i have no mouth and i must scream am destroys lunar

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. He has become the game's most iconic element for a reason, as not only is he incredibly intimidating, but also highly entertaining. This absolutely isn't a bad thing, as Ellison's performance is extremely convincing, breathing deep-seated insanity and utter maleficence into the character. 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 isn't strictly a bad thing, as the game is still largely faithful, but it carries the vibes of its genre and era. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Nimdok, for example, is inherently sympathetic due to his elderly age and the torment that AM puts him through. 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. 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. 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. 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. The game changes this, with each character from the short receiving their own unique campaigns, reflecting their greatest fears and insecurities. The original story was only around eleven pages and didn't allow much room for character development or even significantly fleshed-out backstories. 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. 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. Thankfully, I had somehow already owned it on GOG, so I immediately started playing it. 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.

I have no mouth and i must scream am destroys lunar