Elsinore

Elsinore
68
Metacritic
96
Steam
74.747
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$9.99
Release date
23 July 2019
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
96 (258 votes)

Elsinore is a time-looping adventure game set in the world of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Elsinore combines strong social simulation elements, a dynamic story that reacts immediately to player decisions, and a world full of diverse characters with secrets to uncover.

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Elsinore system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core i5 or better
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 1600 MB available space
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Anonymous
Anonymous

You don't have to know Hamlet to enjoy this, but it does make it even more fun. I really liked how you get to replay the day over and over until you solve all the mysteries. I enjoyed all the endings! Wow, I played for over 20 hours, but really enjoyed it.

InsatiableDanish
InsatiableDanish

I truly love the systems this game uses. How amazing. Love all the characters, the queerness, everything. Amazing game

KarrieBear
KarrieBear

Elsinore is insanely good. The writing is dynamic in a way you don't find in games, and incredibly smart design decisions make retracing your steps in a time-loop game easy. This is a triumph in every way, and stuck in my mind long after I finished it.

amanmore
amanmore

It's a great game with an intriguing story and enjoyable mechanics. I was looking for something similar to Unheard and Sexy Brutale, and Elsinore delivered.

The only part I didn't like is that once you choose an ending, the game deletes the save, and you can't play through the other endings without having to re-do the whole game completely. The lack of multiple save slots here doesn't help either. I know this was likely a very conscious decision taken by the developers, and it certainly does add weight to the choice, but it just isnt a mechanic I'm a big fan of.

raw.chroma
raw.chroma

Clearly a lot of thought and love was put into this game - great art and sound design, occasional flourishes of humor and drama - but after all the time I invested in it (and it could have been a lot longer if I hadn't gotten frustrated with the endings system forcing you to repeat the entire game to see every outcome), I wasn't satisfied. I was just tired. I looked up the rest of the endings instead of playing it 12 more times just to get a few lines of dialogue and a CG. I had a cramp in my finger and wrist from holding down buttons to speed time up. Most visual novels I've played mercifully offer the option to skip everything you've already seen. Part of the core concept is how torturous the repeating cycle of time is to Ophelia, but did they have to punish my hand too? Maybe it's also supposed to be Shakespearian in that sense. The story is an interesting take on Hamlet, but a lot of the social issues they tried to inject into the plot weren't given enough time, or consequence, to feel especially meaningful. I really wanted to like this more, but I can't recommend it.

GameJeannie
GameJeannie

Damn is this game addictive. Maybe it's just cause I'm a literary nerd, but this game felt like vindication for plowing through the misogyny, lack-of-diversity, and emo-boy Hamlet in the original.

Pros:
+A wonderful update of the classic play that is neither afraid of literary allusions for those who have studied Shakespeare while not letting that get in the way of telling a good story. The languages is modernized but stays true to the original. This even goes for the many endings which all incorporate some tragedy...even the satisfying endings.

+Mechanics are very intuitive, and while eventually a little tedious (see below) it took at least a dozen hours to get there (by which point I plowed through for the sake of conpletionism. Before then the gradual revelations left me always with a sense of what I would try next. Stayed up far too late one night working to gain entry to Claudius' room. Even when I thought everything had been revealed, there was more to find.

+The graphics are simple but really lovely and used effectively.

+Inclusivity was really well integrated, with gender/ethnicity/religion/sexuality all playing active roles in character stories.

+Getting to get Hamlet killed in as many ways as you can.

+Music is fitting and, while looped, was ever grating.

Cons
-Somewhat repetitive for completionists.

-Perhaps not as thoroughly engaging for non-Shakespeare buffs.

-Not a con for me, but it IS very dark in parts.

Overall, 8/10; highly recommended! In fact, now I'm sad that it's over. :-(

jesscrissey
jesscrissey

This game is so great! Even after playing every loop imaginable a completely new branch always surprises me. It's a beautiful, complex, and thoroughly entertaining game.

EmotedLlama
EmotedLlama

Phenomenal writing, excellent narrative puzzle design, made me cry. 10/10

MarleyGrim
MarleyGrim

I first saw this game at 2019 Adventure X. Played a bit and congratulated the team for an interesting concept. I've always felt a bit bad as I think I left the impression that I was bored with the game so quit and left early. I actually stopped playing as I was quickly convinced I wanted to play the full game :)

dudemeister
dudemeister

some of the puzzles are a little obtuse and not great (check this random drawer or bookshelf type stuff that reminds me of the worse days of point and click adventure games) but i can tell that story was kind of the main priority when making this game and honestly they did kind of knock that out of the park.

syassky15
syassky15

This is a rare example of a game where the storytelling and the gameplay are equally excellent. Because it's a time loop game, you have a lot of freedom in what actions you decide to take, without losing structure in the story. And, if you're a person (like me) who tends to use walkthroughs to make sure you're getting the full experience of the game, the ability to reset really makes it possible to just experiment without needing to know the "right way" to play the game. It's a fun game for Shakespeare fans, but Shakespeare knowledge absolutely is not necessary to play the game. Very highly recommend!

ravenmunnin266
ravenmunnin266

Thoughtfully creative game, with a good sense for both comedy and tragedy. A great plot driven game steered almost exclusively through choices and dialogue. Would highly recommend, especially to people who enjoyed Oxenfree.

01silverstream
01silverstream

this game SLAPS. also how is there only ONE fanfiction of this game. Step up ur game lads!!

PAOZU✨
PAOZU✨

For a Shakespeare fan I absolutely love this game! It has rich story, pretty visuals, and outstanding music. Good enough that I allow myself to try to get all other endings (I still can't achieve it though). The only thing that turns me off is that once you get to an ending you have to start it all over.

windhover
windhover

It's great! You sprint around a castle and eavesdrop on private conversations and watch things go horribly wrong and maybe kiss some Shakespeare characters if you want.

Kat
Kat

Very fun to play and discover the intrigues and secrets of all characters. Unfortunately, if you want a happy end with Hamlet there is no really positive outcome. Sure, it's fun to try the bad endings, but the good ones are more satisfying and I was missing that especially after investing quite a few hours in the game play. Otherwise, an excellent game, more on the interactive novel side, than classic adventure.

that1laura
that1laura

A prior knowledge of Hamlet will be VERY useful. Or at least a close reading of Sparknotes! I'm still teasing this game out and there's more to find. Perfect for lovers of stories, story puzzles, and walking games.

Fermi
Fermi

Discovering all of the story paths was fun, but the final ending totally sucks. Rather than reward you with a happy ending for your hours of time invested, the developers suckerpunch you and trample on your sense of justice and fairness.

kmegumi2
kmegumi2

This game is amazing! I never thought I'd put so much time into a game with a time loop, but with Elsinore it always felt like there was more do and never got boring. This game uses very simple playing mechanics to create a world of endless possibilities that is extremely fun to explore. It has also taken Shakespeare and made it absolutely relevant to our world today. The characters are deep, real, and diverse, each with their own stories to tell. I love how the time loop mechanics allow you to explore so much within a single playthrough, too. I not only had a lot of fun playing this game, but I enjoyed the emotional journey it takes you on as well. I would hugely recommend this game for anyone who loves a story based around exploring characters and their relationships. It was a fantastic experience.

Tozy
Tozy

This games mixes puzzles and narrative in a most exquisite way! Having to move through space and time at the same time can be cumbersome but the fast forward feature a and a couple of extra tools make it easier. Even if I'm reliving the same days over and over again, it seems the game manages to always stay fresh.

I've played 5 hs but it seems that the game still has a lot to offer.

Gamecmdr
Gamecmdr

Really gives you everything you want if you are a fan of Hamlet, Groundhog day, or both.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Clever puzzles, some awesome twists and turns, and a very clever premise. I also, surprisingly, cried once. I absolutely recommend this game.

Anonymous
Anonymous

A clever and thought provoking point-n-click adventure game that does justice to its classic source material.

siennanneis
siennanneis

Clever premise and intriguing story. Good interface for interacting with the world and tracking knowledge/events. Extra fun if you are familiar with Shakespeare's plays, but accessible if you aren't. One of my all-time favorite games!

lady_cleo2001
lady_cleo2001

Very good writing and very enrapturing to play... fair warning... endings are not what I expected.

rara2018
rara2018

Honestly one of the most interesting games I have ever played. I got into it because Katie Chironis wrote for some of the Nancy Drew games (which I also love) but honestly this game blew those out of the water. The effect of choices and dialogue is astounding and I couldn't stop playing.

rickventurous
rickventurous

Listen, if you like really high-quality narrative and/or shakespeare, this game will be extremely your shit.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Here's the pitch, JB, "Groundhog Day meets Hamlet!" Plus, all the characters talk like millennials! We'll make a zillion!"

Seriously, not a bad little game that you can enjoy if you know your Shakespeaare, and can still play even if you don't. Pros: There always seems to be one more mystery to be solved. Cons: The studio apparently couldn't afford full voice acting, and the "Ophelia!" "Sorry!" "Hamlet!" can get old.

jennielyons
jennielyons

addicting, fresh, filled with clever nods to the source material and other shakespeare, surprisingly funny, and also, pretty gay??

hngryctrpllr
hngryctrpllr

I love this game! I love the mystery and talking to people and digging into the characters. The dialogue and clock can get tiresome after many loops. But I am so impressed with the level of content and complexity. After 40 hours, I still was discovering new stuff. I like that the game makes you think about how there is no perfect ending. Bravo and well done!

Sammun Mak
Sammun Mak

If you love time loops and story-heavy investigative games, you will love this game. This is a game about trying to navigate through Hamlet as Ophelia, Hamlet's ex-lover. As a tragedy, the play Hamlet ends with pretty much EVERYONE dying, but with the power to go back in time, that doesn't have to be the case.

Still, things won't be as simple as you might expect. Prepare to dive deep on the various motivations and schemes of the residents of Elsinore if you want any chance of improving things.

This game varies A LOT based on what you as Ophelia do. Entire plot lines and segments will or won't happen based on your actions (or lack thereof). It's rarely obvious what the short and long term effects of your actions will be -- so it's a good thing you can keep trying. The more you understand everything that's going on, the more control you have over the outcome.

Gameplay wise, this game is essentially entirely dialogue, with it being important what you say to people and when. How the four days of this game's scope plays out is entirely up to you. How far will you go to see how things can play out? Will you even cause deaths, just to see what will happen?

corbo
corbo

(works perfectly fine on linux/Nouveau/Xbox pad.)

This is a narrative disaster.

It's a bit like a book, but less interactive. And without the good smells.
You spend time reading insipid dialogue, displayed character by character of course (that's a signature move of slow designers, or maybe their idiocratic equivalent to a masonic handshake,) while listening to sighs and other silly noises. I thought it was obvious that no voice-acting at all is way better than speaking the first word of every sentence; it wasn't.

There are also silent pauses in the middle of conversations. Without a hint, so you'll try frantically to DO things, as if you were in a game, but nothing will work and the current dialogue will eventually resume.

Maybe the problem comes from the fact that the thing is advertised as a Point & Click, when in fact it seems to be nothing more than a vulgar visual novel.

I've got it: It's a gossip manager with button-smasher elements. Buttons-smashing being the only way to accelerate the gossip.
I couldn't find any way to interrupt a dialogue.
I didn't find a way to identify and avoid dialogues I had already read.
In short, that's a terrible interface.
Mind you, there isn't even a save system, so what did I expect?
Looks like the world has 1 unlimited resource: devs who don't know that the U in UI stands for User. Let's export them.

Anyway, this was instant torture for me, and I had to warn other sane players that this is a risky buy indeed.

heavypelican
heavypelican

It's a cool concept, a Shakespearean Groundhog Day, and it really works. The character paths and events of the repeating loop are sophisticated, and you (as Ophelia) can manipulate events to achieve different results.

The stories delve back into characters' pasts, and explore their quirks and motivations. The dialogue is well done - touching and witty, a nice mix of modern simple prose laced with Shakespeare quotes from this and other plays. There is a little bit of repetition due to the time loop concept, but the game shortcuts things so that you don't have to do the same set of actions each time.

Apart from the alternative paths that characters take, there's some revamping - gender-swapping of a couple of characters, some LGBTQ sub-plots, optional modern costumes - that adds to the fun and to the richness of the world. It gets a bit dark in a few places, but not over the top. My wife and I played this together and had a lot of fun discussing what approach to take on each loop, and finding out the various secrets hidden around Elsinore.

Lilipup781
Lilipup781

Alright, this is my long winded verse of how much I love this game.I bought this game when it was on sale as I looked through the "Shakespeare" tag on Steam not thinking twice about any games of interest showing up. Yet lo and behold, I spot the title of "Elsinore" and the display photo of a woman, who I didn't know was Ophelia at the time, holding a human skull as if SHE is about to perform the "alas poor Yorick" soliloquy. After the initial intrigue of the photo and title, I open the store tab to read the description. Not only was it about one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, it was about of of my favorite characters too! So with the helpful tip of the game's price slightly reduced by sale, I purchased this game and have not regretted it since!Following the story of Ophelia as she is stuck wandering the castle grounds where she has famously met her demise in many re-tellings, I was more pulled into this story than any other similar idea. Each character has so much depth and color to them that I found myself in love with the story more than I already was! With so many endings, I still have to play through all 12 other endings, I can't wait to see how all of them play out! Every loop of the story keeps pulling you in and has you wishing for hope! Especially in cheering on our protagonist Ophelia as she is stuck in such a dismal place. The designs are lovely as is everything else about the game! As most mainstream Shakespeare productions are mainly caucasian, I was so excited to see that a very minimal portion of the cast are white! My friends have really enjoyed seeing such pivotal characters that look like them, and it's helped me share my love of Shakespeare with them! Watching the small portraits next to the dialogue change as a scene progressed was also very amusing! Each drawing added such personality and emotion to what was being said that it made the game seem so much more amazing!While playing, I also enjoyed the soundtrack! Listening to the ambiance of castle and town life above a kind score was very relaxing! With small changes in the music during stressful or different events was also a fun thing to notice as I played! The voices of each character was a fun addition to imagine each character talking as I played through. Even the more stressful scores of the soundtrack were still so amazing and added a bigger depth to the scenarios at hand and placing so much more emphasis on the choices one needed to make.My only problem was the save file issue with the game, I was never truly sure if I saved before I quit, yet I somehow always did and had my save the next time I logged in to play. Everything other than that was so excellent that I don't mind the question on whether I saved or not!I do recommend this game to anyone! You could be a Shakespeare nerd like myself, or just someone looking for a good point and click adventure. Elsinore gives such a wonderful twist on a story you think you'd know the ending to and instead gives a new surprise. This game is now on my list of top favorites!TL;DR Elsinore is such an amazing game that I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good short game! It has everything you're looking for and more! Golden Glitch Studios did such an amazing job bringing a new twist to a semi-classic story that I can't wait to see what else they do!

zimm_zamm
zimm_zamm

I love that there are a variety of endings and twists and turns.

LorenzoPilia
LorenzoPilia

Bought this out of curiosity after reading about the time loop mechanic, even though I'm not particularly into Shakespeare or this type of historical setting I really really enjoyed it, recommended!

JangleCat
JangleCat

This is an interesting game. You control the story via a timeloop mechanic and by spying in on conversations that you know are coming up. It plays nicely, is very well written, and lovely graphics and music.

Elenwyd
Elenwyd

It gets dark. I like that. Also still wanna beat hamlet with jumper cables.

White Ghost
White Ghost

First things first: I had already read / seen Hamlet and was familiar with the story. I quite liked it then, and I would say this game made me love it even more. As a concept, I love characters stuck in time-loops, where every time they die their story gets reset. Picking Ophelia was definitely a good option.

Now, for the gameplay. The main point is trying to solve a few missions / mysteries and advance the main plot. I have to say, I was genuinely intrigued by many of the mysteries and surprised at their eventual answers: such as, "who is the assassin?" While I still haven't found every ending and chosen that as my fate, I am aware that once I (or you) do that, the game resets your file and you have to restart everything. Honestly, I don't like that so much, but I can manage.

Moving on to characters, I love how the game gives more layers to Ophelia. We learn more about her backstory, see a lot of her interactions with her family, and with every time-loop, she develops into a stronger individual, making her quite a dynamic character. Similarly, to her, many other characters have their backstories expanded, adding more depths to them, such as Gertrude, Horatio, Bernardo, and so on. And the new characters aren't bad either, being integral to the story, rather than just negligible addons. Lady Brit being a prime example.

A bit of a SPOILER TERRITORY, but I found interesting something that two characters tell me in the game. That no matter how hard I try, there is no Golden Ending where I manage to save everyone and everybody gets a happy ending. It was actually quite thought provoking. The idea that you can't "create a perfect world with imperfect human being" (as one character puts it), who will always find some way to screw up, no matter how much Ophelia tries. I guess that explains why every ending is labelled as "Sacrifice X For Y". And given both that and the story, even though I don't love the idea, I can see why the game deletes your files. Because you chose the story, the "game" set by the player is over, and you're not getting a do-over.

the soup faerie from neopets.com
the soup faeri…

it's hard to recommend this game enough. i always did love the story of hamlet since i read it as a kid in literature classes, but felt a connection to ophelia that i didn't see reflected back to me in its original text. this game doesn't feel, though, that its narrative "replaces" the original in an effort to improve it, not just ophelia but every named character is given much more detail and life to their stories. but by giving most of the agency in the story to ophelia herself, the narrative, wherever it takes you, peels back those paper covers to reveal an expanded world you will had never otherwise considered.

you might love and hate every individual character in their own way for their choices. you might cry at a classic tragedy without expecting to react so strongly to a tale you should already know inside and out. you might cling to these versions of these characters and never be able to look at the original script the same way again. for me, all of these things became true.

there is so much to recommend in this story that feels also impossible to do so without giving away more than i should. there are very much experiences in here that i feel strongly must be encountered on one's own. there are also secrets hidden away in unexpected plaes that, seeing all the ways the story can end, are still waiting to be found should you return to look for them once more. or many, many times more.

if you were or werent a fan of the original play, if you love a compelling, complex story that cares about its characters as much as it stays true to its tragedy and darkness, if you feel at all determined to try again and again to find the world you seek at the end of a tempestuous journey that will break and rebuild your hope again and again, then you will certainly fall in love with this game as i have.

even at your darkest hour, you can still choose to go on. even as hope solidifies in your heart as you follow your own path, know that you will always sacrifice something you could have otherwise had.

murky831
murky831

As a total Hamlet geek, this is surreal & satisfying. I enjoy the story, the animation, and especially intriguing are the back stories created to fill out the relationships between secondary characters. At first, I was confused why it felt like I was flying through the plot so quickly, but I kept with it and all becomes more clear. I find myself thinking about it when I'm not playing, which always is a good sign.

Dédé
Dédé

It drives you mad! Come on Hamlet stop being so emoooo - and what is that? A war? I am supposed to convince half the court that I lowly nobody female knows what is up? Hell yeah, you would be too if you were repeating your death other and other again!
A true enjoyment to play. No true complaint, a little gem.

Vex'd
Vex'd

ELSINORE is now among the best games I have ever played. I have never seen a game - or really any piece of media - set out with such a clear goal and accomplish it so impeccably.

Its dialogue is spot on, its interpretations of Hamlet's characters as intriguing as they are inviting. I can't remember the last time I've felt emotions from any fiction (certainly, I find fiction entertaining, but not something that pulls empathy) - I was attached to the characters in Elsinore. I fell in love with every aspect of the game almost immediately, and every twist and turn made me actually feel something.

Elsinore made me think about the way I approach stories in general in a completely different way. Its attention to detail, the 'puzzle-box' of its world, all of it is terrifyingly intricate, brilliantly executed. You will not be disappointed.

2heartgirl
2heartgirl

10/10 nearly put 24 hours into my "first" playthrough with my 69 timeloops and purposely went out of my way to unlock nearly everything except one of the secret endings and completing the Irma's Ire sidequest. This game desperately makes me wish for three things;

1. that time loop AUs for classical literature were a more common trope
2. that I had the ability to compose a three hour Youtube analysis video
3. that I was able to go back in time myself so I could throw enough money at the Kickstarter for the extra content they had planned to have been put in the game.

I can't wait to revisit this game someday to relive the experience and am actually now considering looking up Hamlet fanfiction to fill the void this game left in my mind to pass the time until that moment.

melkapitan
melkapitan

This game is really fun. As a history and literature nerd, I am really enjoying this!

The Corn King
The Corn King

This game is amazing! First off, the whole concept of living Hamlet through Ophelia's eyes then just the constants of it. There always seems to be more to discover.

IbraheemA97
IbraheemA97

This is an Incredible game that I am so so happy to have discovered. This is a title that benefits from but does not require any knowledge of Hamlet to get invested in the characters. It's an incredible exercise in character building and puzzle solving,

Patch
Patch

Inventive game with an INSANELYY investing gameplay. Couldn't put it down once I started (partly bc I was afraid of forgetting important details).

Plushyesque
Plushyesque

This game isn't just story-rich, it's story-immense! Not surprising as it's based on Hamlet, but this is much more accessible and I wouldn't be surprised if it encouraged people to discover the world of Shakespeare. No previous knowledge of the story is required, the game allows you to explore and learn as much as you want to. This isn't the type of game I would ordinarily play, but I was enticed by the title and cover art. I'm very glad I decided to get it and pour a great deal of the last week into it. It's one of those games where you can't wait to get back to it and see what else you can uncover. The mechanic of the game is so complex that it made my brain hurt, but the developers did a great job making it work smoothly with only a few minor inconsistencies. I'll be on the lookout for more games like this!

tina
tina

Have you ever wished that you could go back in time and replay a period in your life, knowing what you do now? This game lets you do that for the main character, Ophelia in Hamlet. I have never read Hamlet before, and am indifferent about Shakespeare, but was captivated by the story, and enjoyed finding all the different endings. This was one of my all-time favorite games, very sad there's not many like it.

mobes
mobes

I used to be a literature professor and Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play I've read and written about many times. It was delightful to play a game that truly honored the story, yet managed to expand on the play and its characters in a way that was fresh and vibrant.

The time-looping mechanics work well and I felt like new information yielded itself with every loop I played. I thought the character development was believable yet managed to be surprising as well – a difficult combination to achieve. I did get weary of certain dialogue I was forced to hear repeatedly such as the opening conversation with Polonius when you wake up. I relied on the journal and task trackers but admittedly found little use for the conversation history or character log.

Overall, this is a unique game that I would recommend to anybody. The looping mechanic and reset achieves its goals. In this game you can tell great care was taken to make sure the design mirrored the narrative and vice versa. That is incredibly rare, especially in the time-looping genre as a whole. This is what has made Elsinore one of the more satisfying game experiences I've had in the last couple of years.

Many thanks to the devs for providing such an experience and I would play any game made by them in the future.

mu
mu

A good game of exploring new, hopefully better fates with time loops - or see how much things can inadvertently go wrong. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into plotting, writing and scripting outcomes into this certainly ambitious game - it's a really good job. It's also making me want more games of this genre now.

While I enjoyed the game enough to complete all endings, admittedly it became a slog to go through as it could offer some more QOL features like skipping seen text (and credits), without having to hold down the space bar. I suspect it's designed this way with intention, as an artistic meta commentary in context of the game's story. This game feels like an example of a game design conundrum - how do you balance fun and enjoyment, vs design choices to emphasize a message?

Anyway - overall I've enjoyed the game, even as someone who barely knows Hamlet (and is now enticed to find out more). It's certainly a unique experience to give it a try.

vodsel
vodsel

Elsinore had one of the single best moments in a story game I've ever played. Definitely a game writers can appreciate because the labor involved with the craft of writing is visible all over this thing.

lupin
lupin

Choose Your Own Tragedy

This game is amazing!!! I don't think my review will do the game as much justice as many of the other ones have, since I just finished playing it basically nonstop for two days and my brain is basically just like "GAME GOOD!!!" I actually upgraded my extremely old laptop partially because I was so curious about this game and wanted to play it. I love time loops, Hamlet, and mysteries, so I knew this game was gonna be perfect for me. (It even has a few easter eggs to Umineko no Naku Koro ni, which is one of my all-time favorite mystery games!)

I really love how they made the cast more diverse than a lot of other adaptations you tend to see of Hamlet. Bisexual Ophelia is admittedly what first piqued my interest in the game (I follow a curator who posts LGBTQ-friendly games), but there are many queer characters even besides Ophelia, as well as a lot of racial diversity. Elsinore is by no means a dating simulator, but it honestly just made me really happy to see some nice casual representation, and it's all handled very well & actually directly addressed in the text. (Also, I never knew how much I needed female Rosencrantz and Guildenstern until I played this! They were definitely my two faves in this.)

Some spoilers: I expected some sort of "golden route" where you could fix everything, but I was actually relieved that there wasn't one. It felt true to the tragedy of the original story, just with Ophelia given some degree of agency that she was denied in the original. And while I do appreciate the developers' original intention of locking you into one ending, since it fits thematically, but the completionist side of me is so happy they changed it to see all the endings without having your save file erased. I LOVED the "limbo theaters" before each ending, too.

Anyway, all that said, please please please buy this game! It's SO good and I'm excited to see what the developers come up with next. This game really deserves more attention!

HermitWily
HermitWily

"Elsinore" is Hamlet meets Groundhog Day---a seemingly odd combo that ends up working really, really well! An interesting twist on the classic tragedy, with extremely innovative and engaging (and, personally, slightly anxiety inducing!!! but the fun kind of anxiety) gameplay. The dynamic timeline and ever-changing event schedule kept me on my toes, although there were still many fun and/or horrible events that I just couldn't predict. Sometimes when I thought things were going well they did a complete 180° and went horribly wrong. Sometimes bad stuff turned into good stuff! Either way, hilarity definitely ensued. I was emotionally invested from the prologue to the finale. :')

And I would 100% fight for Lady Brit any day, any prince, no questions asked. I gotchu, girl.

meixiaotian
meixiaotian

Fun concept, great plot and characters. A little buggy, but not so much it impacts the experience.

BitterSea
BitterSea

Solving a complicated mystery in an environment with likable and layered characters and so many details to discover. I love this game! ^_^ It's exactly the kind of thing I've been hoping to find and I hope there would be more like this.

One Winged Thanatos
One Winged Thanatos

Rating: Recommended at full price

Elsinore: To loop or not to loop?

Closest comparison: Zelda Majora´s Mask but as a Sims game

Short description: Time loop-ish point & click adventure with Hamlet characters and a theater theme, you are trapped in a never ending story of you dying in all sort of different ways, and then waking up some days before, and you need to escape it, you can alter the outcome and ending of every loop and the more loops you do more tools/info you´ll have to do so

Estimated Duration/Replayability: 4-12hs depending on how many endings you get, there are 13 endings and some require more than one loop, but there is little reason to go back once you have seen them all

Best features: Lots of dialogue, well written Shakespearean characters with cool interactions and secrets to discover, lots of replayability due to it´s looping design (at least until you unlock all endings), fun puzzle-ish way of piecing together information and using it to solve different situations. I expected a kind of murder mystery but... it´s hamlet, all murders are somewhat obvious, but there IS mystery all around Elsinore and discovering secrets to later use against your enemies can be a very fulfilling experience, also getting the "Exeunt All" ending was quite a fun surprise

Feedback :
-My only complain is the lack of a skip button, you can skip dialogue but not ALL dialogue of a conversation at once, and going for all the endings can lead to a somewhat tiring experience, other than that the game is a really well made experience

Gestum
Gestum

I nearly missed how great this game is because I started playing knowing nothing about it except that it's supposed to be some kind of adventure where you can change the story of "Hamlet", and got frustrated early on because it seemed that Ophelia couldn't really change much - for I then didn't know of the time-looping nature of the game, restarted it twice (erasing all game data) in the hope of getting better results, which of course is the completely wrong approach, as I know now. If you continue playing, you will discover a surprising amount of depth, complexity and variation not only in the several available endings, but also in the ways to get there.

mimtron
mimtron

This is extremely satisfying if you love women getting more agency than their original texts afford them, but also love the structures and strictures of high tragic arcs. It can get repetitive in places (by design, yes, but also there's a lot of dialogue to repeat as you piece the plotlines together) but I absolutely love it all the same.

stoydell
stoydell

I want to address this review to anyone who is interested in this game but has not read Hamlet, or perhaps (like me) has read other Shakespeare plays but not quite been fond of them, and is thus doubtful that this story would be any different. I let this hesitation stop me from playing Elsinore for many months, and I wish I hadn't waited so long.

For me, at least, Elsinore is not only a unique and complex way to approach and engage with the story of Hamlet, it's the only way I can imagine loving it as much as I do now.

It's hard to point to a single feature or quality of this game and identify it as the crucial piece in that puzzle. Some combination of the modernized language, the clockwork structure which reveals the richness of the source material, the game design which asks you to become intimately familiar with the events of the play as well as the characters and their motivations and desires: all of these things, and more, come together to make the game truly worth playing, whether you're familiar with Hamlet or not.

So if you've not read the play or seen it performed, I urge you to play Elsinore, because you might find that this game is your ideal way to experience this heartbreaking story. If not, there's always your local theater (except of course as long as COVID-19 is still a threat).

KinglyKing Vee
KinglyKing Vee

Fun and engaging storytelling!

Billychic
Billychic

I love this game so very much. The developers and writers are so witty and remarkable. All of the nods and references to his other works, etc. As someone who is an avid fan of Shakespeare, adventure, rich storytelling and click/point solving this was really a wonderful experience for me. The thought that went into this is astounding. I also appreciate the diversity in all aspects, I think you made something really special, and I have been trying to tell more people about it. Thank you for making this game - and please hurry and make another one just like it! LOL Cheers

magicalchalicotherium
magicalchalico…

Strikes a good balance between being approachable to those who know little about Shakespeare and appealing to Shakespeare fans with Easter eggs and whatnot. The web of interactions between events was very well thought out.

Staniel :) [DTA]
Staniel :) [DTA]

the prince of denmark needs to take a chill pill

highadmiralsagubaguy
highadmiralsagubaguy

I really like time loop stories and I tend to like riffs on Hamlet, so I thought this game was great!
There's a lot of fun character moments, especially when you push things beyond what happened in Hamlet. Exploring the timeline variations and seeing where certain plots go is a lot of fun. It's a cool sandbox, but does a good job giving you plot points to uncover over multiple loops.

I think the game can be a bit tedious once you've seen most of the daily events and are waiting for stuff to happen on the last day, even with the fast forward. It can also get a little overwhelming to keep track of things at times, even with the journal and timeline. I ended up taking a break and restarting the game months after I started because didn't I completely remember where I was in the story (it was still interesting to replay through, got things to happen in different ways and found paths I'd missed before)

olismith205
olismith205

The graphics and animation aren't the best but the story and mechanics work really well
(also might be be in the outer wilds expanded universe)

Sunrise_Ruby
Sunrise_Ruby

A consistently intriguing, gripping, and dramatic exploration of the setting and themes of Hamlet. The writing is just so good. I love how all the nuance, side character info, etc... added is generally present in the text of the original, or at least justified in some way. The mechanics of how the player interacts with the story reminds me a lot of the Bomber's Notebook aspect of Majora's Mask. This game is a treat.

twins10
twins10

very good, has a lot more depth then expected.

all sorts of little subplots and alternate ways to do things and outcomes scattered around.

anime was a mistake
anime was a mistake

Great characters and consequences for all actions.

onewhitelight
onewhitelight

Great game, my first ending made me tear up

katabatic
katabatic

The secret ending made me feel physically nauseated, so I think I'd deem this a good game.

Free-Kill
Free-Kill

Play it until you feel stuck, then grab a walkthrough.

Elsinore is really fun and really interesting, and piecing together possible paths through the game using the hints is fantastic.

BUT there reaches a point where that fails - Although the endings are laid out for you, it is very weird and obscure how you actually reach them in practice. I think if you were determined to grind through until you worked them out, you would have a pretty bad time. At that point find a walkthrough (good luck, it's harder than it sounds...) and let it help you.

ahlidawer
ahlidawer

This was a really cool way to experience the play Hamlet. I felt like I got to know all of the characters' motivations really well and explore the different possibilities of how the story could have unfolded.

Pearogative
Pearogative

This is absolutely one of the best games I've ever played. It's basically a narrative toy-box crammed to the brim with interesting decisions and stories-within-stories, and it's an incredibly robust box at that. Even with the sheer variety of decisions that you can make that have ramifications within the world, the times where the game hiccuped and did something it shouldn't were extremely few and far-between. I love how you have the freedom to just wander and explore and try things out just to see what happens, and experience the game at your leisure.

The only real quibbles I have with the game are minor: the game's UI (especially the font choice) is fairly unappealing, some of the art (the anatomy in particular) looks a little ugly, and the quality of the audio and sound is extremely uneven. Also, there is definitely a point in the game once you've spent a good while playing that you spend a lot of time standing around and spinning the clock, which makes me wish you had a bit more control over the simulation than you're given.

At the end of the day, though, this is an absolutely marvellous game. Anyone who's intrigued by the concept should absolutely give it a try, it's fantastic.

antifinity
antifinity

The world needs more time loop games. This is a good one.

Kiss and Kick
Kiss and Kick

Really fun mystery game. You don't need to know the play to enjoy it. I like the modern take on it.

stubbyhands
stubbyhands

This game is genius, I spent countless hours working through every possible ending and interaction. There are times when it's a bit slow as you wait for consequences to kick in, but it's never slow for too long. I would recommend this game to anyone, I thought it was gorgeous.

britannia_x
britannia_x

If you're looking for a game that's going to allow you - the hero of the story! - to figure things out on your own with all the time in the world, piece the big puzzle together without risking inconvenient circumstances and then ride off into the sunset after having successfully rescued the day, then you better move along. Elsinore will leave the story quite literally in pieces if you don't "manage to get it right"; and the player frustrated beyond measure once you've buried someone your character loved during your third playthrough.

But! This isn't all there is to it. In fact, you're quite literally pushed into changing things for the better - or so you presume. We slip into the role of our heroine, Ophelia, at the start of the game and get to witness all kinds of situations unfold with only one big question in mind: how can we change things for the better the next time we are here? Because make no mistake, we will be coming back; growing more intrigued by the plots we've discovered so far and restless in our goal to see what'll come of the decisions we've (not) made.

Each time you step back into the familiar castle, to be awoken by Hamlet's mad ramblings and thrown into a chaos that may unfold in a completely new way, the gods roll the dice. Whether or not they are in your favour? Well, you'll find that's entirely up to you - as long as you don't bite the hand that feeds you.

My playthrough was scattered throughout several days but that only served to heighten my anticipation whenever I got around to playing another chunk of the story. The narrative is interesting and culminates in various twists and turns. Shakespeare's Hamlet was told a trillion times already so we all are at least vaguely aware of what the story entails but this game truly excels in retelling it in a way that makes it even better. That is no small task but it was done with so much love and care which, despite the small bugs here and there, was truly the highlight of my gaming experience for Elsinore. I honestly commend the developers for the effort that went into this and hope to see more creative, innovative products similar to this one in the future.

I immensely enjoyed the charming, somewhat "quiet" structure of the daily activities in Elsinore which was a breath of fresh air. As someone who enjoys shooters as much as the next person, there's something special about a game where you just get to talk to people. Ophelia isn't some kind of "Chosen One", she's not a hero with superpowers but an average woman with a penchant for curiosity who's thrown into an unfortunate situation she needs to figure out all by herself. This realization is actually somewhat hard to come by when you, as the player, know what she's capable of, the strings she's forced into pulling to avoid or achieve an (un)happy fate but it makes your attachment to her and the other characters that much stronger. As time goes by, you'll realize that no character in Elsinore can be treated as a black-or-white caricature of their counterparts in the original Hamlet, but only products of their conduct and their environment. And it's with this knowledge that you get to watch certain characters experience loss, grief, sadness and even madness over and over again. So: at which point do you stop trying to prevent a specific future from happening? How much death does it take for Ophelia to cast aside her own humanity? Well, all this is entirely up to you.

fuwante0
fuwante0

The real tragedy is how unpopular this game is.

Pansy
Pansy

This is a very faithful and creative adaptation of Hamlet. This game is perfect for any Shakespeare lover, but be warned, there are no happy endings.

Eaglesh55
Eaglesh55

Elsinore is the kind of game that leaves you feeling just a little bit empty when it's over. The dialogue is masterfully written, the decisions you make feel impactful, and the story itself feels very unique. I'm hoping to see more work from the creators of Elsinore in future, because there a few games that are so captivating and manage to get choice-based storylines to work so well. If you haven't already bought this, you should. It's worth the price, and there wasn't a single moment during the game where I wasn't enjoying myself.

schneed.
schneed.

I'm a little torn about recommending the game. The core idea, the majority of the writing and the plot are very good. The concept is fantastic, and the mysteries and options for endings are great. Including the secret ones.

But! Boy is it not very polished. Graphically the characters look a bit silly, which is normally not an issue for me, but for the fact that your desire to repeatedly watch the same interactions over-and-over are built on the idea that you care about the characters and wish to see good/bad things happen to them. So when you have to care, and stare at them so often, the lack of polish on their appearances adds up.

By itself, probably not worth noting, but there are a number of other illusion-shattering issues. Bugs where characters suddenly disappear in front of you, or characters respond to you incorrectly (e.g. you catch them doing something, but then another event triggers and you both act like the opposite happens). These issues, when so omni-present, really become frustrating issues when you realise you have to repeatedly view/experience them, potentially 100 times, to get the information and endings you want.

But I haven't got the heart to say No to this game. The writers and designers cared a lot, they're smart, and they should build more games like this. I just wish they were better funded and able to fully flesh out their concept in a way that made it less.. tedious, and more enjoyable. But I still recommend it, because for all of my complaints, at the end of the day

The game is smart, its mysteries difficult, and I enjoyed the experience. I want the developers to do more. So, I recommend if you're like me, and starving for good mysteries and stories, let's support developers like this with our cash.

RedundantPandas
RedundantPandas

This game is just an absolute lovefest to Shakespeare. I'm a huge Shakespeare-buff, and I adored how it reconceptualized some really key parts of Hamlet while also adding in some incredible moments of its own.

You play as Ophelia, and you're stuck in a time loop where you repeatedly die trying to save everyone in Hamlet. It's legendarily good. This is just tasty stuff, and it guts me that this isn't more popular.

Not a Shakespeare fan? I think you'll still like it (gameplay tip: follow Hamlet around and you'll learn what happened in the play itself). Shakespeare nerd? Enjoy the sky references to other plays, the (positive) gender-bending changes to the cast of characters, and the insightful additions to the plot.

Only con I had is that controller support was mediocre at best, but I played this awhile ago.

Stoner Dwight
Stoner Dwight

Lot's of mysteries and I'm barely started, interested to see how this plays out and where it eventually leads.

Enjoying the entanglement between characters, finding out someone is being shady only to find out it's the opposite or vice versa is always a nice guilt trip after you've got them sent to the shithouse.

Definitely recommend as of writing, may or may not change once I've actually reached a conclusion.

Aeverie
Aeverie

Truly one of the best narrative experiences I have had. Elsinore is a perfect execution of the 'time loop' genre in making your choices count, having a steady exploration to all of its mysteries, and exploring every aspect of the characters within. It is consistently compelling unraveling all the threads there are to pull on at first, and later discovering the endings. The modernization of characters to make them less uniformly straight and white is pure genius, causing a very old tale to feel relevant and truthful. I spent 19 hours uncovering all its secrets, which is short for some, but it is exactly what I wanted from an experience like this. It didn't overstay its welcome, and kept me engaged the whole way through. I find all the characters to be well written and care about them all (with the exception of the ones that are supposed to be unsympathetic, but they're still good characters). I am thoroughly impressed by it at every moment. I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys literature, Shakespeare, time-loop games, or heavy narrative experiences. A+

laughbird
laughbird

Quite a unique experience where what you always thought about came true: what if I can go back in time and change something.

The story is intriguing. Characters can spiral into really wrong way, makes the whole time travel to save someone thing meaningful. (The key plot is a little bit contradictory and confusing in my opinion.)

However, sometimes it is very confusing. It is ok for the main plot branches, that you feel like you got clues and make an intellectual decision of what to do. But for some plot branch, you literally have to keep talking to everyone with every topic. (Same mistake of an old GBA game Detective Conan: The Dawn Monument, that you basically go through every single character and interrogate them about every single clue!) Very discouraging when you thought you made some differences but the loop just repeated exactly the same and you have to loop through it again for one conversational change.

Some of the branch doesn't feel too convincing. I managed to get a few more "generic" ending then I feel like it's too repetitive for me to reach all branches, even when I look at online hints or walkthrough. Then I decided to stop.

Summary:
Unique mechanics that I hope I will see more in the future. Neat early game but later game feels less polished and thought through. Became repetitive and confusing. But I still recommending trying it out as you cannot find such experience elsewhere.

fitzroy_doll
fitzroy_doll

Highly recommended Shakespearean time loop, like Mooncrash or Minit but your arsenal is information. Elsinore is a complex adaptation of one of the most widely-adapted works in Western literature, which circles out from its source material to develop the stories of each character in the play, and show how Ophelia’s fate might change if she had not only agency (absent in the original), but also the ability to see each individual story through to its conclusion. Elsinore takes the idea of the play within a play as far as it will go, with layer upon layer, backwards and forwards in time, until one of many endings is reached, which itself is not really the end.

The writing sensitively addresses complex themes without becoming didactic and, due to the looping nature of the narrative, is able to show characters changing, based on how the player acts (or does not act), which in turn changes the player’s perception of who is right or wrong in each situation. Even after 41 loops I did not see it all, as every action has some effect, and each character has a story that continues whether Ophelia is there to observe it or not.

Players are encouraged to take notes outside the game, as the key mechanic is the timely use of an inventory of information, whose effects change based on with whom the knowledge is shared and when. In its final stages Elsinore becomes a puzzle game, as there are ways to unlock particular outcomes that depend on specific orders of events, and finding these while gaining no new information can feel overwhelming, but the instant text option exists for a reason, and players are encouraged to use it. The bittersweet epilogues are very well done, and after spending so long with the characters, each has a real effect and reminds the player that every ending is both good and bad, and in this sense the game captures some of the human nuance found so frequently in Shakespeare’s texts, and so absent in many modern games.

Given the source material, comparative works are numerous. Ophelia 2018 is interesting but Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead 1990 is probably a better companion piece. The historical visual novel Hampton Court is set during a slightly earlier time period but offers a much more narrow range of choices and possibilities. Well done to the Golden Glitch team (and their cats and hamsters) for making such an interesting game.

fowl
fowl

this game is brilliant! I personally adore games where plot is settled around the idea of a time loop, and in this particular game this mechanic is executed so well! there are so many options you can try and subsequently change the course of events! And it all feels so real cause you see how the world around you lives by itself and here is no such thing as "this/that/any other npc will be waiting for you indefinitely until you finally please them by starting their quest" - if you missed something, try it next time during next loop. and by gradually acquiring knowledge about the story with each new loop you start to get a grasp of what's going on and that's when the game starts to shine.
10/10

--- after having finished the game ---

it's just a pure masterpiece, nothing less. thank you very very much for your amazing work, developers, I truly mean it..

it's a pity that this gem of a game is so little known to the public yet. I hope it will change soon, cause this game absolutely deserves recognition. it's fantastic. let the first look and the mentioning of Shakespeare not fool you. You'll totally get in love with it as I did. It's one of the best and deepest games about time travel out there at all

BRICK 101
BRICK 101

I'm only part way through, but I'm loving this retelling. So many unexpected twist and turns. The game does a great job communicating the implications of my actions while also delivering unexpected outcomes. Looking forward to keep playing.

Past
Past

I'm a big fan of time loop games, and this game has been on my radar since pre-release. But finally playing it now, and I think something just didn't click for me. Maybe it's that I didn't really get attached to the characters at all. Maybe it's that I had some decision paralysis while playing. Maybe it's that I didn't really feel any true connection between all the different threads of events I was investigating.

The characters do seem well written with distinct personalities, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care for almost any of them. It's probably a "me" problem, but I could only really see most characters as a hurdle to get past for my next objective, with a few exceptions. Because of this, I can't bring myself to care enough to save them for the sake of saving them, only for the sake of trying to get to my next objective.
Characters also have the problem of having what appear to be massive personality mood-swings. You can trigger an event where two characters are arguing and moments from killing each other, and then 5 minutes later they're just talking to each other like normal. Or two characters could plan to elope together, and then 5 minutes later they're arguing in the church like they've never really talked together before. Obviously with so many events to keep track of there will be some scuff with this stuff, but it's still very jarring when it happens.

One problem gameplay wise I had was that I didn't want to risk making decisions. During the game, you can speak to people about different rumors/questions you have for them, in order to get more information. The problem is, several times that I did this, a character would get mad and not talk to me for the rest of the day/loop, or do something to create a massive butterfly-effect that would impact something else I wanted to experiment with in that timeline. Because of this, I internalized that talking to people too much = bad. Obviously this isn't true in 90% of cases, but I still never wanted to risk it, which undoubtedly impeded my progress.

Another gameplay problem was that there lacked an ability to easily tell what events/dialogue you've already seen. There is a faint indicator on the Timeline window, but I would've liked to see something like greyed-out/slightly transparent dialogue, so I would more easily know what I can safely ignore when re-living events I've seen before, and what events have changed.

I also think I had a misconception about how I would reach the conclusion of the game. What I expected to happen was that there'd be a few separate plot threads that I'd need to investigate separately, then I'd bring it all together and solve it all at once in one final loop. Instead, most of the threads are relatively isolated, but you can pick which threads ending you want to make reality, after completing a specific "main thread" objective. In other words, there's multiple endings, which in hindsight makes sense for a time loop game like this. But again, I don't really care about the characters enough to try and reach any of these endings.

Maybe you'll have a different impression of the game than I did, and I wouldn't fault you for it. This is just my own impression, which I understand is flawed in some respects.

tyrian_red
tyrian_red

I'll keep this short, as I played the game a long time ago, and don't remember it too well. However, it was good. If you like story based games, you may enjoy this.

SapphireStream
SapphireStream

This game is soooo fun, its very responsive to what you do in the loops! The characters are fun and deep and every named character has a backstory and plot you can dig into. It also has a lot of tools to help you remember whats happening and whats going to happen in each specific loop! The art is also very charming and theres canonically queer characters which is always wonderful to see

Numberwang
Numberwang

A brilliant subversion and retelling of Hamlet mixed with a fantastic mix of Ground-Hog Day style time-loop puzzles.

edwardnb
edwardnb

A gorgeous work, intricate, well-researched, and not afraid to tackle modern-day issues in a period setting. I'd heartily recommend...

But also: the "Final Ending" is UNRELENTINGLY bleak and may put you off playing the game again for a long time. I've certainly found this to be the case.

dystopicfilms
dystopicfilms

Hamlet. Mr. William Shakespeare's classic tale of vengeance and betrayal. We ALL studied it in school. Some of us may have even performed it on stage or on camera. But whether it was really Shakespeare's best play is debatable - there are several other worthy contenders.

Regardless of which was your favourite (or maybe you don't have one - that's cool too), one thing we can all agree upon is that the female characters in that play get the thin end of the wedge. None more so than the long-suffering ex-girlfriend of the play's titular moody prince. I am of course referring to the ill-fated Ophelia. Throughout the play the poor girl is abused, chastised, denigrated and generally put through the ringer. However, in "Elsinore" Ophelia is no longer a hollow plot devise but the catalyst for the whole narrative.

The best way to describe "Elsinore" is if the story of Hamlet was given the "Life Is Strange" treatment and gene-spliced with the "Happy Death Day" movie franchise. In much the same fashion, Ophelia mysteriously finds herself caught in a time loop, forced to constantly live out the events of the play repeatedly for all eternity until - like Dr. Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap - she is able to put right the calamities put in motion by her former beau and free everyone from existential Hell.

Much of the game plays out like your typical crime investigation narrative. As Ophelia's interactions with the various other characters in the titular walled city unlock new information and new avenues toward the final timeline become more and more evident, the player discovers a largely unexplored world being constructed around them. Clearly the developers of this game made a painstaking effort to ensure that every character had an evolving backstory. Every character now feels like a well rounded person with their own thoughts, feelings and motivations. Polonius' and Gertrude in particular are taken from being largely ineffectual side characters and reframed as deeply sympathetic figures; and the side story concerning Ophelia and Laertes familial origins is worthy of a play all on it's own.

In short, Elisinore is a fan-fiction as critique of literature.

Which is where the one (sort of) flaw in the whole package lies. It doesn't take long for a player to notice through this game that, in comparison, the play on which "Elsinore" is based feels tragically thin on the ground...if you'll forgive the pun. Even as a fan of Shakespeare, it can not be denied that this retelling of the bard's work completely revises and reframes how it's viewed. For one thing, any ideas an audience might have that Hamlet is the good guy are totally demolished. Many scholars have noted that the titular prince is ruthless and oft times cruel. Here, he is at times bratty and downright cantankerous. His abuses of Gertrude and Ophelia are made beyond blatant in this game and as such players are encouraged not so much to empathise with him as to distance themselves from his selfish machinations. Perhaps this is what Shakespeare originally wanted?

One can speculate until the cows come home. At any rate, "Elsinore" is an interesting expansion of the Shakespearean universe. Do look out for a cameo appearance by Shakespeare's visiting Rude Mechanical Peter Quince who drops by from the (arguably superior) "Midsummer Night's Dream" and the many playful references to "Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead". If you like your literature, your time travel narratives and your classical RPGs, you should like this game. However, Shakespeare purists may want to look elsewhere - I didn't mind though...truth be told, I prefer "Othello". :P

Final verdict - 3.5 out 5 stars.

Nynphaiel
Nynphaiel

Now I understand how Bill Murray's character felt in The groundhog day. I really recommend this game, even if I'm not the one that will play it to get the 12 endings.

minstrelofmoria
minstrelofmoria

Everything I loved about this game was a spoiler, so I'll just say that it did some things very, very different from what I'm used to in games about "choice and consequence." Some games, I want to see every ending. This game, I made my choices, got the perfect ending for me, and would never go back and change it.