LISA: The First

Thank goodness its free because its so bugged that you cannot do some things out of order or it can hard crash your game if you enter the lobby. Other than that, it is a short experience from Lisa's perspective that was really enjoyable, while it worked.

don't play the steam version. i played the original back when it came out several times and it was never this buggy. download it from itch.io or something

LISA: The First is a prelude to the story of LISA: The Painful. Its one of those pieces of internet freeware RPG history, standing alongside other titles like Yume Nikki. The story itself told well, fed in bits to the player through text and sometimes "subtle" (and sometimes not-so) messaging. It covers a deeply sad story of a girl dealing with the trauma of familial SA and neglect as a child, so if those themes are troubling then i'd say to avoid it. Personally, I think it handles the topic well but it can be a bit blunt at times.
The main aspect dragging this title down is the gameplay. It is a non-linear puzzle game with no much direction given to the player from the start. You are expected to explore different areas from a hub world, gaining items you can take into other areas to complete puzzles. The puzzles aren't overly complicated but can take some backtracking leading to some inflated playtime. Over the course of the game a story is told through the gameplay, but again nothing is directly fed to the player. 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.
Overall, I recommend the game for the story it tells. I think it deserves to be talked about and can understand why it has gained a following. However, the game is also only an hour long and due to the nature of the gameplay, it may be better for newcomers of LISA to just watch a story summary on the game. Nothing is really lost by experiencing LISA: The First through a video compared to actually playing it.
Especially after you reach the head spiders...

Played back when it was a sketchy executable,
It's short and quality work, but wouldn't recommend. ♥♥♥♥♥♥ me up way more than expected, very different from the "sequel".

The first of the lisa series that doesnt really feel required to the story of the sequels.
The context provided in this game are traumatic and told very vaugely, however if you dig into the subtext you will feel disgusted with yourself.
You could pass it up because most of the games story is pretty much covered in the sequels in a more tasteful and enjoyable way.
The gameplay consists of just walking around and picking up objects, its not too fun but I was in love with lisa so I finished it
Cheers,
-Otis

Heard the gameplay was miserable and ended up enjoying it. The REALLY miserable part is the story behind scenes...

This game is a predecessor to the game LISA, We find many elements which will then be taken up by the next game, I recommend it to you if you want to know what to expect (in less hardcore level atmosphere and dialogue) and in only 1 hour for a person who knows nothing about the game