Info about I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream:

Official game description:
*   Assume the roles of five different characters, each in a unique environment  
*   Challenging dilemmas dealing with powerfully charged emotional issues  
*   Provocative psychological and adult-oriented themes  
*   Based on Harlan Ellison's short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", one of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language  
*   Full digitized speech with over 40 different characters and state of the art animation  
*   Harlan Ellison as the voice of the insane master computer, AM.
**FIVE DAMNED SOULS:** Buried deep within the center of the earth, trapped in the bowels of an insane computer for the past hundred and nine years. Gorrister the suicidal loner, Benny the mutilated brute, Ellen the hysterical phobic, Nimdok the secretive sadist, Ted the cynical paranoid.  
**ONE CHALLENGE:** The adventure plunges you into the tortured and hidden past of the five humans. Delve into their darkest fears. Outwit the Master Computer AM in a game of psychological warfare. Disturbing, compelling. An adventure you won't easily forget !!

Release date: Oct 17, 2013

Categories: Point-and-click Adventure, Psychological Horror, Narrative-driven Gameplay, Choice-based Narrative, Puzzle Solving, Horror, Story-driven Gameplay

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Mixed - High Difficulty and Technical Issues; summary: The game is widely appreciated for its narrative, characters, and atmosphere. However, users frequently encounter high difficulty levels, complex gameplay mechanics, and various bugs and glitches. These issues often necessitate the use of walkthroughs to progress, enjoy the story, or avoid getting stuck. The overall sentiment is mixed, with users acknowledging the game's strengths but also expressing frustration with its challenges and technical issues.
- Steam Deck: score 70; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game receives mixed reviews with notable issues in controls, technical stability, and visual clarity. While the storyline is impactful, the outdated mechanics and frequent crashes detract from the overall experience. Translation issues and small interactive points further frustrate users.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $3.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that the game is considered worth purchasing at a low cost, particularly when on sale. Multiple reviews mention that the game is worth it at a cheap cost or during a sale, with specific mentions of prices around $10 and £3. This indicates that the community finds the game valuable at a lower price point, but there is some hesitation about its worth at the full price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 8.0h
  - Story completion: 5.0h
  - Session length: 2.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect indications of playtime. The first quote explicitly states a range of 2 hours with a walkthrough and 5-8 hours without, which aligns with the typical completion times for the game. The second quote mentions 5 hours of gameplay, which falls within the range provided in the first quote. The third quote suggests that the game can be immersive but frustrating, implying that players might spend several hours trying to complete it. The fourth quote indicates that the player finished the game, suggesting that the game can be completed in a reasonable amount of time, but does not provide a specific number of hours.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game initially presents challenges and boredom due to its design and navigation issues, but it can become enjoyable once players appreciate the story and voice acting.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: Appreciation of the story and voice acting
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Repetitive and confusing navigation; Puzzle solutions locked off by progression; Unclear progression and trial-and-error gameplay
  - Unlock drivers: Story appreciation; Voice acting
  - Conditions: Tolerance for older game mechanics; Appreciation for horror genre; Interest in point-and-click games
- Player Archetypes:
  - Budget-Conscious Story Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: To experience the story without spending too much money.
    - Playstyle: Casual, often using walkthroughs to avoid frustration.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: bargain hunter; story enthusiast
    - Reference games: Darkseed; Cyberpunk 2077
  - Classic Adventure Connoisseur (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience and appreciate classic adventure games.
    - Playstyle: Methodical, using walkthroughs when necessary to solve puzzles.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: veteran gamer; adventure game fan
    - Reference games: Fallout '97; Daggerfall; Silent Hill; Resident Evil
  - Narrative-Driven Story Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: To immerse themselves in the game's narrative and story.
    - Playstyle: Exploratory, focusing on the story and narrative elements.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: story lover; narrative enthusiast
    - Reference games: Darkseed
  - Philosophical Horror Aficionado (buy)
    - Motivation: To engage with deep, philosophical, and psychological themes.
    - Playstyle: Reflective, focusing on the game's deeper meanings and themes.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: horror fan; philosophical gamer
    - Reference games: 1984 by George Orwell


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Compelling and immersive story (weight 0.68): The game offers a compelling and immersive story with an interesting setting. The storytelling and visuals are highly praised, making the experience haunting and captivating.
- Overall positive game experience (weight 0.26): Players generally find the game to be good and enjoyable. It is often described as a classic and worth the time and money invested.
- Harlan Ellison's involvement (weight 0.2): The game benefits significantly from Harlan Ellison's contributions, including narration and story adaptation. His involvement adds a layer of depth and authenticity that resonates with players.
- Enjoyable and entertaining (weight 0.2): The game is described as very enjoyable and entertaining. Players find the story and characters engaging, contributing to a highly recommended experience.
- Unique and dark atmosphere (weight 0.16): The game is praised for its unique and dark atmosphere. The steampunk elements and overall design contribute to an immersive experience.
- Strong voice acting (weight 0.13): The game features solid and excellent voice acting, particularly noted for the character AM. The voice acting adds a significant layer of depth to the narrative.
- Faithful adaptation for fans (weight 0.12): The game is particularly enjoyable for fans of the original book. It captures the essence of the book and provides a faithful adaptation that resonates with fans.
- Psychologically disturbing (weight 0.08): The game is noted for its disturbing and captivating narrative. The psychological depth adds a unique and impactful experience.

Common complaints:
- Obtuse and confusing puzzles (weight 0.32): The puzzles in the game are often obscure, unintuitive, and challenging to the point of being confusing. Many players find them difficult to solve without external help.
- Frequent softlocks (weight 0.23): Players often encounter softlocks, which are situations where the game becomes stuck and cannot proceed without restarting. This issue is common and frustrating.
- Guide dependency (weight 0.22): The game is frequently described as unplayable without a walkthrough or guide. Players feel that they cannot progress or complete the game without referring to external resources.
- Buggy and confusing (weight 0.22): The game is noted for being buggy, with various bugs causing confusion and frustration among players. These bugs can disrupt the gameplay experience significantly.
- Poor control design (weight 0.2): The game's controls are widely criticized for being unresponsive, clumsy, and difficult to use. Many players find them annoying and not up to modern standards.
- Frustrating mechanics (weight 0.14): The game's mechanics, including its save system and controls, are described as frustrating and unpleasant, adding to the overall difficulty and annoyance.
- Limited replayability (weight 0.12): The gameplay is considered boring and unenticing, with limited interactions and variety. This results in low replayability once the main objectives are achieved.
- Unskippable dialogues (weight 0.08): Players are frustrated by the inability to skip dialogues and cutscenes. Missing an item or skipping a dialogue can result in getting stuck.
- Aged poorly (weight 0.07): The game is considered to have aged poorly, with outdated mechanics and design that do not hold up well by modern standards.
- Broken achievements (weight 0.07): Achievements in the game are reported to be buggy and not working properly, particularly when using certain software like ScummVM.
- Heavy and uncomfortable gameplay (weight 0.07): The game is described as heavy and uncomfortable to play, with some players finding it visually straining and not fun.
- Designed to be difficult (weight 0.07): The game is intentionally designed to be challenging, which can lead to players getting stuck frequently and finding it hard to figure out.

Gameplay feedback:
- Challenging and complex puzzles (weight 0.27): The game includes a variety of puzzles that can be difficult and require trial and error. Some puzzles may be non-intuitive and require hints or guides to solve.
- Choices with significant consequences (weight 0.19): Players make choices throughout the game that have lasting impacts on the story and endings. These choices can be moral dilemmas that shape the narrative.
- Multiple endings and story branches (weight 0.19): The game offers multiple possible endings based on player decisions and actions. This encourages replayability and exploration of different narrative paths.
- Complex and scenario-based gameplay (weight 0.11): The gameplay is complex and requires specific actions to progress. It is structured around different scenarios that players must navigate.
- Five playable characters (weight 0.1): Players can experience the game through the perspectives of five different protagonists, each with their own unique storylines and scenarios.
- Horror elements (weight 0.09): The game incorporates psychological and cosmic horror elements, contributing to a dark and intense atmosphere.
- Guide may be necessary (weight 0.09): Due to the complexity and difficulty of some puzzles, players might need to use a guide to achieve certain endings or progress through the game.
- Based on a sci-fi novel (weight 0.08): The game is an adaptation of a short story by Harlan Ellison, adding a literary depth to the narrative.
- Narrative-driven experience (weight 0.08): The game is heavily focused on its story, providing an interactive novel-like experience that drives the gameplay.
- Item combination mechanics (weight 0.08): Players collect and combine items in their inventory to solve puzzles and progress through the game.
- Frequent saving recommended (weight 0.07): Players are advised to save frequently to avoid potential softlocking and to ensure progress is not lost.
- Unique atmosphere and aesthetic (weight 0.04): The game features a unique and atmospheric aesthetic appeal, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- Includes a sanity meter (weight 0.04): The game features a sanity meter that affects gameplay and story progression, adding an additional layer of complexity.

Performance notes:
- Game has frequent bugs (weight 0.29): Many players report experiencing various bugs, including game-breaking issues, crashes, and freezes. These bugs can significantly impact gameplay and user experience.
- Runs on low-end systems (weight 0.15): The game is noted for its ability to run on low-end systems and basically any PC, making it accessible to a wide range of players.
- Positive performance on certain systems (weight 0.08): Some players report that the game runs well on various machines and has good port quality, indicating a positive experience for those players.
- Compatibility with modern systems (weight 0.08): The game has improved resolution and compatibility for modern systems, but some players still report difficulties running it on newer hardware.
- Audio and voice acting issues (weight 0.08): Several reviews mention problems with voice acting, translations, and general audio issues. These can detract from the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.
- Graphics and visibility issues (weight 0.08): Players have reported issues with graphics scaling, poor resolution, and poor item visibility. These issues can make the game less visually appealing and harder to play.
- Dated mechanics and unclear actions (weight 0.04): The game has been criticized for its dated mechanics and unclear actions, which can make it difficult for players to understand what they need to do.
- Review bombing (weight 0.02): This comment appears to be unrelated to the game itself and may be part of a review bombing effort.

Recommendations:
- Familiarity with source material (weight 0.23): The game is recommended for those who have read the original work or are familiar with the source material, as it enhances the gaming experience.
- Use a walkthrough if needed (weight 0.19): Players are advised to use walkthroughs or guides if they get stuck on puzzles or gameplay mechanics.
- Worth the purchase (weight 0.17): Many players recommend purchasing the game, especially for fans of the genre or those interested in its unique story and atmosphere.
- Recommended for point-and-click fans (weight 0.15): The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy old-school point-and-click adventures and challenging puzzle games.
- Recommended for sci-fi fans (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for fans of weird and grotesque sci-fi, as well as those interested in psychological and philosophical themes.
- Watch storyline breakdowns (weight 0.07): For those not interested in gameplay, watching storyline breakdowns on YouTube is recommended.
- Wait for a sale (weight 0.05): Some players recommend waiting for a sale to purchase the game, suggesting it might not be worth the full price for everyone.
- Play on SCUMMVM (weight 0.04): Players recommend using the ScummVM version for a better gaming experience.
- Play in English (weight 0.04): Playing the game in English is recommended for a better experience and to earn achievements.
- Interest in game history (weight 0.04): The game is worth playing for those interested in computer game history and retro gaming.
- Recommended for horror fans (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for fans of classic horror games and horror sci-fi.
- Try other similar games (weight 0.04): Players recommend trying other similar games like The Dig, Indiana Jones, Amerzone, and Grim Fandango.
- Prepare for 90s cheesiness (weight 0.02): Players should be prepared for the trademark cheesiness and clunkiness of 90s games.
- Recommended for genre purists (weight 0.02): The game is a must-play for purists of the point-and-click adventure genre.
- Rewards philosophical engagement (weight 0.02): The game rewards those willing to engage with its philosophical depth and emotional honesty.
- Remake potential (weight 0.02): Some players feel the game could benefit from a remake to modernize its mechanics and graphics.
- Change audio files (weight 0.02): Changing audio files to the original is recommended for a better experience.
- Watch introductory sequence (weight 0.02): Watching the introductory sequence is recommended for a better understanding of the game.
- Cheap cost (weight 0.02): The game is noted for its cheap cost, making it an accessible purchase for many players.
- Not for relaxation (weight 0.02): The game is not recommended for those looking to relax or have fun, as it can be quite challenging and complex.
- Play with children (weight 0.02): Some players recommend playing the game with children, suggesting it can be a shared experience.
- Start with character Gorrister (weight 0.02): Starting the game with the character Gorrister is recommended for a better experience.
- Pick up original Darkseed (weight 0.02): Picking up a copy of the original Darkseed is recommended for a good time.

Other player notes:
- Censorship issues in localized versions (weight 0.07): The French and German versions of the game have censorship issues. Players suggest using uncensored English versions or non-official patches to bypass these restrictions.
- Game availability and play tips (weight 0.03): Information about the game's availability and tips on how to play it are shared among players, helping others access and enjoy the game.
- Game versions and differences (weight 0.03): Reviews mention specific versions of the game and highlight the differences between them, which may affect gameplay and content.
- Preference for English language (weight 0.03): Many players express a personal preference for playing the game in English, possibly due to the uncensored content available in this language.
- Influence on Digital Circus (weight 0.02): The game is noted for its influence, with specific mentions that the Digital Circus extracted ideas from it.
- Cult following and urban legends (weight 0.02): The game has developed a cult following over time, with various urban legends surrounding it, adding to its mystique.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.26): Players are primarily frustrated due to the game's reliance on guides to progress, frequent soft-locking issues, and confusing, non-intuitive puzzles. Additionally, bugs, crashes, and outdated mechanics contribute significantly to this frustration, making the game difficult to enjoy without external help.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.12): Players enjoy the game's compelling story, unique atmosphere, and strong voice acting, which bring the narrative to life. The challenging puzzles and multiple endings also add to the game's charm, making it an engaging and fun experience despite its difficulties.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players express disappointment due to the game's outdated mechanics, poor game design, and bugs that hinder the overall experience. Additionally, changes from the original story and censorship issues contribute to this sentiment.
- Appreciation (weight 0.08): Players appreciate the game's deep story, rich character development, and strong voice acting, which enhance the narrative experience. The game's faithfulness to the original story and its unique art style are also highly valued.
- Admiration (weight 0.06): Players admire the game's deep narrative, complex themes, and emotional depth, which set it apart as a unique experience. The game's psychological depth and character development are also highly regarded.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Players feel satisfied with the game's overall experience, including its story, atmosphere, and reasonable pricing. The game's ability to meet expectations based on the original story and its unique gameplay mechanics contribute to this satisfaction.
- Interest (weight 0.04): Players are interested in the game's unique story, dark themes, and philosophical questions, which provoke thought and engagement. The game's relevance to current discussions about AI and its complex character backgrounds also piques interest.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.03): Players feel nostalgic about the game's classic status, its connection to the original book, and the experience of playing it over the years. The game's faithfulness to the original story and its cult classic status evoke a sense of nostalgia.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Players find amusement in the game's humor, unique elements, and charming aspects, which provide a fun and entertaining experience. The game's bizarre nature and comedy, along with enjoyable voice acting, contribute to this amusement.
- Fear (weight 0.02): Players experience fear due to the game's horror elements, intense atmosphere, and scary gameplay. The game's dark themes and disturbing visuals contribute to a sense of fear and unease.
- Love (weight 0.02): Players love the game for its deep connection to the original story, Harlan Ellison's voice lines, and its unique charm despite its flaws. The game's difficulty and plot are also appreciated, making it a beloved experience.
- Positive (weight 0.02): Players have a positive experience with the game's story, world, and overall gameplay. The enjoyment of the game's narrative and its connection to the original book contribute to this positive sentiment.
- Excitement (weight 0.02): Players are excited about the game's connection to the book, its atmosphere, and the discovery of multiple endings and achievements. The game's unique story and characters also generate excitement.
- Negative (weight 0.01): Players have a negative experience due to the game's confusing gameplay, outdated mechanics, and frustration with puzzles and soft locks. The game's high price and ability to induce anxiety attacks also contribute to this negative sentiment.
- Fascination (weight 0.01): Players are fascinated by the game's deep narrative, emotional impact, and character depth. The game's unique story and multiple endings also captivate players, making it a fascinating experience.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Players experience joy from the game's puzzles, art, and voice acting, which create a positive and enjoyable atmosphere. The game's unique charm and the experience of receiving it as a gift also contribute to this joy.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game's uniqueness, impact, and ability to defy initial expectations. The game's narrative depth and its deviation from the horror genre also contribute to this sense of surprise.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players feel frustrated due to the game's unclear gameplay, lack of in-game instructions, and the need for a detailed manual or guide to progress. The game's challenging nature and non-obvious puzzles contribute to this frustration.
- Discomfort (weight 0.01): Players feel discomfort due to the game's dark and philosophical themes, disturbing atmosphere, and morally challenging scenarios. The game's intense and unsettling narrative also contributes to this discomfort.
- Intrigue (weight 0.01): Players are intrigued by the game's surreal and twisted story, psychological depth, and chilling message. The game's narrative complexity and multiple endings also piques curiosity and engagement.}