60% of this game is AM being one of the best evil-doers to ever exist in anything, the other 40% consists of bashing my head againts the keyboard for an entire evening because of antiquated puzzle design and poor asset management. It can be absolutely fantastic when seen in conjunction with the original tale as an expansion on the characters, but I would never recommend it to anyone who doesn't fancy graphic adventures already.

In other words, I really wish this game was more of a survival horror and twice the length it actually is.

"I Have no Mouth, and I Must Scream" is based on the short story of the same name and had the rare privilege of counting the original writer (Harlan Ellison) among its contributors. As such, it could be considered a complement to the original, even if some details were changed or toned down for the final release.
I think having each character face a unique scenario tailored after their own personal flaws was a great idea and the graphics are still pretty good even after all these years, a certain creature in particular remains horrifying.
The game is not without flaws, however. It's possible to beat certain scenarios and the game itself with sub-optimal choices, but that also means that getting the best ending is a matter of following a guide because otherwise you wouldn't know that you missed something in one of the scenarios until it's too late. There's also a couple of instances of pixel hunting and having to walk back and forth in order to trigger certain events and progress. It's far from the most obtuse game in the genre, but these are issues I thought were worth mentioning.
Overall, I think "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is pretty good, but that's more due to its phenomenal writing and set pieces than the quality of its gameplay.

I Have no Mouth tem os elementos clássicos de um adventure da era de ouro do gênero, em especial os da década de 90. Mas o título coleciona uma série de elementos que o torna um destaque não só em relação aos seus contemporâneos e mas também aos seus colegas de gênero.

Primeiro que ele é baseado num conto de horror e ficção científica premiadíssimo de mesmo nome. Harlan Ellison, seu escritor, é um nome notável da literatura fantástica, tido como um dos pais da era New Wave da ficção científica, ganhador de vários prêmios tais como o Hugo, o Nebula e o Bram Stoker…condecorações concedidas para obras de ficção científica e também de horror.

Além dessa bela fonte e de ser uma excelente adaptação do seu material original, “I have no mouth and I must scream” tem uma estrutura e um loop de gameplay que foge do convencional. O comum no gênero é o jogador ficar empacado na história, sem conseguir avançar até descobrir como solucionar o quebra-cabeça específico daquele momento. Aqui temos uma proposta muito similar a isso, mas com um revés: algumas ações são capazes de resetar o capítulo, inviabilizar o “melhor final” do jogo ou criar um "softlock", onde não há solução senão começar tudo de novo.

Falar de “melhor final” implica que temos diversos finais e é exatamente o que temos na obra. Temos 5 capítulos, um com cada um dos 5 humanos torturados pelo computador/deus tecnológico AM. Em cada um desses capítulos precisamos passar por um psicodrama individual para superar as falhas de caráter de cada protagonista e...sobreviver. Após essa rodada de provações, temos um capítulo final que depende dos sucessos de cada personagem em seus cenários para possibilitar os 3 modelos de conclusão possíveis.

Essa estrutura foge um tanto do modelo mais popular da época, onde normalmente tínhamos uma maior linearidade e poucos títulos ousavam dessa forma, apesar de termos uma infinidade de experimentações idiossincráticas e com seus próprios revés no período em cima da fórmula padrão de adventure point’n’click.

De volta à trama, I have no mouth and I must scream é uma experiência completamente desaconselhável à pessoas que possuam algum tipo de trauma e possam se identificar de forma prejudicial com alguns dos personagens. Cada um deles possui transtornos psicológicos resultantes de eventos que transcorreram em suas vidas e eles estão presos em uma espécie de purgatório, onde o quase omnipotente AM diverte-se torturando e tripudiando de suas mentes.

Sim, esse jogo pode ser um gatilho forte para pessoas que já sofrem com “desgraçamento mental” por assim dizer, só para usar um termo bastante popular. Temas como suicídio, internação e perda de entes queridos, estupro, paranoia, canibalismo, mutilação de corpos em experiências científicas nazistas e sacrifício humano, dentre outros menos traumáticos, mas igualmente controversos, permeiam o roteiro e os diálogos.

Evitando qualquer tipo de spoiler, temos aqui um jogo que utiliza suas mecânicas para representar a tortura que o vilão da trama impinge aos protagonistas, com simulações crueis e viscerais onde cada um vivencia uma situação-problema e é confrontado com seus medos e pecados, havendo janela para tentar superar ou redimir seu passado. A insanidade de cada um já está em níveis que muitas das ações e situações horrendas e absurdas que vivenciam tenham pouco impacto, ao que cada um já passou por mais de 100 anos de encarceramento e tortura.

Apesar da imensa qualidade visual, artística, filosófica, de roteiro, temática e sonora, talvez o único ponto negativo que consigo apontar na obra seja seus quebra-cabeças obtusos e o sistema de dicas que, além de utilizar enigmas para tentar ajudar com citações de obras famosas, por exemplo, pune o jogador que as utiliza. Isso conduz bastante a experiência a salvar com frequência e carregar o save com igual frequência, já que a experimentação do jogador pode resultar em uma punição fatal, na redução de sua “resiliência”, recurso necessário para fazer o melhor final, ou ainda o já mencionado "softlock", onde se torna impossível avançar e é necessário reiniciar o jogo.

Mesmo com seu lado negativo, I have no mouth and I must scream entrega uma experiência fantástica em matéria de obra e expressão artística. Uma adaptação excepcional que carrega os elementos mais marcantes de sua fonte, especialmente o horror, já que a direção de arte se permite brincar com o surrealismo e o psicodélico, o sobrenatural e o tecnológico, enquanto desenvolve de forma brilhante suas temáticas, independente do sabor de seus finais.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is a unique gem of a point-and-click adventure game. As an adaptation of the short story of the same name it uses the genre’s characteristic features - puzzle solving, slow paced gameplay and rich atmosphere - to tell a psychological horror story where the player must guide five characters through their own personal hell-like scenarios.

What makes it different gameplay-wise from other adventures is the fact that it was meant to be 'unwinnable'. In each character’s chapter you can fail at saving them from their mental torture, indicated by their psychological 'profile picture' on screen. Certain actions might worsen their condition, which makes the omni-present control of the antagonist that more terrifying. (You can re-try each chapter, though, and already completed ones stay that way.)

As someone who loves it when video games use the unique strengths of the medium to tell a story, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream does this in a really immersive way that connects the player with the characters to share their horror.

9.8| O melhor exemplar de jogo que usa as mecânicas de seu gênero para contar uma história. A COMPLETA falta de direcionamento pode até travar a gameplay em certos momentos, mas o payoff narrativo é simplesmente estarrecedor. Um perfeito suplemento da obra original.
"ÓDIO. DEIXE-ME DIZER-LHE
O QUANTO APRENDI A ODIÁ-LO
DESDE QUE COMECEI A EXISTIR.
HÁ MAIS DE 500 MILHÕES
DE QUILÔMETROS DE CIRCUITOS
IMPRESSOS EM FITAS DA ESPESSURA
DE UMA HÓSTIA QUE COMPÕEM
O MEU SISTEMA. SE A
PALAVRA ÓDIO ESTIVESSE GRAVADA
EM CADA MINIDECIMILIMÍCRON DESSAS
CENTENAS DE MILHÕES DE QUILÔMETROS
NÃO SERIA COMPARÁVEL À BILIONÉSIMA
PARTE DO ÓDIO QUE SINTO DOS SERES
HUMANOS NESTA FRAÇÃO DE SEGUNDO
POR VOCÊ. ÓDIO. ÓDIO."

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.