Oh Yeeesss!!
I was waiting for this moment for years.
Darn I need to pay off my credit card and buy this masterpiece.
Thank you GOG so much!

Wow, this is special!
Thanks GOG!

New name for GOG, AOG, Any Old Game.
Space quest was a great release, but this, this is average.
The game is not good and thus should not be on here, especially at $10.

Well, as you can see, the majority disagrees.

Do they? I think those not interested simply don't respond - my review got the most users agreeing on the game page on the other hand so how is that the majority?
EDIT: But I've had my say and I don't want to kick GOG in the chins for this game (although I agree it doesn't fit the name Good Old Game) since plenty of people still will want to buy it.

Awesome. Thanks so much GOG. I love FMV games.
^lots of people hate FMV games, somewhat justifiably I suppose. The level of interaction tends to be low, the acting was almost uniformly atrocious, and modern eyes often find primitive blue and green screen techniques (and the rendered backgrounds) a bit jarring.
Phantasmagoria had a ton of votes on the most wanted list, though Red_avatar, so I suppose a good amount of people share my appreciation of the genre.

Fantastic! I just finished with Gabriel Knight, Now it seems as if I'll be launched into another gripping tale!
Phantasmagoria is one of those old PC games that I really wanted to play, But couldn't for lack of a computer. It's exciting to know that I'll get that chance now!
Keep up the great work guys, You're on a roll! With the addition of this, It's good knowing that FMV heavy games can be added here. Maybe there IS a chance for Gabriel Knight 2!

Do they own the rights for GK2? It really is pretty good. Puzzles were ungodly hard, though even for the genre. The German speakers will probably get a good laugh out of the accents the characters have, too. Even I found them to be bad, and I only know about a dozen words of German. I like the new Gabe better than Tim Curry (purely a matter of preference). For some reason, I'm finding him annoying in GK1.

Just playing the game now. While I'm only on chapter 1 and taking my time with exploring (and no, trying not to use walkthroughs), I can see how people don't really treat this as a game. You click on the screen when your cursor turns red and you see your character do something with the object. Even when you want to move, you don't click on the ground like in other adventure games. Instead, you hover the cursor over the stairs or a doorway and the character moves there after clicking. Basically, to do anything, you need to wait for the cursor to turn red over particular parts of the screen and then you normally watch the character/actress do something.
However, so far, I'm enjoying the atmosphere of the game. The house seems really large and I think as long as you play it expecting an interactive movie rather than a traditional adventure game, it should be enjoyable. Those are my thoughts anyway as I'm taking my time, despite not even being very far into the game so take what I say with a grain of salt. It could be that the game loses the atmosphere later on etc.
By the way, I'm not going to spoil anything but I just had my first 'weird' experience in the game and 'weird experiences' in the game shouldn't be a surprise considering it's a horror game. However, while I didn't die there, is it possible to die in many of the chapters? Or is it just towards the end, like the last chapter? I've read up on the game, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers for other people here. Just wondering so I can sort of be ready and expect it throughout the entire game, rather than towards the end. I.e. try not to make a mess of things.
Also, I think this is a case of 'what one person likes, another hates'. It's the same with everything. The acting isn't too great yes, but as I mentioned, I'm digging the atmosphere of the house so far and such. I think when people say a game isn't worth so much or is poor etc., they should take into account that others might like the game or make it sound less like a fact's being stated. ;) Though I know people are only giving views, so I don't mean to say people are trying to state things as fact. It just often comes across that way.

This is a very bad game, one of the worse in the history of Sierra, maybe the worse of Roberta Williams' career, and whose only redeeming quality is the nice gore feast at the end of it. Gabriel Knight 2 and Puzzle of Flesh surpassed it in everything (and I am not talking about the technical qualities, but the trite story, the flawed horror elements, the non-existent characters, the stupid puzzles, the horrid game engine and that rape scene that is one of the most embarassing things ever happened in a videogame).
And, all in all, it is interesting. You can play it now and wonder why magazines talked so well about it and not about many other adventures. You can see how Sierra tried to get into the FMV wagon and miss in the first try. Anyway, saying that this is a love-and-hate thing is just absurd: this is a piece of explotation more than a videogame, and that was clear since the day it was out. Anyway, enjoy it.

Most were actual German actors you may be surprised to hear :P Some were not but most were real Germans (although mostly German actors who live in the US).

you seem to be the only one on these forums who seems to have some sort of vendetta against this game. according the 53 reviews (at 19:44 pm) the game has 4 star average. so so far the majority seems to disagree with you. and not only that, there are far worse games on gog based on ratings than this, but you dont see me on there complaining about it. the games that i dont enjoy, i dont go on the forum and try to preach how bad the game is.
i think we can all agree that this game is better than simon 3d lol :P

Not at all! You go to a forum to alienate the people that say the game is bad , that's all.

I understand, Rising. I've never played the game before and as I said, I'm not even past the first chapter or close I think. So, I really don't know what to expect later. But I just know so far, the atmosphere is pretty good. For me, anyway. (I can imagine it not being as good on later playthroughs though, unless it's possible to see different scenes and such)
I think everything's pretty much a love and hate thing though? Take some of the most loved television series or movies etc. and I'm sure someone will dislike them. Take The Wire for example, I think that's some of the best television one can watch, yet a family member just won't give it a try because he can't get past the street talk.
Though sure, I guess the people who dislike the game could outnumber the ones that do. Still applies though in my opinion.

Flash back to the era surrounding this games release and you may better understand why so many people have fond memories of it despite it's flaws. For me personally, I was one of the millions who had grown up with the King's Quest series. Just the right age at the right time to witness the release of masterpieces like King's Quest 5 and King's Quest 6. These games were amazing works of art combining great stories with amazing art direction and music. Leading up to the release of Phantasmagoria ALOT of people were hooked on adventure games (it was the height of the genre's poularity) and ALOT of people were waiting anxiously to see what Roberta William's next move was going to be. One of the games strengths was that it DID take itself so seriously. In most FMV games this detracts from the quality because the games are low budget affairs (3DO FMV games anyone?) and the air of seriousness comes off as being totally cheesy in contrast. But Sierra blew open the bank for Phantasmagoria. No other game up that point had production values that were quite as high. The graphics are dated now of course being over 15 years old but back then were absolutely stunning. The music was super high quality. The story was solid enough to keep you engaged. The gameplay elements were not as pronounced but then... this was not a platformer or a shooter. State of the art in 1995. The 7th Guest had released only a few years earlier and introduced the world to FMV and CD-ROM gaming. With this game Sierra advanced the genre and the industry by leaps and bounds and proved that a big budget FMV adventure game could be successful. Thank you GOG.com for bringing this classic back and allowing us adventure game fans to relive the glory days of our beloved genre. Excuse me now while I go and download this......