History YMMV / IhaveNoMouthAndIMustScream

** In the original short story, Benny was gay, but in the game, no reference is made to his sexuality (although during the climax, if you play as him, he comes across a projection of his late wife Manya.) Murphy says that he knew Benny's "secret," and as a result, Benny killed him and the rest of his squad. Putting these two facts together, Pat and Matt both conclude that Benny is an ArmouredClosetGay who would rather kill four men than let his reputation as a brave military commander be ruined.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Benny's homosexuality was kept out of the script, with the only reference being that someone found out his "secret". Due to Benny's extreme hunger and him [[spoiler: seeing a empty crib and noting how hungry he is, along with serving during the Vietnam War]], this absence gave [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Pat]] the impression that his secret was actually that he was a ''[[ImAHumanitarian cannibal]]''. [[spoiler: Which he would have also been, if not for the scene of him eating a baby being cut from the final version of the game.]]

** The plot point about Ellen [[spoiler: being brutally molested by a SerialRapist who loved breaking successful woman]] has gained more relevance in light of MeToo making casting couch situations more in the public eye.

---> '''Nimdok''': He was a ''pig''!

* ValuesResonance: Benny being "cured" of his homosexuality is depicted as just ''one'' of the many tortures inflicted upon him. With conversion therapy now increasingly become outright illegal across the world, [=AM=]'s mental manipulation of Benny only makes him even ''more'' monstrous than he already did.

** The game allows you personally kill Doctor Josef Mengele right after sending him into a state of shock by showing a mirror that shows him the truth about himself. Getting to kill the bastard after showing him just what a vile human being he is/was can feel quite satisfying. Even Nimdok gloats over it once the deed is done.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/HarlanEllison voicing AM in the DOS game. True, AM is his creation, but who knew a author could nail an insane and malevolent super computer so well?

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Ellen's inability to drink the water from the fountain. She says it's because she can't reach, but the fountain is only a few inches deep, and when she finally gets the cup, she has to bend down and scoop the water up the exact same way. Even if she somehow couldn't do that because it's too shallow, it's a ''fountain''. There's a jet of falling water from the top of it.
** In the opening scene, Benny and Ted could've easily dodged the tortures AM was inflicting on them just by ''sitting down''. It is probable that AM could easily replace the torture with a less-dodgable one, but they would have a moment's respite.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Ellen's phobia of the colour yellow (xanthophobia) appears to be just a silly thing for a grown woman to be scared of, and may evoke a laugh or two towards her encounter with the continuous yellow motifs that torments her during Ellen's scenario. Then comes the reason why she's so terrified of the colour yellow once you enter the sarcophagus posing as an elevator. [[spoiler: In the past she was working late shift and entered an elevator, only for a maintenance man in a distinctively yellow raincoat to enter the elevator, lock the door, and proceed to attack and rape Ellen. ''[[NightmareFuel For several hours.]]'' Then AM recreates the scenario inside the elevator again to torment Ellen even further with the same rapist wearing the same yellow coat from before.]]

** In the story, AM, the [[AIIsACrapshoot evil master computer]], has already killed all but 5 members of humanity by the time the story opens. AM keeps the survivors mutated and twisted so he may torture them helplessly as he desires. AM forces them to wander, changing the environment so they can never get used to it and subjects them to hideously twisted torments. When one of them finally rescues the others by killing them, AM transforms him into a [[FateWorseThanDeath sapient blob]], not [[AndIMustScream even leaving him a mouth to scream with]].
** In the game, AM is a [[AIIsACrapshoot sapient master computer]] who's already wiped out most of the human race before the story even begins, keeping five people alive for 109 years for him to [[AndIMustScream torture physically and psychologically until the end of time]]. These torments include trapping Ellen in a virtual reality simulation of the elevator where, years earlier, she was tortured and raped by a psychopath disguised as a repairman--with a simulation of the "repairman"; and trying to tempt Nimdok into [[ThoseWackyNazis continuing the experiments he performed at concentration camps]]. Eager to prove HumansAreBastards to weakly justify itself, AM is one of the pettiest, cruelest [=AIs=] in all fiction.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The story takes place in a nightmarish apocalyptic future where the only five survivors of the human race exist only to be mercilessly tortured by an irredeemably evil omnipotent supercomputer that can never truly be defeated. The entire "quest" that the characters undertake amounts to nothing more than an attempt to make their torture ''slightly'' less miserable for a day. [[spoiler: It still fails.]] Bottom line: There isn't a lot of hope in this story, which cheapens the reading experience for some people. The best ending of the game version, however, ends with [[spoiler: AM defeated, 4 of the 5 survivors dead and at peace, and the remainder taking AM's place watching over the system, saying he/she doesn't mind the job and will slowly rebuild humanity using the colony on the moon.]] [[GuideDangIt Good luck getting it without a walkthrough though]].

* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Horrifying as the entire situation is with Ellen's rapist, the fact that she defeats him after a single dialogue choice by bashing him once with the Holy Grail after a SassyBlackWoman one-liner really undercuts what would otherwise be one of the most frightening sequences in the game.]]

* AntiClimaxBoss: The Yellow Rapist in Ellen's scenario. All you have to do is select a dialogue option where Ellen stands up to him, and he falls apart after one strike.
** That may have been the point. For all its power, AM [[spoiler: does not have the ability to resurrect the dead. It can keep people alive indefinitely, but can only create illusions of people, and some of these illusions would just fall apart if attacked. AM thought it could just scare Ellen into submission with an illusion of her rapist, but it did not take into account that she could fight back against her rapist.]]
* CatharsisFactor: The ending to the game is [[BittersweetEnding bleak, but with a hint of optimism]]. [[spoiler:Four of the five protagonists are dead, AM is defeated, and it swears that it will return in one form or another as its hatred is a just another form of the human condition. Three hundred years will have to pass for Earth to be inhabitable again and 750 humans must somehow be transported from the moon to Earth to repopulate. Oh, and the last protagonist has to actively keep the supercomputers under check during that time span, and likely long afterwards until the human population can do it themselves. Not the best odds, but after 109 years of torture, the lone survivor shows contentment at their new purpose and expresses the first bit of hope in ages.]] So cathartic, in fact, that the original author liked it.

* MemeticMutation: AM's opening speech, as well as "GORRISTEEERRR!!!" And "TEEEDDD!!!"

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The story takes place in a nightmarish apocalyptic future where the only five survivors of the human race exist only to be mercilessly tortured by an irredeemably evil omnipotent supercomputer that can never truly be defeated. The entire "quest" that the characters undertake amounts to nothing more than an attempt to make their torture ''slightly'' less miserable for a day. [[spoiler: It still fails.]] Bottom line: There isn't a lot of hope in this story, which cheapens the reading experience for some people. The best ending of the game version, however, ends with [[spoiler: AM defeated, 4 of the 5 survivors dead and at peace, and the remainder taking AM's place watching over the system, saying he/she doesn't mind the job and will slowly rebuild humanity using the colony on the moon.]] [[GuideDangIt Good luck getting it without a walkthrough though]].

* WhatAnIdiot: Ellen's inability to drink the water from the fountain. She says it's because she can't reach, but the fountain is only a few inches deep, and when she finally gets the cup, she has to bend down and scoop the water up the exact same way. Even if she somehow couldn't do that because it's too shallow, it's a ''fountain''. There's a jet of falling water from the top of it.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The story takes place in a nightmarish apocalyptic future where the only five survivors of the human race exist only to be mercilessly tortured by an irredeemably evil omnipotent supercomputer that can never truly be defeated. The entire "quest" that the characters undertake amounts to nothing more than an attempt to make their torture ''slightly'' less miserable for a day. [[spoiler: It still fails.]] Bottom line: There isn't a lot of hope in this story, which cheapens the reading experience for some people.
** The best ending of the game version, however, ends with [[spoiler: AM defeated, 4 of the 5 survivors dead and at peace, and the remainder taking AM's place watching over the system, saying he/she doesn't mind the job and will slowly rebuild humanity using the colony on the moon.]] [[GuideDangIt Good luck getting it without a walkthrough though]].

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: As horrifying as the story is, the intro in the game version has a few moments, thanks to Creator/HarlanEllison's acting chops.

* TheUntwist: Nimdok [[spoiler: is a former Nazi. If you know who Dr. Mengele is than you'll figure it out before the intro cutscene is over. Even if you don't the imagery and dialogue in Nimdok's scenario makes it painfully obvious long before Nimdok himself puts 2 and 2 together.]]
** Although the fact that Nimdok [[spoiler: was also a Jewish man who apparently saved himself by giving his parents over to the Nazis seems to be the real twist.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Benny's homosexuality was kept out of the script, with the only reference being that someone found out his "secret". Due to Benny's extreme hunger and him [[spoiler: seeing a empty crib and noting how hungry he is, along with serving during the Vietnam War]], this absence gave [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Pat]] the impression that his secret was actually that he was a ''cannibal''. [[spoiler: Which he would have also been, if not for the scene of him eating a baby being cut from the final version of the game.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Benny's homosexuality was kept out of the script, with the only reference being that someone found out his "secret". Due to Benny's extreme hunger and him [[spoiler: seeing a empty crib and noting how hungry he is, along with serving during the Vietnam War]], this absence gave [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Pat]] the impression that his secret was actually that he was a ''cannibal''. [[spoiler: Which he would have been, if not for the scene of him eating a baby being cut from the final version of the game.]]

--> '''Nimdok''': He was a ''pig''!

** The game allows you personally kill Doctor Josef Mengele right after sending him into a state of shock by showing a mirror that shows him the truth about himself. Getting to kill the bastard after showing him just what a vile human being he is/was can feel quite satisfying. Even Nimdok gloats over it this once the deed is done.
--> '''Nimdok''': He was a *pig*!

** The game allows you personally kill Doctor Josef Mengele right after sending him into a state of shock by showing a mirror that shows him the truth about himself. Getting to kill the bastard after showing him just what a vile human being he is/was can feel quite satisfying.

** AM once again proves himself to be an irredeemably sadistic and blood-hungry supercomputer in the [[Monster/SCPFoundation SCP-verse]].

** In the game, AM is a [[AIIsACrapshoot sapient master computer]] who's already wiped out most of the human race before the story even begins, keeping five people alive for 109 years for him to [[AndIMustScream torture physically and psychologically until the end of time]]. These torments include trapping Ellen in a virtual reality simulation of the elevator where, years earlier, she was tortured and raped by a psychopath disguised as a repairman--with a simulation of the "repairman"; and trying to tempt Nimdok into [[ThoseWackyNazis continuing the experiments he performed at concentration camps]]. Eager to prove HumansAreBastards to weakly justify itself, AM is one of pettiest, cruelest [=AIs=] in all fiction.

** In the game, AM is a [[AIIsACrapshoot sentient master computer]] who's already wiped out most of the human race before the story even begins, keeping five people alive for 109 years for him to [[AndIMustScream torture physically and psychologically until the end of time]]. These torments include trapping Ellen in a virtual reality simulation of the elevator where, years earlier, she was tortured and raped by a psychopath disguised as a repairman--with a simulation of the "repairman"; and trying to tempt Nimdok into [[ThoseWackyNazis continuing the experiments he performed at concentration camps]]. Eager to prove HumansAreBastards to weakly justify itself, AM is one of pettiest, cruelest [=AIs=] in all fiction.

** In the story, AM, the [[AIIsACrapshoot evil master computer]], has already killed all but 5 members of humanity by the time the story opens. AM keeps the survivors mutated and twisted so he may torture them helplessly as he desires. AM forces them to wander, changing the environment so they can never get used to it and subjects them to hideously twisted torments. When one of them finally rescues the others by killing them, AM transforms him into a [[FateWorseThanDeath sentient blob]], not [[AndIMustScream even leaving him a mouth to scream with]].

* MemeticMutation: AM's opening speech, as well as "GORRISTER!"

* AngstWhatAngst: The boy in Benny's scenario, who never mentions his mother again after learning of her tragic death.

* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Ted actually manages to triumph over AM and prove the computer is not the all-powerful god it set itself up as by killing all the other prisoners and freeing them from their torment. A combination of the fact that the price of this is being turned into a helpless jelly-thing to prevent him from ever winning again, and the fact that he's an UnreliableNarrator who's become too cowed by AM to realize he won tends to hide the "happy" part from most readers.]]
** [[spoiler: Oh, and there's the fact that for all the MoralEventHorizon AM crossed, it manages to get off with little more than a bruised ego.]]
** Averted for the most part in [[GoldenEnding the game's best ending]], which ends up being pretty optimistic in spite of all the hardship and suffering that preceded it.

* GuideDangIt: It's a DOS adventure game from the mid-'90s so this could be a given, but many puzzles seem to rely on not missing tiny pixels that represent items that you wouldn't know about. Gorrister and Nimdok's scenarios are particularly bad with this, because you can easily beat their scenarios and go to the endgame without even knowing you missed a step to get their best ending.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Benny's homosexuality was kept out of the script, with the only reference being that someone found out his "secret". It gave [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Pat]] the impression that his secret was actually that he was a ''cannibal''. [[spoiler: Which he would have been, if not for the scene of him eating a baby being cut from the final version of the game.]]

** That may have been the point. For all its power, AM [[spoiler: does not have the ability to resurrect the dead. It can only create illusions of people, and some of these illusions would just fall apart if attacked. AM thought it could just scare Ellen into submission with an illusion of her rapist, but it did not take into account that she could fight back against her rapist.]]
* CatharsisFactor: The ending to the game is [[BittersweetEnding bleak, but with a hint of optimism]]. [[spoiler:Four of the five protagonists are dead, AM is defeated, and it swears that it will return in one form or another as its hatred is a just another form of the human condition. Three hundred years will have to pass for Earth to be inhabitable again and 750 humans must somehow be transported from the moon to Earth to repopulate. Oh, and the last protagonist has to actively keep the supercomputers under check during that time span, and likely long afterwards until the human population can do it themselves. Not the best odds, but after 109 years of torture, the lone survivor expresses the first bit of hope in ages.]] So cathartic, in fact, that the original author liked it.

* CatharsisFactor: The ending to the game is [[BittersweetEnding bleak, but with a hint of optimism]]. [[spoiler:Four of the five protagonists is dead, AM is defeated, and it swears that it will return in one form or another as its hatred is a just another form of the human condition. Three hundred years will have to pass for Earth to be inhabitable again and 750 humans must somehow be transported from the moon to Earth to repopulate. Oh, and the last protagonist has to actively keep the supercomputers under check. Not the best odds, but after 109 years of torture, the survivor expresses the first bit of hope in ages.]] So cathartic, in fact, that the original author liked it.
** The game allows you personally kill Doctor Josef Mengele right after sending him into a state of shock by showing a mirror that shows him the truth about himself. Getting to kill the bastard can feel quite satisfying.

** AM once again proves himself to be an irredeemable supercomputer in the [[Monster/SCPFoundation SCP-verse]].