the Joyful). I recommend playing this game just because of how good the other two are, plus it's free and very short.”
- “Thinking about the symbolism after beating the game made me feel sick, showing its strong emotional impact.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is well-received, blending lighthearted moments with serious themes effectively. Players find it genuinely funny and appreciate the balance it brings to the overall experience.
- “I actually found that part funny.”
- “Some heavy stuff and plus a little bit of humor.”
- “I would write a funny review but I genuinely have a lot of love and respect for this game.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Grinding in the game is seen as tedious and interrupts the main gameplay, with certain sections like the spider challenge requiring repetitive restarts if mistakes are made, which can hinder player enjoyment.
- “Thematically they're cool but the gameplay around them is tedious and puts the real game on hold.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The spider section is my only real gripe with this game; it can become tedious, and if you mess up the rock placements then you basically have to start all over again.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is considered average on mid-range PCs, with users feeling that better optimization in certain sections could significantly enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- “I personally feel like the game could have optimized those sections a bit more to make the overall gameplay experience more enjoyable because at the moment that's the only real thing I see holding it back.”
- “I personally feel like the game could've optimized those sections a bit more to make the overall gameplay experience more enjoyable because, at the moment, I think that's the only real thing holding it back.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that the game offers substantial replayability, with its length providing ample opportunity for multiple playthroughs and extended engagement.