Everyone in Elsinore Castle will be dead in four days, which includes Ophelia, Elsinore‘s protagonist. Bummer. Oh, and bad things come in two apparently: Ophelia is, for some reason, stuck in a time loop! But while at first glance rather troublesome, having time reset every four days just might be what she needs to find a way to change the fate of so many people in this Shakespearean adventure.
Let’s hope for the sake of everyone involved that there truly are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in Horatio’s philosophy. Otherwise, a lot of people are going to be pretty darn dead when/if the time loop breaks and everything proceeds as the universe intended. Talk to the right people, ask the right questions, learn a little more every loop, and maybe everyone in the castle will live past the fourth day.
That is to say, “lie, forgive, assassinate, befriend, or destroy” as you see fit, for the game will respond to any and all actions taken, changing the narrative to send the player down a different path depending on what they did – or didn’t – at any given time. An interesting mechanic to say the least, and even more so for a game taking place in Shakespeare’s Hamlet; a tale of tragedies aplenty, as I’m sure you know.
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.
Like in Groundhog Day and Majora’s Mask, both of which lend inspiration to Elsinore, characters in this world have their own schedules, personality quirks, needs, desires, and so on. Only by figuring out how everyone ticks, as pieces of this sizeable puzzle, will you be able to acquire the information you need to… well, progress further when the next loop comes around. Time is literally on Ophelia’s side, in this take on the classic play.
Elsinore will be available on Steam… soon.
Update: the game is out, and on itch.io too.