Perusing through Steam Greenlight, users are guaranteed to run into some interesting titles. Interesting being positive or negative, eccentric or bland. To many people's surprise, many of these titles quickly make their way through the program, yet others sit, gaining minimal attention and struggle to find their place within the community.
The Lady is one of those games that the Steam community hasn't quite yet accepted, however, the title has found success through other digital distributors including Desura, Green Man Gaming and soon, ShinyLoot. You may take a look at this review, gameplay videos or screenshots from the game and immediately cast it aside. However, The Lady is more than just a video game. It is one man's story of his own mental illness and it offers a glimpse inside the head of an individual struggling with anxiety or panic disorder.
In an April Vlog post, the creator of The Lady, Michael Patrick Rogers, said, "This is one of the weirdest games that you're ever going to f***ing play in your life." Just looking at the game may be enough to confirm Roberts' remark, and after playing The Lady, this statement will hold true to the player, as the game centers around a sickly looking, armless, heroin chic woman, nude and covered in stitches.
What more, The Lady's main character, conveniently dubbed The Lady, experiences her uneasy life in a violent manner: smashing her head on jagged shards, cutting herself on barbed wire and being harmed by projected images of herself, real or imagined. In order to survive, players must be quick with their fingers, responding to an environment straight from the mind of MPR Art Hallucinations.
The mechanics of The Lady are so simple and self-explanatory. In fact, when first picking up the game, players may become bored with its ease, however, its dark imagery and somber vibe will see your attention peaked. A platformer flirting with old-school arcade elements, The Lady has players reacting instinctively, avoiding broken glass and fighting the mirror images of a disturbed self. Smash your head into glass shards to avoid injury, bleed your way over jagged wire and avoid the sharp whip of a vicious ponytail, always wondering, "What is this?"
The absurd events taking place in The Lady could easily be misunderstood, however, the game is intended to get people thinking, interpreting certain actions in their own way. Strange, yes; bad, no. The Lady is different, it's honest and it's raw. It's an indie game that is like no other currently available, a psychedelic trip - a bad one, with an authentic message.
That message being: mental illness is real; and often frightening, it's not something that should hold anyone back. Rogers' is a prime example of someone who has taken a difficult time and made something out of it, saying in our interview, "In 2011 I started suffering from severe panic disorder and depression out of nowhere, and I had stopped doing everything I loved to do basically." He thought, “Why aren’t I making my own games/films?” He did just this; taking control of his health, following through with his passion and creating The Lady.
A strong message, but is it a strong game? However simple The Lady is, players will be confused with their time spent. Breaks between levels are apparent, yet many sections seem to drag along with similar experiences occurring over and over again, making you wonder if anything new and more insane will occur. Moreover, the game seems to abruptly end, just asking for a more complete conclusion.
A true indie game, The Lady gives players a peek at how scary mental illness can be and provides a strange, yet comforting source for those who may be struggling with their own mental health. Completing the game may only take around 45 minutes, and you may be puzzled after doing so, but that's the point. Mental illness is confusing, it's strange and it's f***ing weird.
Megan Bethke (@XboxBetty), NoobFeed
| Platform(s): | PC |
| Publisher(s): | MPR Art Hallucinations |
| Developer(s): | MPR Art Hallucinations |
| Genres: | Adventure, Puzzle, Horror |
| Themes: | Horror, Indie, Single-Player |
| Release Date: | May 2014 |
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