Fully aware of how dated I sound, I firmly believe they don’t make games like I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream anymore. Obviously, they still make horror games, because otherwise our own Kyle Nicol would have nothing to play anymore. Point-and-click adventures still come in now and then, though the current crop may need to lean on the past to fully earn modern praise. No, I mean something that is so true to the source material that it straight up defies gaming, conventions, and common sense in favor of making a tonally appropriate experience. For Harlan Ellison to write his unforgettable short story, and then not only approve of the creation of this game, but to voice the primary antagonist. There is but one emotion, one constant throughline within this classic title, and it is a single, simple feeling: hate.

Ellen, you have no idea.

For those who’ve never read the short story, please take a beat and go read it now. Once you do, you can generally understand the premise and setting of the game. For those who refuse to click on hyperlinks, the gist is this: the world is over, and only five humans remain. They have been imprisoned, seemingly forever, by the ender itself, a sentient computer called AM. AM has gone completely insane, and seeks to spend eternity by torturing the humans, the representatives of the species that gave AM life and consciousness and, as a result, he truly hates them for it. The five humans cannot die, no matter how they try, and AM crafts scenarios and settings to keep them painfully miserable till the end of time. Yet there is a glimmer of hope: there is a rumor that AM can be defeated. How, though, remains to be seen.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream was exceedingly ambitious for its time, and it still conveys as such in modern parlance. You must play through the chapter of each of the five characters, in any order, to discover the secret to finally escaping the cyclic hell. Each character has a world of their own personal torture: Ellen, who is claustrophobic, must explore a pyramid, and Nimdok, an ex-Nazi doctor, returns to the scenes of his worst crimes. Set action phrases can be used to figure out how to manipulate the world around you (pick up, use, push, talk, etc.) and you gradually piece together how the puzzle fits in order to get to the proper “ending.” There are early exits as well that involve you dying, but, as we mentioned, AM will not simply let you die, so suicidal idealizations are futile.

Understatement of the century.

But there’s also the matter of your spiritual barometer, which is shown on the background of your portrait within the game. AM fully believes that it’s pure evil and hate that birthed it, and so humans are more of the same. There’ll be moments where you need to make the call to do the right thing, though that might not always be clear. Benny, for example, is presented with opportunities to help out people in dire straits, even if that means harming himself, and the player is fully able to decide which way to deal with this situation. Yet, if you’re most interested in the endings available (specifically the “good” endings), then you need to keep that spiritual barometer moving towards green.

Speaking of Benny, it’s already been noted before, but there are massive changes in the game from the source material, and Harlan Ellison himself has already talked about these in the past. Basically, yes, it’s a shame that Benny’s storyline about being homosexual and the challenges that went into his life were removed, and Ellison regrets it to some degree. But, as far as the adaptation of novels into games go, this is probably one of the less egregious alterations I’ve seen, and it’s not as though it was done to purposely malign the community. In truth, this was made in the 90s, and producers probably made the decision to axe it for fear of alienating audiences or impacting sales. Does it make it right? Certainly not, but at least, for those of us who grew up in the 90s, it’s sadly understandable. 

Additionally, as a decent trigger warning to everyone out there, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream deals with some serious shit. We already mentioned that a former Nazi is transported back to the 1940s, so you can imagine that there’s imagery and implications that are super messed up. Not to mention I talked about suicidal attempts by the characters, which isn’t even softly dealt with during some scenarios (Gorrister is probably the most emblematic). But then there’s a throughline about rape, mental disorders, plenty of gore and upsetting visuals and, oh yeah, the existential crisis you may live through if you get a bad ending. Straight up, this game is fascinating as hell, but you need to approach it smartly if you have absolutely any qualms about your own health.

How about we…don’t look any further into that statement, okay?

As a game, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is a deeply fascinating piece of lore, giving so much open-ended control to players while still limiting their environment. Being able to approach from any given chapter really sets you up into the “game” that AM has concocted, and the feeling of helplessness as you regenerate, time after time, with each failure is not to be overlooked. The booming, hateful voice of AM punctuates each start and death, and the monologues of the characters as they try to piece together what they should do are so well acted. The entire soundtrack, scored by John Ottoman, has a unifying theme of dread and unsettling energy from start to finish, even as you move from a doomed airship to the distant jungles and deep into a medieval-style castle. It’s atmospheric as hell, and it sells the tone from start to finish.

The chapters are generally great, but some stand out more than others. Gorrister’s exploits on the airship feel more cohesive and straightforward in terms of discovering what to do, while Ted’s almost fairy-tale-like exploration made me need to double back and keep checking various spots time after time. I like Ellen’s foray into the pyramid, but Benny’s traversal through the jungle was a quagmire in comparison. Nimdok, naturally, has the most uncomfortable scenario to get through, and, if you can mentally separate yourself from the wartime backdrop, it also has the most dialogue and most character exploration outside of certain ending scenarios. The whole thing works together fantastically, but piecemealing, there are just some things I liked better than others.

It’s a graveyard inside a never-ending torture simulation. Did you expect it to be pleasant?

Now, I wasn’t expecting Nightdive to reinvent the wheel to get I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream up and running on modern consoles, so I’m mostly happy with the port. You’ve got your usual touchups of different aspect ratios, borders to keep things in check, and some good mapping of the different activities to the different buttons. I think it was pretty smart to make sure each command had its own static button, and it does get easier when you start getting into the muscle memory mindset of how each interaction should go. However, I’m used to using A as a confirmation button, so it feels weird to tap ZL to talk to someone and then confirm it by tapping ZL again. This, again, is a minor thing that you adjust to, and it doesn’t impede the gameplay too much.

The much greater problem, for me, is the lack of mouse support. The Nintendo Switch isn’t a be-all-end-all console, I get it, but a handful of games (most notably Hypnospace Outlaw) make sure to allow for both mouse and keyboard access through either the dock or a dongle into the Switch itself. I really, really could have used the mouse access feature here. The settings of each AM world are tight, filled with dark pixels and moments, and it could be very frustrating trying to get to the exact point to walk through a door, pick up a letter, or do surgery on a POW child. You can fiddle with the sensitivity of the joysticks to try and zero in on the best speed, but it’s still a finicky momentum to regulate.

Some light reading that will, sadly, impact later moments in the scenario.

But I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is still a horrifying, upsetting, and engrossing experience, even today. Few things have struck me as strongly, and being able to relive the trauma and the painstaking moments of discovery are satisfying as they ever were. For new players to be able to delve into something that is such a phenomenal interpretation of a great story, crafted by the author himself, cannot be overstated. If you’ve got room for another point-and-click adventure and are mentally fortified for some very disturbing moments, then take a couple of hours and understand, to the best of your ability, the full capacity of AM’s hate.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream was provided by the publisher.