I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

I loved the original short story of the same name that served as the basis for this game ever since I first read it and I was trying to find this game for a long time. I got it a while back (and then on GOG, too) because online reviews raved about how groundbreaking and excellent a game it was. Unfortunately, it was more of a letdown. Technically, the game was OK - I haven't encountered the bugs other reviews mentioned but it's a pretty standard point-and-click adventure game: the graphics, the music / sound effects are all OK - not bad but nothing special. The characters have some pretty crazy background story that I thought didn't really fit the original short story and I found the resulting experience mostly confusing and not very engaging. The puzzles are (with some exceptions) illogical and frustrating - I have a hard time seeing how anyone could get through this game without a walkthrough or just randomly clicking everything. Getting through this felt more like a chore, not playing. I definitely recommend reading the story - it's good dark sci-fi and it's much better than the game.

Very interesting game. Tries to do an exploration of gameplay using protagonists with various neuroses, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes the characters won't do what you tell them to do because of their weaknesses, which can be an interesting problem to solve, but often makes the player wonder if the game is broken (which doesn't help, because sometimes it is). The game's construction is actually very sloppy; the character animation is terrible, the backgrounds vary between ugly painted backgrounds and ugly 90s 3D pre-renders, and it's sometimes easy to get stuck or get a bad ending without any inclination that you screwed up. All that aside, the game actually explores some dark themes, especially for a game from 1995, and I'm tempted to recommend it on its weirdness value alone. Every point-and-click adventure enthusiast needs to give it a try. It does a lot of things wrong and a lot of things right. Much more compelling than the original short story, and Harlan Ellison is killer as the voice of AM.

I am unsure how to feel about the game. It seems to be praised a lot for the story, setting and themes, but while those are certainly not run-of-the-mill, I don't think they are executed perfectly. It's interesting to learn about each of the characters, but every arc is fast, their redemption perhaps too quick. The main antagonist, the AI/super-computer AM, also feels contrived in many ways, which is a problem given how important its role is. This is also reflected in the last "chapter" of the game, which isn't themed around any of the protagonists unlike the previous ones, and results dull overall. On the other hand, the gameplay is better than what the detractors say: You can complete the game without a walkthrough. In fact, you have a built-in hint system. Sure, the hints are cryptic and with how oniric the set-pieces are, things can be confusing, however they are great to know if you missed something, since they won't change until you accomplish the alluded task. While it's possible to screw yourself over, it's actually very hard to, if you pay attention. Save often by all means, but that's all you need, especially for adventure veterans. I read a walkthrough twice: once because I wasn't sure about one interaction (I was worried since I had read you could sequence break and get stuck, but that seems actually hard to do), and the second to confirm a few things in the final portion of the game. This one is poorly done, I must admit, but it's not difficult, just tedious, as you need a specific character first, and there are a lot of completely unnecessary tasks you can chase, until you learn this fact. Some of the required interactions after are unintuitive, but you only have to worry about a handful at this point, so you can trial and error through it easily, if you want. The music is good, and so are the graphics, both building a great mood together. The game overall is probably closer to a 7/10, but it is interesting enough to warrant rounding the score up.

Amazing adventure. Definitely, this game is not for everyone, but still I recommend it for everyone to try it.. It is game with serious theme and dark, depressing story. Five protagonists, each with deep personality, each with some sins/burden, on their way for redemption/salvation in reality created by devious omnipotent Ai. Many years ago I finished this game on my own, withou manual/help, so it is not such difficult as someone tells. Game is full of philosophic questions, morality, introspecting, questions about guilty, etc.. For me, this is one of best adventure game, if not the best, I've ever played.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great game and the puzzles require a keen eye and an actual working brain. That's why i kinda hate it, it constantly shoves my stupidity in my face. You should totally play it tho, especially if you love puzzles