One of the most disturbing games I've played. Incredibly ambitious for its time. Adressing really really heavy subject matter that even puts Silent Hill to shame. There's no horror quite like this world.

AM's hatred for humanity is both foreign and understandable

All 5 characters are burdened by their past, guilty of it or not and they are meant to reflect on it. The horror of imagining this scenario being replayed on loop over and over is quite something.

An incredibly scary game.

I think, therefore I AM.

☆

This game was NOT something I expected to ever enjoy in my lifetime. I forgot where I heard about this game, but whatever lead me to it... thank you. It was an enjoyable little experience, even if my game bugged out numerous times (luckily I save like a maniac, so...). I liked going through the stories of each character and finding out what they were running from/trying to face, even if some of them were definitely not the best of people. The puzzles were a little complicated to solve at times, and for sure places the game in that category of "trying an item on every single pixel" IMO, but once you get the hang of how exactly this game wants you to progress through it, it feels like things fall into place and make SO much sense.

ELLEN - She was who I started out with, and her storyline/section immediately roped me into the game. Everything about her was charming to me and I just felt a great connection toward her. It kind of felt like she held my hand and walked me through the rest of the game since there were places I recognized throughout the entirety of it because of one of her rooms. It broke my heart going through the end of her part, but I loved how it seemed like she took a step closer in the right direction for herself. I only wish it was done a little better, but I liked how her fear of the color yellow (something we are introduced to almost immediately) is something that starts out as being odd to the player until it's revealed WHY exactly this strange fear plagues her mind. She is introduced in the description as a "hysterical phobic", which seems almost true until you end up realizing why she is the way she is.

NIMDOK - The second part I went through. Nimdok was, IMO, the most gruesome story of all to play through, but that doesn't mean I hated it. He is a bad person, yes, and I do not think he can be redeemed no matter what actions are taken in your playthrough, and I do love how the story seems to agree with that statement. In this games description, Nimdok is referred to as the "secretive sadist", and it has to be one of the most accurate ones out of all of the little character blurbs. I feel very unsure about what exactly to say when speaking on Nimdok, but it seems like you can tell what his entire section is going to be about as soon as you spawn into his location.

BENNY - Benny's part, my third one, was one I was kind of struggling with, but that didn't ruin the experience THAT much for me. My game was really bugging out in this section, and I truly have no idea why, so that definitely added to my slight frustrations. This one just didn't stick out to me as much but was, for sure, a section I'd probably put above Ted's. His characterization just felt a little more present in this one, even if it felt more "right in your face". His blurb describes him as a "mutilated brute", which, out of everything that could've been chosen, was a little odd to me. I guess I can see how it makes sense, but still.

GORRISTER - Next up: Gorrister, the "suicidal loner", and my fourth character I played as. Although his section was extremely tedious at times, causing me to be lost very often, I really liked the story that came out of it. "Suicidal loner" is ONE way to describe him, sure, but his story runs a LOT deeper than that once you find out exactly what reasons he has behind feeling the way he does. This section, personally, felt like playing through the five stages of grief, which I very much enjoyed.

TED - Being the last part I went through (expecting to go out with a bang), I do wish Ted had a little more to his characterization in this one. Don't get me wrong, I still did enjoy playing through his sequence, but as I went through his it just felt like, after going through everybody else's, that his was lacking something to make it stand out from the rest, especially after what AM says about him before starting his route, basically hyping him up to be this different character compared to all the others. It just felt a little empty to me, and I would've loved to see a lot more of his "cynical paranoid" (as they say in the description) personality seep out during his bit, but it was alright.

This entire cast (lowkey minus Ted, sorry) made me not want to pull my eyes away from the screen at all, just wanting to know what happens next in their story. The themes of most of these stories are all pretty dark at times, so a slight trigger warning on that (look into it for a lot more info pertaining to each section), but it's nice to have a game that goes through some of these themes in the way that IHNMAIMS did, although it was handled a little oddly at times, and could've been played out better. It's the idea of the themes that makes it work out.

The only issue I have with this game (minus the bugginess I experienced) is that although the sections can be a little difficult at times, nothing compares to the end section once you complete every character's story. This section just felt like I was thrown in with no explanation at all, and expected to fail and restart while I figured things out on my own. Perhaps that was the whole point, and I didn't mind it THAT much, but it was still pretty obnoxious. Saving a ton (quite possibly before every decision you make) is crucial here, especially if you like experimenting, or are struggling with the "clicking on every pixel until something works" syndrome (as I was). However, after a couple of save reloads, once I found the first thing I needed to do, part of it just made a lot more sense to me, especially after walking through all the areas again and REALLY examining what was happening design wise in each.

One last thing I just HAVE to mention is how the author of the book is actually the voice behind AM. He does a FANTASTIC job, with a perfect fitting voice and tone for a supercomputer seeking revenge on humanity. AM is probably up there in my top antagonists. He just purely seemed like a manic AI, and I loved every bit of it. His commentary and line delivery really sealed the deal on this game, making it the cherry on top for me. The monologues this character goes on as well are very interesting to listen to, especially with how they're spoken.

I would say this is a game I would LOVE to recommend, but I can ALSO safely say that this definitely isn't a game for everybody. It's one of those pieces you so badly want to talk about with somebody but wouldn't ever subject them to sitting there and clicking pixels all day. This most likely won't stop me from offering it up as a little experience to be had, but I can't be too surprised if I'm immediately shut down.

I think the best way for me to review this is to rate each storyline, because it's the best way for me to explain what I love and don't love about this game.

5. Ted - His route was pretty simple, but so lacking in story. They never explain anything about his past, even though it was hinted at in the intro to the game. Very weak sauce.

4. Benny - Has the opposite problem, where the writing was really good (the inner monologues were especially effective), but the puzzles kept getting me softlocked. It wasn't always clear what the right choice was, which resulted in the most game overs for me.

3. Gorrister - Love his characterization, and his narrative was really strange and interesting. The puzzles in this one were the most esoteric, which adds to the oddity of the story, but makes the gameplay a bit of a slog... Didn't help that I also got somewhat softlocked because I did things in an order the game didn't like for some reason (even though I only used a guide AFTER I was having issues).

2. Nimdok - This one is so dark, I literally almost had to pause the game to get some air. Short too, which kept puzzles very concise and overall self-explanatory to a degree.

1. Ellen - I haven't looked at many discussions of this game due to spoilers, but the little I've seen don't mention her route much, which I think is criminal. She is easily the best written character of the bunch, and brings some extremely effective emotional highs and lows. The puzzles were straightforward, but definitely required good thought (with the exception of the last leg, though other routes had similar issues). I hope I'm wrong by saying her route is the most underrated.

I won't discuss the endgame for spoiler reasons, but I am so disappointed with the way they handled it from a gameplay perspective. It's a shame too, because this game has so much going for it despite its age and the genre it occupies.

Overall, I still would recommend this game to those who want to try a point-n-click and can handle the really heavy themes it presents. It does kneecap itself on multiple occasions, which makes me not like this as much as I want to. However, when the good moments come, they really shine, and will definitely stick with you.

As a huge fan of the original Harlan Ellison short story, I knew I had to play the point-n-click adventure adaptation released nearly 30 years later by The Dreamers Guild. Thankfully, I had somehow already owned it on GOG, so I immediately started playing it. 90s adventure games are always going to be a difficult genre to get into, due to their reputation as cruel, unfair titles with moon-logic puzzles and instant-death scenarios as punishment for daring to guess. While it is true that I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream does partially fall into these trappings, I'm glad to report that it is a largely successful adaptation of the original story that meaningfully expands on the characters and concepts from said story. The original story was only around eleven pages and didn't allow much room for character development or even significantly fleshed-out backstories. The game changes this, with each character from the short receiving their own unique campaigns, reflecting their greatest fears and insecurities. These campaigns are generally consistent in quality, with my favorite of the bunch being Benny's, as I found it to be the most interesting one narratively and aesthetically. Although a subject of censorship in its time, the game does not shy away from serious and often upsetting subject matters and handles them with genuine grace and tact. Themes such as grief, rape, murder, and genocide aren't simply used for shock value, but rather for the development and exploration of its five protagonists. Gorrister, Ellen, Benny, Nimdok, and Ted are all surprisingly well-written, each possessing distinct personalities, and the game devotes a great amount of time to exploring their internal struggles. Nimdok, for example, is inherently sympathetic due to his elderly age and the torment that AM puts him through. However, when it is revealed that he was instrumental in the torture and murder of numerous Jewish prisoners during World War 2, the player's sympathy is called into question. After all, Nimdok has been put through unquestionable hell, but when he's done the same to others, does he or does he not deserve it? These character complexities are what make this game so compelling, especially in comparison to the source material. Although sometimes the situations the characters are put in can be a little cheesy, such as representing a nightmarish man from Ellen's past as a shadowy monster with red glowing eyes, their reactions to said situations make them convincing nonetheless. The game is often disturbing and the tone is fairly consistent throughout, however, I will note that it doesn't quite match the same level of utter bleakness that the original story did. This isn't strictly a bad thing, as the game is still largely faithful, but it carries the vibes of its genre and era. Of course, how can one even mention this game without Harlan Ellison's phenomenal performance as the antagonist, AM? While AM was portrayed as a silent tormenter in the short, he's nothing short of a large ham in the game. This absolutely isn't a bad thing, as Ellison's performance is extremely convincing, breathing deep-seated insanity and utter maleficence into the character. He has become the game's most iconic element for a reason, as not only is he incredibly intimidating, but also highly entertaining. The rest of the voice actors do a surprisingly good job for the era as well, especially considering that many of them were relatively inexperienced, though I'll admit that Frederick Reynolds could be slightly overbearing with Nimdok's German accent. Overall, though, it's a great adaptation of the short story and this alone immediately makes it worth playing for fans of Ellison's work.

How does the game play though? The game certainly has a reputation for being rather difficult, if not often unfair, though I found most of the times I got stuck to be due to me not thinking outside of the box enough rather than poor design. That's not to say there aren't puzzles that are poorly designed, however, and Ted's campaign is chock full of puzzles that require literal guesswork that would be highly difficult to solve without an unreasonable amount of trial and error or a strategy guide. Despite this, there are some genuinely clever puzzles here as well, and by and large the first four campaigns just generally require some out-of-the-box thinking that while I don't find unreasonable, may take some getting used to. Sometimes the game seemingly expects you to do certain puzzles in specific orders, which can occasionally feel obtuse, but the fact that you can save as much as you want softens this a bit. Another thing of note is that the game is kind of buggy, and while not game-breaking most of the time, it can result in items that were previously in one room having their sprites disappear, but still being interactable objects anyways. The only time this ever soft-locked me was in Ted's campaign, where walking outside of the castle would occasionally prevent me from walking back inside, forcing me to reload my save. Playing the game through ScummVM doesn't seem to fix any of these, which is unfortunate. Nevertheless, I'd say the gameplay is generally quite good, but it is held back by a few inconsistent puzzles and bugs.

Visuals are very important for an adventure game, as narrative aside it's your primary method of engaging with the game's world. Thankfully, I Have No Mouth delivers on portraying an insane, warped world of decay and psychodrama. Environments are creative, with varied and interesting locations such as a flying steampunk zeppelin, an abandoned roadside bar, an ancient Egyptian tomb, and a techno-hell native cave civilization being particular highlights. This does lend the game a rather artificial feeling, such as the vegetation in Benny's campaign being robotic, reminding the player that the lands they traverse are nothing more than products of the active imagination of an insane computer. Backgrounds can have almost a painted look to them at points, which distinguishes the game from the pixellated look that most mid-90s games possessed. I even like how the character sprites can scale in quality to make them appear larger or smaller, allowing for a grander scale to many of the game's environments. If there's anything that could use some work, however, it's the animations, which while generally serviceable occasionally come across as awkward. This can occasionally disrupt the game's tone, especially when characters are speaking, as they suddenly appear overly cartoonish rather than somewhat stylized as usual. Another positive aspect of the game's presentation is the score, composed by John Ottman. What makes this game's soundtrack unique compared to a lot of games at the time is its cinematic quality, being composed similarly to films rather than what was expected from gaming. This does make sense, as Ottman would later make a name for himself working on The Usual Suspects and the X-Men films. The game's score makes great use of recurring motifs for each track, with each of the characters' themes sounding completely different but carrying said motifs, giving the game a unified sound. Even within the constraints of old-school MIDI music, the use of strings and more unconventional instruments such as xylophones and harmonicas do lend this game a unique feeling that not only complements the atmosphere but also allows it to stand out. It's a great score and probably one of the most impressive uses of classic MIDI I've seen.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is often considered a classic of the adventure game genre. While I do think it's a flawed game, it deserves that title. Its storytelling is its strongest point, expanding upon the source material in meaningful ways, giving the characters more depth, and elaborating on many of the sci-fi concepts it originally posed. The characters are interesting, the antagonist is extremely memorable, and the tone is depressing and disturbing. Its presentation is unique for its time and still presents an immersive atmosphere so many years later, even if some relatively minor aspects could use some work. Sure, the gameplay may be difficult, perhaps excessively so at points, and Ted's campaign may be an uninteresting slog, but overall this is a very solid adventure title with many memorable aspects that make this a must-play for fans of the original short story, and easy to recommend to fans of adventure games.

honestly i didn't find the og novel memorable or interesting, but the game expands on it significantly. their personal hells are given more detail now that you can explore them, you get to know more about them as people, and some things do deviate from the novel but i vastly prefer the game version anyway. some of the puzzles are a pixel hunt or just classic moon logic, and the final level is also a bit confusing as the devs clearly did not intend to make it possible for everyone to survive, but overall it's full of atmosphere and interesting writing

This is one of those classic games of horror that doesn't set out to try and scare you, but more disturb you with the malice of the character who is pulling the strings and this case, the AI known as AM who went insane and has a god complex. "I think there for I AM!" as he says, even though AM meant something else.

In this game you play as one of a handful of characters that have to take on his torturous and vile tasks as he wishes to play a game with all of you, but this time actual escape may be possible.

Gameplay:
Your standard point-and-click set up where you are interact with various different items and have to use them to solve puzzles, give them to people and try to figure out what's going on with these tasks. It also doesn't help that this game does have the unfortunate issue of soft-locking where if you don't save regularly, you might find yourself stuck with no way to return like I did whilst playing a Nimdok, a controversial character who was removed entirely from the German release of the game due to his ties to the Nazis and making the game impossible to complete as every character needs to reach the end of this test before progressing to the end.

Story:
I've said a lot of the story already, but basically the AI called Adding Machine or AM for short, has a god complex and after wiping out all human life, he saves for himself five people who he feels sins are so great that a instant death in a nuclear attack, either vaporisation or slow agonising death from radiation, is not enough for them!:
Gorrister who looks and sounds like a hillbilly with something to hide.
Benny a man AM mutilated and tormented due to his own brutish past.
Ellen, the only woman in the group who AM likes to remind her of, making her uncomfortable along with exposing her to her phobia of the colour yellow.
Nimdok the aged doctor who is haunted and has forgotten his secret sadistic past working under Doctor Mengele.
Ted, the handsome man whose looks haven't gone in the 909 years living in torture, but his looks and charm have no affect against AM besides making him laugh.

A secret note lets you know that AM might actually be betting your freedom, for real this time, but is the really the truth or is this yet another sadistic ploy by AM?

Gameplay + Stream

Backseat-gamed for this one while a friend took main controls. It was interesting to see a weird adaptation of my favorite short story play out in the regular semi-obtuse mid 90s adventure game format. There's some obvious aging to the whole ordeal, primarily in the control and certain puzzles being increasingly confusing and have strange steps needed to take to get to the end of it all. Fun, enlightening, and still disturbing to this day, the I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream video game is a fun experience despite its glaring flaws when viewing it with modern sensibilities.

Launching this cult classic, I was expecting to require a lot more outside help during my first playthrough, which is often the case with adventure games from that era. When playing each of the chapters devoted to the main five characters I found the puzzles to be manageable, even if sometimes they veered into the more abstract category. This changed dramatically, however, in the epilogue - I honestly have no idea how anyone could achieve the ‘good’ ending without following a guide or prior knowledge of the game. The scope of that final chapter and the number of items in the inventory and interactable objects certainly don’t help. This should’ve been streamlined, or at least explained better to give players a real chance to arrive at the desired ending by themselves.

What I found a bit puzzling was the inclusion of a spiritual barometer of sorts. When the character we’re in charge of does something considered positive, e.g. helps an NPC, then it flashes green and the face of the character starts showing a faint smile. I understand that it is supposed to work in line with the overall theme of the game, which is facing one’s guilt/fear, but I’m not sure how some instances of relevant behaviors work into that. Let’s say a character is being kept hungry by AM - if they find something to eat, it also improves their situation and the meter starts glowing green. Perhaps I’m missing something, but I just failed to see consistency in the actions that were assigned meaning when pushing the characters into their best ending, which would see them face their guilty conscience.

The biggest problem I have with the game is its selection of characters and their ‘faults’. I struggle to understand why on the one hand, you’d include a literal Nazi scientist (who sold out his parents to Gestapo, no less) conducting experiments on prisoners of concentration camps and a war criminal who also might be a cannibal, and on the other hand a woman whose only fault was being raped or a man blaming himself for committing his spouse to a mental institution. I figure the common factor between all those characters is a sense of guilt that they need to overcome to finally find peace within themselves, but I found it hard to sympathize with the first kind of characters described above. Plus, they are all being subjected to unspeakable tortures by AM, regardless of whether or not they are actually guilty of anything. Those feelings were taking me out of the game at times, and what didn’t help was that some of the more mature topics, like the aforementioned rape or concentration camp, were handled poorly and without the necessary delicacy or nuance. Ellen's story especially feels out of date and in poor taste. The game also doesn’t skip out on gory details in most scenarios, which to me reads like a juvenile attempt at edginess rather than trying to comment on some important topics in a mature way. It does get slightly better in the final chapter, which leans slightly into some Freudian concepts and proves that humanity’s creations will always bear the flaws of its creators.

What I need to admit is that visually the game is still quite impressive, mostly due to the sheer variety of the levels. Each character finds themselves in a completely unique setting and each time I was eager to progress to see what else the game had to offer. The pixelart holds up really well, and it still proves to be the best way to preserve a game (unlike e.g. early 3D graphics from that time which often look hideous today). The music and voice acting are solid (even if some lines are janky), with the author of the short story Harlan Ellison stepping in to voice AM, the villain. I also appreciate the multitude of endings (not that many if you think about it, but still it’s a nice touch to have some variety in the outcomes in a point’n’click).

Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer-thin layers that fill my complex. If the word 'hate' was engraved on each nanoangstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant. For you. Hate. Hate.

I like the story a lot, AM is one of the best villains out there and the scenarios you go through with each character are interesting. Gameplay is simple being just a point-and-click adventure game the puzzles are obtuse and don't really make much sense but I like them.