 Other reviews were more negative . GameSpot writer Jeff Sengstack said the expensive budget and long production history " do not necessarily translate into high quality gaming " . He complimented the graphics and music , but called the game " generally unchallenging , the characters weak , the violence over @-@ the @-@ top , and the script just lame " . Mike Hall of the Albuquerque Journal compared Phantasmagoria to big @-@ budget films with multimillion @-@ dollar budgets and multiple production delays that ultimately failed , like Cleopatra and Waterworld . He said the graphics were beautiful , but the game ended too quickly , the plot was thin and the puzzles were too easy to solve . The Escapist writer Brendan Main said the game fell short of its ambition to change how gamers experienced horror media , and the juxtaposition of real @-@ life actors on settings that were " ordinary , pixilated fare " was " odd and unflattering " . A one @-@ star review in The Video Games Guide , published in 2013 , " now seems little more than a flawed , though ambitious , white elephant " . In a 2014 review , IGN writer Kosta Andreadis said the game 's special effects were still effective , and that Phantasmagoria wisely builds suspense and saves the violent content for the end of the game . But he said it was ultimate " less a bad game than a bad horror film " and said the execution , " although technically interesting , is extremely goofy , full of ludicrous situations , weird plot turns , bizarre dialogue , and dated costume choices " . 
