5 games that deserve a Resident Evil 2-style remake

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1996)

Adventure games have seen a resurgence over the past 10 years, but the horror-driven adventure game remains something of a rarity. Games like Oxenfree and The Walking Dead certainly have horror elements, but draw from other genres in equal or greater measure. Visual novels like Doki Doki Literature Club also draw from horror, but visual novels are a different beast compared to modern adventure games. They may be closer to the point-and-click of yore.

The stand-out horror adventure game is arguably 1996’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream from The Dreamer’s Guild. The game is based on Harlan Ellison’s seminal 1967 sci-fi horror short story of the same name. Ellison also helped develop the game and write its story, expanding on the source material.

There are a few changes from the short story, but the basics remain the same: five humans are trapped by a giant artificial intelligence. In the game, each person must overcome a scenario designed by the computer to prey on their biggest fears.

The game is no less terrifying than the short story. It is also exceedingly violent, explicit and features plot threads that might not fly today. At the same time, some other scenarios could be flipped on their head, turning them into triumphant tales of redemption.

I Have No Mouth was out-of-print for several years before its re-release in 2013 by Night Dive Studios, so it has yet to receive the remaster treatment like other games of the same era. Given the scenarios present for each character, there’s a lot of potential in the game for 3D movement, investigation and breathtaking level design and aesthetics. The game would also scratch an itch for an adventure game that took a deep dive into some of the worst impulses in humanity and whether we’re actually worth saving.