Read This: A deep dive into Ripper, the forgotten 1996 neo-noir game starring Christopher Walken

Ripper, a PC game with an A-list cast and a budget in the millions, more or less disappeared after arriving in 1996, but it’s resurfaced over the past few years, mainly due to clips of Christopher Walken’s hammy, hard-boiled performance. A lengthy new piece in Wired, however, argues that there’s more to be gleaned from both the game and the era of full-motion technology that, once upon a time, promised to be the future of the form.

Set in a cyberpunky vision of new York City in the year 2040, Ripper followed a crime reporter in search of a Jack the Ripper-type slayer. Through a series of point-and-click prompts and dialogue trees, players encountered a cast of characters played by Walken, Karen Allen, Ossie Davis, and a then-unknown Paul Giamatti. It was also the final performance of legendary actor Burgess Meredith. Making it, however, was a nightmare. Author Lisa Wood Shapiro, who worked as a production coordinator on the game, speaks with several of the game’s artists, all of whom remember an exhausting, frustrating process. The story begins with a tale of a weary Walken after a 19-hour day, asking for a car to Connecticut.