Who’s Lila? doesn’t have you picking dialogue options to talk. Instead, you’ll shape your response by moving around bits of your face to convey an emotion.
Tanya Kennedy has gone missing. And you were the last person to see her alive. Now, you’re going to find yourself dragged into the investigation into her disappearance. This isn’t going to be very easy for you, either, as you’re not a terribly expressive person, normally. Well, except on your face. Your face tells people exactly what you’re thinking. It just need a little guidance from the player to convey what you want it to.
The game features a neural network-powered facial recognition system that will pick up on what you’re trying to say by moving the character’s face around. That face movement is pretty fun on its own. Picture Mario 64‘s opening screen where you could mess with Mario’s face, but set in a grim, gloomy mystery game. Despite the bleak events of the game, though, you can make some downright hilarious faces while trying to nail the emotion you want. The character’s face will endure a fair amount of abuse as you tug and shape it to convey what you want to say, and the results are endlessly enjoyable. Although they did sometimes break the mood of the game just a tiny bit.
Who’s Lila? is an impressive take on the genre with a conversational tool that definitely felt unique. With so many different directions to take the story in, there’s a lot to try. By conveying it all with your face, it makes things feel a bit more chaotic and unexpected as well. You know what you’re getting into when you pick dialogue options in a game, typically, but when you’re letting your face do the talking? Unexpected things can come in a way that’s delightful.
Who’s Lila? is available now on itch.io and Steam.