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).
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).