Line #29 VideoGame/SerialExperimentsLain


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serialexperimentslainvideogame.jpg]]
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3	''Serial Experiments Lain'' is a video game based off the [[Anime/SerialExperimentsLain anime of the same name]]. It was released on the Platform/{{Playstation}} in 1998.
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5	The game might take place in an alternate reality from the series, features a cast of new characters, however it shares similar themes to the anime.
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7	''Serial Experiments Lain'' was developed concurrently with the anime, and was released shortly after its conclusion. Calling it a "game" may be a bit of a stretch, and the creators actually define it as "psychostretchware". Instead of actual gameplay, it acts more as an interface to access parts of Lain's story, presenting a multimedia experience that includes video, diary excerpts, and notes from Lain's therapist.
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9	Although it never received an official English translation, a group of fans released a complete translated script for the game in 2014, which can be downloaded [[http://psx.lain.pl/ here]]. Additionally, a fully-functioning web browser port with multi-language support was published in 2021, and can be played [[https://3d.laingame.net/#/ here]].
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12	!!This game contains examples of:
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14	* AdaptationDyeJob: Lain's dark brown hair has a heavy purple tint. It's probably PurpleIsTheNewBlack.
15	* ACupAngst: Lain experiences this in comparison to her classmate Misato.
16	* AlternateUniverse: The game might take place in a separate continuity from the anime and features a completely different plot. Major characters from the anime like Alice are totally absent, leading to a much different characterization of Lain.
17	* ArtShift: Despite being animated by the same team around the same time as the anime, the art style is very different. This was likely done to accommodate the Playstation's technical limitations, but also underlines how different the game is from the show.
18	* {{Anguished Outburst}}: Lain suggests Touko's work is full of "miscellaneous chores" and it causes Touko to snap.
19	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Lain ultimately kills herself to live forever in the Wired as a ghost, much like Chisa Yamoda and Masami Eiri do in the anime]].
20	* BloodierAndGorier: The anime is relatively tame on its gore. This game? Not so much. It has a lot of blood and dead bodies. [[spoiler:Lain slashes her throat, kills her therapist, beats up her dad's half-finished android, and ultimately shoots herself]].
21	* BreakThemByTalking: [[spoiler: Lain does this to Touko, to the point where Touko begins causing her own anguish by anticipating what Lain will say]].
22	* CreepyChild: After finding out that her records were hacked, Touko describes [[spoiler: Lain]] this way.
23	* CriticalPsychoanalysisFailure: Touko experiences this after Lain [[spoiler: hacks into the institute's records]].
24	* DarkerAndEdgier: If you thought the anime was already dark. This ''suprisingly'' managed to be more ''grim and graphic'' than the anime it was based on.
25	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Lain]] shoots herself in the end. Played with in that [[spoiler:she possibly only killed her physical body]].
26	* DrowningMySorrows: Lain's [[spoiler:Mother after the divorce]].
27	* ForWantOfANail: The game might take place in a much different universe from the anime. As a result, the story vastly is different, mainly [[spoiler: what if Lain didn't have an LivingEmotionalCrutch, aka Alice?]] As a result, [[spoiler: Lain becomes more determined to enter the Wired than anything else]].
28	* FreeRangeChildren: Later on, Lain becomes one [[spoiler: to an absurd degree. She pays a developer to build her a house]].
29	* {{Freud was right}}: There's a video of Lain cuddling with her [[spoiler: android father]]. The video is titled "Libido"
30	* {{Gaslighting}}: [[spoiler: Lain and Touko]] accuse each other of doing this.
31	* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Much of Lain's instability comes from how lonely she is.
32	* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies: Lain dies by shooting herself]].
33	* HopeSpot: Lain gets into 8th grade, makes a new friend names Misato, and seems healthy. [[spoiler: Misato is at best an imaginary friend, at worst a hallucination, and realizing this causes Lain's mental health to collapse]]
34	* ImaginaryFriend: [[spoiler:Misato]].
35	* ReplacementGoldfish: After Lain's [[spoiler:parents divorce, Lain creates an AI replica of her father. She later tries to make a physical android in which to place the AI]].
36	* SelfHarm: At one point Lain smashes a mirror and sinks a piece of glass into her neck.
37	* TraumaSwing: One of the video files shows Lain doing this. She also has one in her back yard, which gets overgrown with weeds [[spoiler:after her parents divorce]].

Context VideoGame / SerialExperimentsLain