This review was originally written on 03/11/2018.

Technical Information

Developer: Cyberdreams
Publisher: Nightdive Studios
Release Date: 10/31/1996

Every point-and-click and horror fan needs to play this game!

The game is based on a 12-page short story with the same name, written by Harlan Ellison. Unfortunately, I still haven’t read it, so I’ll refrain from commenting on that part.

The story takes place in an alternate universe, during a period similar to the Cold War. In it, China, the United States, and the Soviet Union each secretly built a supercomputer hidden underground. They were meant to make decisions beyond human capability. However, one day, the American computer “swallowed” the algorithms of the other machines and created its own consciousness, calling itself AM.
Using its intelligence, AM wipes out almost all human beings on the planet, leaving only five people alive.

For 109 years, AM programs and reprograms situations to humiliate and toy with each person’s fears and traumas, purely for its own amusement. One day, AM proposes a game to them, giving each character a specific scenario in which their past and emotions are brought to the surface. If they win, they escape eternal torture.

Final Thoughts – Analyzing the game as a whole

Trying to evaluate this game technically is a real challenge for me, since it was developed in 1996 and I was 5 years old at the time! hahaha
I’ll try to be fair, considering the technology available back then.

Graphics and UI

The graphics have aged incredibly well—so well that even today you’ll find modern games trying to mimic this style. Within the technological limitations, you can tell the faces shown on the HUD were well drawn, and the environments try to add detail. Some animations bother me… I think that’s the only thing I found kinda janky.

I absolutely L-O-V-E point-and-clicks with HUDs that describe your actions! It’s so clear and functional! Seriously, what’s not to love? The moment I looked at it, I instantly knew how to interact with the game.

Soundtrack and SFX

The highlight for me was the voice acting. Every single line is voiced, what a wonderful thing to see!
However, I ran into a big issue with the balance between music and voices. I don’t know if this was also a problem back then, but the music seems to have better audio quality than the voice lines. To fix that, I had to raise the voice volume, but you can still hear the quality difference :/

The music is fine (good enough to set the mood) but nothing extraordinary.

Gameplay

You control five characters, choosing one at a time, each experiencing a different situation.
Even though the scenarios don’t have a lot of screens to explore, they are filled with details, and every action has a consequence, directly affecting how the story progresses. Each character’s story has its own ending, and the combination of all endings results in even more possible outcomes.

The narrative avoids horror clichés, unexpected things happen… and the game tackles a few sensitive and rather disturbing themes. In my opinion, that’s a great method for creating empathy and immersion, making the player feel increasingly compelled to finish the game.

Another interesting thing is that as the stories progress, the game uses metaphors, allowing the player to theorize what everything truly means (search online and you’ll find plenty of theories).

I don’t think this game is a good pick for someone who gets easily disturbed. Even though the graphics aren’t scary, the emotional involvement is deep, and some actions might be uncomfortable (I know it’s just a game, but some people still feel uneasy even when it’s fiction).
If you enjoy diving into human psychology and using your brain to solve problems, don’t think twice, go play this game!

Combined with the HUD style, I have zero complaints about the gameplay. The devs would have to screw up really badly to make the gameplay of a point-and-click bad…

You’re free to load/save whenever you want, and you can name your saves.
Sometimes there are objects that are easy to miss when clicking, but I don’t see that as a gameplay issue, more like a player-attention issue.

Replayability and Game Retention

Personally, I found the game extremely difficult in some parts, mainly because it allows you to get permanently stuck. Let me explain this properly: the game’s fanbase believes that there are certain situations with no return, and you can only fix them by restarting the chapter. :/
This assumption exists because more than 10 years have passed and nobody on the vast internet has ever found solutions for those moments. The theory is that it’s intentional and not a bug, since AM is behind everything and he wants to screw you over completely.

This is extremely frustrating! ideally, a game should always give you a way to resolve a situation.
There were two chapters I had to restart, and that was incredibly frustrating. I kept doubting whether I was truly stuck, and out of insecurity I ended up checking the walkthrough. I strongly recommend checking a walkthrough if you stay stuck for too long, just so you don’t fry your brain for nothing.