Phantasmagoria

It is not a perfect game. It never was a perfect game... Even when it came out there were better point&click games, but this one gave us mood which was not seen back then. Real actors (with not best acting), interesting (to some degree) location, story (which could have been better) and music (which is really good). This game is like a trip to museum of game design. You will not come here for great graphics, acting, long or demanding gameplay... but it shows how games were done back then and how very long road we have traveled in past years. And yet when you deal with all these imperfections after several minutes you want to go deeper with this story and see its end.

This is one of the first horror games I played on PC. It gives you genuine surprises and a big playground to point and click without having to follow too strict a guideline. It is definitely worth replaying; depending on where you are at certain points different scenes and developments can or can't take place. The graphics are much better than some indie games of our time and the music is great. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good scare.

I played this with my father back when it came out... the overlaid FMV characters are a bit janky, the FMV cutscenes are a bit cheesy, but it's actually fairly decent as a horror point-and-click adventure. Best memory: My dad making that "don't tell your mother" look at my little friends and I and then taking the "hand" cursor and moving it slowly over the female protagonist's curvy parts. ;)

I can remember when Phantasmagoria came out. All the articles divulging tidbits that went into production for the game, and at the time, GAME was not a term that was associated with high-cost budgets. I do not recall the exact monetary figures, but I do remember that when it came out, Phantasmagoria was the most expensive game ever made. It was also the first game to use live actors. The game was made as a film, and it plays like an interactive movie, leaving the player to discover as much or as little as they wish. In terms of story, this game is one of the coolest ideas, incorporating the age-old tale of a haunted house, with nefarious deeds and imposing dread. One must look beyond the "cheesiness" of the acting, and appreciate the story and game for what it was and is: a horror story. This game was also famous for pushing the boundaries on what could be shown in a video game, since at the time, video games were widely considered child's play, never toying with more mature subject matter, which is in the game (no spoilers, here, you will have to play it). In what was standard fare for a Sierra/Roberta Williams release, the game is a point-and-click adventure, with the player guiding their character through the virtual world, acquiring certain items that must be used in certain places to unlock certain things (like I said, I am certain I will not include spoilers). The only draw back on this is that the player can tend to get stuck in parts, as they will undoubtedly miss an item, which was just a ten-by-ten pixellated speck on the screen, but with the inclusion of a "hint" button always on-screen, this challenge can easily be overcome. I highly recommend this game, as it is just what I said, an interactive movie. It might take day or two to beat it, but replay value is high, as there are many easter eggs, as well as extra cut-scenes to view, which include various deaths, and a pretty decent amount of gore. In all, well worth the time to play this, especially if you are a fan of horror stories.

I love this creepy old classic. The acting is actually pretty good IMO and the full motion video makes it stand out among other games of its genre. It has some really jump out of your seat moments. Definitely for mature audiences only although by today's standards maybe not so bad.