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.

As my title says, about the game the only flaw I can say it is that there's a hidden morality system that you are never informed about and because it is an older game some of the items are too pixelated to be noticed right away. You'll be devoured by the story, it is incredible and horrible dark and you'll love every bit of it. My favorite game along with Bulletstorm, I recommend both.

Same as Deus_Ex, I must admit I loved Harlan Ellison's short story, and loved the game when it first came out. (I believe I first played the demo of the game, which I found on a now-deceased Polish games magazine's CD - Secret Service.) It swooped me of my feet with its dark, gritty suspense and horror laden atmosphere. One cannot help but feel the oppressive watchful eye (sensor?) of AM on the characters. The story is brilliant. Game is beautifully drawn. A true gem for a discerning, mature player! (I suggest reading the short story first!)

Just when I'd been hoping for more older games to come out among the flood of Indies cropping up of late, GOG pulls out this excellent title. Well done! Anyone who knows the value of Ellison's work will tweak to this titles themes of human morality and ethics. It forces the player to make choices in situations that are questionable. It's also the first real survival horror game made. I can't recommend it highly enough! :)

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.