Who's Lila?

Who's Lila? is a uniquely experimental psychological horror and mystery game that blends point-and-click adventure with an innovative facial expression mechanic. Players control William Clarke, a socially awkward teenager, by manually manipulating his facial muscles to convey emotions during conversations, which influences branching dialogue and multiple endings. The game is heavily inspired by David Lynch’s surreal and unsettling style, incorporating themes of identity, selfhood, and perception within a fragmented, nonlinear narrative.

Visually, the game adopts a distinct "ditherpunk" pixel art style that enhances its eerie atmosphere, complemented by an alienating soundtrack and sound design. The game also integrates Alternate Reality Game (ARG) elements, encouraging players to investigate beyond the game itself to unlock secrets. While the gameplay and story are praised for originality and depth, some players find the facial expression mechanic fiddly and the pacing repetitive. Despite minor frustrations, Who's Lila? is widely regarded as a thought-provoking, artistic experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Highlights

Players highly praise the game's innovative facial expression mechanic, which replaces traditional dialogue choices with manual emotion crafting, adding depth to interactions. The surreal, Lynchian-inspired storyline captivates players with its mystery, philosophical themes, and multiple branching endings. The distinctive ditherpunk visual style and unsettling, atmospheric sound design effectively create a haunting and immersive experience. The game's ARG components add an intriguing meta layer that enriches the narrative for completionists. Overall, the game is celebrated for its originality, artistic ambition, and memorable mood.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the fiddly and sometimes unintuitive facial expression controls, which can lead to player frustration when emotions are misread. The pacing suffers from repetitive loops and unskippable cutscenes, making replaying for multiple endings tedious. Some players find the story overly esoteric and heavy-handed with Lynchian references, which can feel pretentious or confusing. Minor gameplay issues include slow movement, awkward camera angles, and clunky stealth segments. Additionally, certain DLC content is inaccessible on Linux/Steam Deck, limiting the full experience for some players.