I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995)

The criticism I have seen around the game is fair. Gameplay-wise the game is a chore and significantly dated. It didn't revolutionize the point-and-click genre and in many ways highlights the worst facets of the genre. Most puzzles are obtuse and you are given little context to push you in the right direction. Beating the game with the "good" ending requires a trial of patience, attrition and grit. You will have to thoroughly experiment and replay every scenario numerous times to discover the good ending on your own. I didn't have the patience for it, so I typically would try to beat each scenario without a guide, then replay immediately with a guide for the optimal outcome. Most puzzles will involve you finding the right pixel to click in a given room and then use it on the right object (that may also be small and hard to see). Most of the time you simply need to fail to understand the right order and course of actions. I think Gorrister is the most challenging of all scenarios, not only because his puzzles are the most complicated but also because he is likely the first scenario you will try. Thus you are learning what the game is expecting from you while also playing the most challenging scenario. I found all subsequent scenarios to be much easier and I attribute that to this "tutorial" scenario. There is an interesting mechanic that is never clearly explained to the character. There is a tome you can click on for a vague hint on your current objective to advance the plot. Every time you use it, your character loses health and can eventually die. This is communicated (poorly) to the player by the background of the character portrait changing from green (high health) to red (low health). I didn't figure this out until the endgame scenario. While I think tutorials can be tricky to implement well, since they can cause subsequent playthroughs to feel tedious based on length and execution, I do think this game needed one.

Where this game shines is with it's complicated themes, narrative, characters and rich atmosphere. While morality played a large role in Harlan Ellison's body of literature and in the original short story this game is based on, it takes a much larger role in this adaptation. At the heart of each scenario, morality is explored and dissected. Whether through Gorrister's guilt and suicidal intent, Ellen's trauma, Benny's brutality, Nimdok's quest for scientific advancement or Teds' exploitation of women. The game will force you to make challenging moral decisions.

The narrative is faithful, yet significantly different from the original short story. Playing through the game, Ellison's heavy involvement is clear. The tone and abrasive style is still intact. It's campy, poignant and philosophical. The game acts as an alternative universe from the novel, with the events (from the book) being heavily referenced. Some notable changes are with Benny. He wasn't a soldier and was gay in the original story. The later does feel a bit odd to change given how tacked on his wife feels during the end game scenario. His sexual orientation is leveraged for psychological torture in the novel. Ellen wants him physically (the most) and while he obliges her, he doesn't do it from a place of affection, thus making Ellen's affection unreciprocated and vacuous. The change to being a soldier I think is greatly leverage for the larger theme of morality. The scenario explores the brutal nature of humanity and forces you to make interesting moral choices. In the original cut of the game, the devs went so far as to allow the player to eat a baby. The other characters aren't really labeled with professions in the novel, so the added character arcs serves as enrichment.

My favorite scenario was Gorrister's. While it was the most obtuse with its puzzles, I thought the narrative contained within was the most interesting and its style and atmosphere were top notch. It felt like a fever dream filled to the brim with complex allegory. While I think each scenario (except for Ted's) all have great moments, Gorrister's stuck with me the most. Ellen's use of the color yellow as a symbol for her trauma was brilliant and has excellent pay off, making it a close number two for me. Benny and Nimdok have the most complicated moral choices that you have to make. I would consider both a tie. Finally, Ted was the biggest let down. It has some interesting ideas but also contains the most tropes. Kind of the point, but it doesn't do anything subversive or interesting in my opinion.

I personally liked the art style, music and voice acting, but I understand why others would have a differing opinion on the matter. It set an oppressive, grimy and disturbing atmosphere that fits the themes and narrative of the game. I also loved that Harlan Ellison voiced AM. You can tell he had a blast with it. I thought overall the performances were strong, except for Nimdok's. On one hand, he's meant to be a senile old man on the other his accent is terrible.

In conclusion, I have no Mouth was a missed opportunity. It had great writing but was held back by game play. A part of me wishes that Harlan Ellison had his way and the game was unbeatable. It may not have made it fair better commercially, but it would have led to a more interesting game.