Not sure if they count as FMV games but I’ve had a soft spot for the first two Myst games since I got my first PC as a hand-me-down
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Yo! Gotta second the vote for Fox Hunt. My cousin and I bought it for PC from KB Toys back in like ‘97 - game would launch and play okay, up until the scene where the chubby ninja guy breaks in and fights you, at which point it would crash. Never played the rest of the game until years, later, haha.
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I don’t think Myst is QUITE FMV, but I agree it is in the same universe with their pre-rendered graphics and are really great, I have the first one on my computer.
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I will legitimately maintain that Gabriel Knight 2 is not merely one of the greatest FMV games of all time, but in the top ranks. one of the best games of all time – warts and all (some bad puzzles and hardcoded path-dependencies.) It stands for me as the crest of the wave of ambition that brought us the likes of FMV games and educational multimedia CD-Roms, ambitions the likes of which the games industry no longer has and therefore will never again commit the resources needed to realize such a vision. Also, it crackles with gay subtext.
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Phantasmagoria 1 is my favorite “So bad it’s good” FMV game. Maybe “bad” isn’t the right word for it, but it is cheesy as heck in a way I don’t think they intended.
But Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh (AKA Phantasmagoria 2) is, imo, the closest I’ve seen an FMV game come to being art with something to say. Not saying it’s the only good one, just the only one I’ve played that I loved genuinely.
The acting is actually pretty good and so is the cinematography. The soundtrack is mostly atmospheric with some long droning synth to set the mood, so the songs don’t really stand out but they are perfect in helping the tone.
Now if you’ve read some of my other posts you might think I am beating a dead horse, but I am a bi guy. This game, more than any other I’ve played, deals with some of the problems I faced while still being in the closet and confused. IMO, it deals with it in a rather respectful way, and it features queer characters that are endearing and sympathetic without sacrificing their charm or humor. (You will love Trevor especially).
My one gripe is that the ending feels a bit rushed, but that might have to deal with time constraints more than anything.
Give this game a chance if you haven’t already. It’s normally pretty dang cheap on GOG.
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