WHO'S LILA? AND OTHER WRONG QUESTIONS
about a year ago, i played a pretty cool multimedia thing called traumakt-4.sexe, and remarked that "the concept of a game where a demon takes your control of the player character away periodically is interesting and i'd love to see it explored further." a person named naomi (who is now my friend!) shot me a comment recommending who's lila. now that i've played it, i gotta say it was one hell of a trip.
who's lila has got to be the most interesting use of the ever-pervasive metahorror cliche. garage heathen created something i have been dying to see more since i played lainpsx: a mystery that you, the player, are solving, instead of some character in the story. i've always hated how mysteries tend to have this structure:
1. setup
2. suspicion and intrigue
3. investigation time
4. ending that divulges literally everything
i understand why this structure is so common. people love watching sleuths dissect crazy cases or being kept on the edge of their seats by a wild thriller, not being confused by cryptic clues. it's why columbo is so beloved! but this format always seemed pandering and lame to me. if this is truly a mystery, set up some solid clues and let me figure it out myself! who's lila uses its meta elements to make good on the promise of a mystery-solving game. it's super tight shit and i never felt pandered to in the slightest.
however, this clever bullshit would mean jack squat if the game wasn't interesting. luckily for us, who's lila fires on all cylinders. i lost myself in the sauce for HOURS. don't dismiss the visual style as some hackneyed throwback to ancient pc games; combined with the droney music and minimal sound design, it enhances your intense alienation from the characters. and damn, those are some believable characters! i replayed a couple endings just to try out the branching dialogue options, cause there isn't a single line wasted here. shoutout to the nighttime walk scene hurting my feelings.
(also, its fun and silly to drag your guy's face around while his muscles fight you. mario 64 energy. i am adding this line later cuz i realized i didn't mention the gameplay in this video game)
who's lila is short, and by design has absolutely ZERO replay value (and i say that as a firm non-believer in games needing to offer a ng+ or hella divergences to have replay value). it's still well worth your money. go play it already.
END GAME REVIEW