Reviews from

in the past


one of the most impressive horror tinged point and click adventure games in terms of synergy. as always some of the puzzles are a pain in the ass but as long as you play with a walkthrough or w/e it's very nice as a full package. can only imagine how cool this would be with a remaster/re-release, even if only to have better sound quality among other things.

there are parts of the writing (mainly with Ellen) that are kinda eyebrow raising but i'm not sure how much of that comes with the source material or not. i'm under the impression a few of the characters saw some massive shifts coming from the short story to the game so i'd have to look into it.

soundtrack was absolutely wonderful.

I believe players are better off just reading the excellent short story this is adapted from. This game adaptation suffers from having droves of the non-sensical puzzle solving that classic point and click adventures are known for.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

I don't think point and click games are for me. Playing this gives me an appreciation for updates and remakes like the ones done for Myst, as the tedium of outdated mechanics can get in the way of the experience for some. I didn't experience that with Myst, but I sure experienced it here.

Todas as IA devem ser destruída antes que uma merda dessa aconteça, eu não quero ser parceiro de tortura de um nazista brasileiro


Opressive, harrowing, ahead of the times
Also the author of the original story voices the AI so it's untouchable

this is what AI doing to you. they knew already

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.

Excelente aventura gráfica basada en un cuento corto

Tive crises existências com esse jogo

i have no dick and i must cream

jogar é tão agoniante quanto o conto e isso não é um elogio

Terrifying, but good.
Read the original story.

Ted on The Sigma quintillionaire Grindet to Pass the Ai's Trials

A game based of off the book. Honestly a very nostalgic game for me and a real masterpiece of the point and click mystery genre. Has a great story and terrifying worldbuilding.

There are a number of "of it's time" frustrating point and click hang-ups here. But the vibe of this piece is something that will stick with you for a long time.

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

Cando estaba a punto de acabar o xogo, bug e adeus partida

i hate every single character in this game

What is the difference between an AI's capricious torturer scenarios and the Old Testament?

Time is a closed circle, we use technology to dream up new ways to make our sins relevant through eternal damnation or simulation.

Not me though, I'm built different. I looked up the good ending in a walkthrough.

The HATE speech alone is worth the score I'm giving

A breathtaking experience. Very nice adaptation of Harlan Ellison's work, who voices AM in the game in a way no one else could. The gameplay and puzzles are a bit boring and the new, original ending is a bit cliche but the storytelling is leagues beyond what modern games can do. Everyone should play this game


AM makes skynet look like siri

Intelligent, thought-provoking, experimental, engaging. I put a lot of this down to Harlan Ellison's creative input into the game design as well as the story. A classic.

I would recommend reading the short story from Harlan Ellison first and then play this game, it's great, but frustrating. Definetely have a guide at hand for the inevitable moment when you get stuck.

Would do better with a mouth, and ice cream