Serial Experiments Lain is not really a game, it's more of a Visual Novel, but even calling it that is not accurate, it's mostly a series of audio logs and video files that you can listen to and watch in pretty much any order you'd like and they tell the story.
The story is significantly different from the show as it is more about mental illness than it is about the internet, there are parallels to the show and there are connections between the stories, but for the most part both are two unrelated stories that can be experienced independently.
The story here is truly unique in its presentation and premise and the writing and performances are brilliant.
The "gameplay" experience however, is not very good, the menu in the game is quite slow and clunky, it's annoying, but it's not bad enough to hurt the game, the menu is only a means to an end, and what truly shines here is the story, which is every bit as Brilliant as the the one in the show.
The story is significantly different from the show as it is more about mental illness than it is about the internet, there are parallels to the show and there are connections between the stories, but for the most part both are two unrelated stories that can be experienced independently.
The story here is truly unique in its presentation and premise and the writing and performances are brilliant.
The "gameplay" experience however, is not very good, the menu in the game is quite slow and clunky, it's annoying, but it's not bad enough to hurt the game, the menu is only a means to an end, and what truly shines here is the story, which is every bit as Brilliant as the the one in the show.