https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-kT5SDifCU A fairly recent game, Lisa caught the attention of the press for billing itself as the painful RPG on Kickstarter and boasting similar graphics to Mother 3. Unlike the latter, however, Lisa wears its darkness firmly on its sleeves. From the very beginning, when Brad's father throws a beer bottle at him, creator Austin Jorgensen lets us know that this is going to be an emotionally draining game. Brad has had a terrible childhood which he tries to forget by taking the fictional drug Joy, and the players stumble across enigmatic dark imagery to give us just a glimmer of what haunts him. Lisa also presents players choices that are not pleasant, of course; the difference is that theres a clear answer: do whatever you can to make it to the last battle with as many limbs as possible, even if it means sacrificing the lives of your friends. Should you try to be a decent human being, you'll lose almost all of your limbs which permanently gimps Brads stats and makes the final battle that much tougher (hint: its often not worth saving your friends' lives). But Brad does terrible things in the game regardless of your choices, becoming the monster he fears to become and even hurting the little girl he's trying to save. By the time he reaches the final battle, everyone, including Brad, his nemesis, and his step daughter are all crying. And there's a very good chance you might be too. What are some games that you found to be emotionally intense? Let us know in the comments section!
Garrett is a technical writer by day and a freelance writer by night. When he's not thinking about popular culture he is either...no wait, he's always thinking about popular culture.