The Definitive Edition of this cult RPG is one for the Undertale-likers in your life
Lisa: Definitive Edition is out now on PC
Lisa: The Painful has been described to me as Undertale before Undertale. Or Earthbound after Earthbound (so, uh, Mother 3?). In other words, Lisa was a bit of a cult classic thanks to its freaky world, absurd humour, and brutal consequences. And when I say brutal consequences, I mean your party members can permanently lose limbs or turn into mounds of saggy flesh. How’s that for a debuff? Its Definitive Edition is out now, though, so maybe its "cult" status will finally blossom into mainstream appeal. Lisa: Definitive Edition bundles in the original game and its expansion, Lisa The Joyful, as well as new enemies, bosses, stories and endings, and an easier “Painless” mode.
Everything else you’d expect from a remaster is here too: revamped graphics and UI, a 120 FPS mode, more language options, and new border art overlays. Oh, and Lisa’s incredible soundtrack is getting beefed up with over 20 new tracks. Speaking of which, the game’s upcoming vinyl has a beautifully freaky cover, too.
Lisa has also launched on consoles - Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch - for the first time, but there have been "a few more changes" made in the PlayStation version "in order to launch the game on that platform," reads a note from developers Dingaling and publishers Serenity Forge. They say that "none of them affect the meaning and intent of Lisa," and the changes mainly affect references to alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, which are now the very funky-sounding "cigarette candies."
"Lisa contains sensitive content that is designed to move players out of complacency, to put them into a world that’s absurd and inappropriate, and to prompt players to confront how they feel in these specific moments," they add. "We feel confident in the direction and purpose of Lisa’s content, but we also know that certain platforms have regulations that we have to follow."
They also say that "all legacy versions of the game will remain available as launch options on Steam."
Our Rachel summed up the game’s setup nicely in a recent Have You Played:
“Set in a post-apocalypse with no women, you play as Brad who one day finds an abandoned baby girl, names her Buddy, and raises her in secret. Years later, Buddy is kidnapped by a militia group and Brad sets off to rescue her. When you put it like that, the story is pretty basic, but it’s so much more than it seems. The absurdist comical world together with the awful decisions forced upon you make this a special kind of bleak RPG.”
Lisa: Definitive Edition is available now on Steam and consoles for £17/$25. The Steam page might not technically say it's the Definitive Edition, but that's the store page Serenity Forge say is correct on their website. You can also buy Lisa: The Painful and Lisa The Joyful separately on Steam and owners of the original will be upgraded automatically. An FAQ page hints that the predecessor Lisa: The First will return in “a different way” as well.