First released in 1996 for PC and Mac, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream has won several awards, including Best Dark Game of 1996 from Digital Hollywood and Best Game Adapted from Linear Media from the Computer Game Developers Conference (now just Game Developers Conference, or GDC, which happens to be on now). The developer and publisher shut down, and the game was unavailable until 2013 when Nightdive Studios recovered the game’s rights and published it to PC via Steam and GOG. It hasn’t been on any consoles yet, but that will change in less than two weeks when it launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is based on the short story of the same name by Harlan Ellison, originally published in the March 1967 issue of IF: Worlds of Science Fiction. Ellison co-wrote the 130-page script with David Sears. The game is fully voice-acted, including Ellison as the voice of the insane AI called AM. In the story, five survivors are trapped in AM for 109 years. AM despises the human race, so he has spent a century torturing each character. Now, he is teasing freedom if they each complete a meta adventure-style quest.
The adventures are personalized psychodramas created to explore their greatest fears and feelings of guilt. Each character’s scenario allows you to uncover their pasts and learn why AM decided to torture rather than kill them. It’s up to you whether or not each character can overcome these crazy games and face their demons.
“It’s been nearly 12 years since Nightdive Studios re-released the iconic I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream on PC, and we’re so excited to once again give it renewed life by releasing it for the first time on consoles,” said Nightdive studio head Stephen Kick in a press release. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of love for the original game and Harlan Ellison’s short story across social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit. It only felt right that we helped make this title more accessible and further preserve its legacy.”
Developed by The Dreamers Guild and published for consoles by Nightdive Studios, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on March 27. The game is currently available for PC/Mac/Linux (Steam, GOG).
