Zomb's Lair

Nothing is as it seems...

I'm a big fan of H.R. Giger's artwork and have been for many years. A lot of that probably started with Dark Seed (though Alien is another obvious one that comes to mind) which I played before I even knew who Giger was. If you're not familiar with this work (though you might be and just don't know it), you're in for a treat - it's an extremely distinct style that manages to be simultaneously beautiful and grotesque. Giger provided the artwork for the "dark world" sequences in the games, which gave them a great otherworldly and frequently disturbing feel.

The original game was one of the first to use a "high resolution" 640x350 mode, due to demand by Giger who was unsatisfied with the standard 320x200 resolution. Unfortunately, this meant the color palette had to be dialed back from 256 colors to 16, but the good news is Giger's work is often practically monochromatic anyway. That said, the visuals of the first game obviously haven't aged nearly as well as the sequel.

The gameplay and writing (of both titles) are, if I'm being honest, certainly not the best the genre has to offer. Both games are undeniably propped up by the strength of Giger's artwork, which turns some otherwise standard point-and-clicks into something worthy of a bit more attention.