To play this game, you have to look through it with a lens of the era. Although it is clunky, this standalone sequel has a UI better than Phantasmagoria 1. While billed as a horror game, I'd more categorize it as an erotic thriller with sci-fi. Any seasoned adventure game player could finish it in a few hours. There is an abundance of unnecessary FMVs (opening a drawer, walking to a door) that repeat, but I'm sure were impressive at the time. Most importantly, for a point-and-click adventure - THERE IS ONLY ONE OBTUSE / DIFFICULT PUZZLE and it is at the end of the game. Although the story doesn't really hold up by today's standards, I enjoyed talking with the people in the office and exploring the (limited) world. The developers flushed it out where they could and they succeeded in some ways. Check it out for the novelty, laugh at/with the characters and always say 'hi' to Blob.
Ah, this game. I have spent many hours playing this game ever since I first played it at my cousin's place back when it was released. It's a fantastic game to play with friends and has endured as a classic over the years. It's an awkward game to learn but well worth it. Playing different towns and growing large armies still feels rewarding. Although it is certainly inefficient to gather 20 Black Dragons before stomping your enemies is does feel pretty great. It remains my favourite turn-based strategy game of all time. Randomly generated maps extend the replay value, but for me, nothing compares to having two or three buddies over and running a hotseat match over a day. Check out the fan-made "Horn Of The Abyss" expansion for numerous quality upgrades after you've played the game for a while.
