Who's Lila?

Who's Lila? is an unusual point-and-click adventure game, in which players control dialogue through the protagonist's facial expressions. It was created by Garage Heathen, an indie studio known for creating Your amazing T-Gotchi!.

Plot

The story of Who's Lila? revolves around Tanya Kennedy, a student who's gone missing. The protagonist, William, is the last person to see her alive. He has trouble expressing emotions, needing to consciously control every facial muscle. The player must guide him through the story, learning the truth about Tanya's disappearance, William's condition and who the titular, mysterious Lila is.

Mechanics

Many mechanics of Who's Lila? don't differ much from other point-and-click games. We must solve puzzles by moving between different areas, talking to NPCs, finding items and using them correctly. The story is non-linear, and our choices can lead us to entirely new places and storylines.

Despite this, the game differs from other, similar games significantly. The developers have described their work as a "reverse detective game", in which the protagonist is suspected of the crime. There's no typical dialogue options either. Our replies can be chosen through facial expressions, by arranging them on William's face or trying to hide his emotions.

Game modes

Like most adventure games, Who's Lila? is a singleplayer game. It features an optional easier difficulty level, which removes some harder parts from the dialogue.

Technical aspects

Who's Lila makes use of pixelated, black-and-white visuals in ditherpunk style, reminiscent of Return of the Obra Dinn (though there are various, different, unlockable color palettes as well). The protagonist's photorealistic face is constantly visible on screen.