The developers of Lisa: Definitive Edition revealed that they had to censor the game's PlayStation release. While Serenity Forge and Dingaling Productions issued a statement that none of these changes alter Lisa's core identity, Serenity Forge founder Zhenghua Yang confirmed that the publisher was forced to make these changes.Developed by Austin "Dingaling" Jorgensen, Lisa is a series of cult classic indie games that started with Lisa: The First in 2012. It was followed by Lisa: The Painful RPG in 2014 and Lisa: The Joyful in 2015. Set before and after an apocalyptic event called The Flash, the Lisa games touch on themes of mental health, emotional and physical abuse, and drug use. A remastered version of the second and third installments called Lisa: Definitive Edition was released for all major platforms on July 18, 2023.RELATED: Serenity Forge Reveals Homestead Arcana GameplayLisa: Definitive Edition makes multiple changes to Dingaling's solo-developed horror RPGs. Some of these are purely creative decisions, such as updated gameplay mechanics and additional quests and dialogue. However, other changes stemmed from the need to make Lisa conform to Sony and Nintendo content policies. While some scenes have been altered on all platforms, the PlayStation release sees the most aggressive censorship, with the publisher removing multiple depictions of substance abuse. Serenity Forge does not consider these changes a big deal, but founder Zhenghua Yang confirmed on Twitter that the publisher had no choice in the matter.

Dingaling and Serenity Forge described the situation in a post on the latter's website. The article explains, "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." While Dingaling and Serenity Forge stand by this vision, certain compromises needed to be made for Lisa: Definitive Edition to reach as many people as possible. Serenity Forge also maintains that Lisa's core experience, messaging, and identity remain the same.

All versions of the Lisa: Definitive Edition contain alterations to the Salvation Ranger introduction and Junior's flashback sequence, though Serenity Forge insists that the changes are small and carefully considered. Meanwhile, the PlayStation release has warning notices at the start of the game. Cigarettes and alcohol are also replaced with "cigarette candy" and "soda" in Lisa: The Joyful, while the substance Joy is no longer described as a pill. However, Characters still drink alcohol in the Definitive Edition version of Lisa: The Painful.

Serenity Forge and Dingaling Productions see these changes as minor and non-essential and hope the clarification will put fans at ease. The publisher also added that the legacy versions of Lisa: The Painful RPG and Lisa: The Joyful are included as launch options in Lisa: Definitive Edition's Steam release.

Lisa: Definitive Edition is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Source: Serenity Forge