Retro recall: Phantasmagoria – Live-action horror done the right way

in #gaming6 years ago

phantas 0.jpg

Next to Phantasmagoria, the well-regarded interactive movie Night Trap feels like the cutest Dora the Explorer cartoon ever made. Sierra On-Line’s bloody live action point-and-click adventure took horror to the extreme, featuring some of the goriest and more realistic deaths ever created for a videogame.

Sierra On-Line was never afraid to take risks and push boundaries in the name of entertainment. The Leisure Suit Larry series is a major example, known for its raunchy humor and sexual innuendo, but in hindsight, it didn’t feature any actual lewd content that justified its reputation. It was more American Pie but without any actual nudity – there was some suggestion of it, or even some hidden in Easter Eggs, but nothing worth all the fuss. Clearly a sign of the times.

But back to Phantasmagoria, one of the most thrilling horror adventure experiences that I ever had the pleasure to enjoy, on par with Dark Seed, or the buggy but extremely gory Harvester.

phantas 2.jpg

what-is-it.png

Phantasmagoria is Sierra On-Line’s attempt at a live-action adventure, or FMV adventure, a genre that was extremely popular back then, with the release of games such as Under a Killing Moon, The 7th Guest, Wing Commander 3 and the aforementioned Night Trap.

Far from the usual fantasy fare that Sierra was famous for, including King’s Quest, Space Quest and Quest for Glory, Phantasmagoria was an adult-oriented adventure that looked and felt as real as one could expect back in 1995. Obviously, the game garnered a lot of media attention due to its violent themes and even one rape scene, which may look very tame nowadays, but it was relevant enough so that parent’s groups and religious communities would make a stand against the game, leading to some boycotts.

Of course, Mortal Kombat was already around for a couple of years, so…

Anyway, Phantasmagoria was designed with ease of play in mind, featuring only four commands: look, pick up, use and walk. The puzzles were straightforward and intuitive, as the plan was that every player, even those not used to adventure games, could enjoy the storyline and the grim atmosphere.

Looking at Phantasmagoria now, from the top of the wisdom that comes to anyone who’s been playing, writing and breathing videogames for over a couple of decades, it’s easy to dismiss it at first sight as a shallow attempt to capture the attention (and wallets) of horror movie buffs. Sure, it features some mediocre acting and hammy dialogue, but most, if not all FMV games suffered from this. But there’s this je ne sais quoi, this compelling mystery that pushes all the right buttons. Protagonist Adrienne is a likeable and interesting lead, and as she explores the remote mansion and slowly unveils its tragic past, the truth about the previous owner’s five dead wives is revealed through a series of disturbing visions. When Phantasmagoria picks up steam, you won’t rest until you finish it.

This is where most of Phantasmagoria’s controversy stems from. The deaths are disturbingly graphic and mostly involve torture of some kind. One of those really left quite an impact in young me, the one where the wife is force-fed animal guts through a funnel. It may not have the same shock value as it did when the game was released for great sales, but Phantasmagoria remains as one of the most gruesome horror games ever released by a major development house.

phantas 1.jpg

who-made-it.png

Roberta Williams, who founded Sierra along with her husband Ken Williams, is a designer known for creating Mystery House, considered the first ever graphical adventure game. She became famous thanks to her King’s Quest series of adventure games, before taking a stab at horror with Phantasmagoria.

Sierra was one of the most reputed software developers and has a legacy that includes games from several genres. It was also the publisher that went on to release Valve’s colossally successful Half-Life, when no publisher believed that the first game from Gabe Newell and partners would have any success whatsoever. However, it was a one-game deal and Sierra ended up losing the Half-Life rights soon after the release of a bunch of expansions. We know how that went, right?

While Sierra lived on until 2008, the studio as we knew it “disappeared” in 1999, a few years after being acquired by CUC International. Now without its founders, Ken and Roberta Williams, who saw that the ship was sinking and didn’t want to witness such mismanagement, Sierra had to close several development studios and layoff over 200 people. From then on, it acted mostly as a publisher for small developers and all the magic of the early 90’s was lost forever.

phantas 3.jpg

why-is-it-a-classic.png

Phantasmagoria is a great horror B-movie turned into an interactive work. The way that the story flows perfectly is deliberate, making for an experience that is akin to watching a movie or reading a great novel. The FMV may not hold up nowadays, but for its time, it was leagues ahead of the competition and it’s absolutely worth playing for the nostalgia factor alone (it’s available on GOG for $10).

This is the path that live-action adventure games should have taken, instead of the non-interactive, cinematic-ridden bore fest that became the standard. To give credit where credit is due, the follow-up Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh was a complete misfire, dispensing with all the good things that the first game had going on, instead opting for a tacky science-fiction amalgamation of little interactivity and even less style. It felt generic, ugly (despite the superior video quality) and lifeless, with characters and locations that weren’t related to the first, much superior Phantasmagoria. Roberta wasn’t involved in this sequel.

And so, Phantasmagoria the first lives on as one of the best games coming out of the FMV era. It was successful due to Sierra’s willingness to merge tried-and-tested adventure game mechanics with some top-notch technology and an engrossing plot, and it was quite an enjoyable ride. Not for the squeamish, but it’s definitely an exciting and gore-filled experience.

info-phantasmagoria.png

Follow me on Steemit @gamingstation for more thinking man’s reviews and posts!
steemit-upvote-comment.jpg
Want to chat with other Steemit gamers? Join the SteemGC Discord channel!

steemgclogo_small.png

Sort:  

Your post was upvoted by the @archdruid gaming curation team in partnership with @curie to support spreading the rewards to great content. Join the Archdruid Gaming Community at https://discord.gg/nAUkxws. Good Game, Well Played!(edited)

Thank you, will do! :)

Your Post Has Been Featured on @Resteemable!
Feature any Steemit post using resteemit.com!
How It Works:
1. Take Any Steemit URL
2. Erase https://
3. Type re
Get Featured Instantly & Featured Posts are voted every 2.4hrs
Join the Curation Team Here | Vote Resteemable for Witness

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.39
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70118.22
ETH 3546.28
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.89