Ratings and Reviews by Emily Short

Adam Cadre constantly experiments with the formal limits of IF, and shrapnel is another such experiment: it plays against the standard ideas of where the game begins and ends, and what a player should be allowed to control. It's worth playing if one is interested in the history of the form, or fond of Adam's writing; and it's short enough that it's not likely to feel like a waste of time, even for people who decide they don't care for it.

As far as content goes, though, shrapnel doesn't have a huge amount to recommend it. The story-line is a mess; the characters are brutal and largely unpleasant; the themes have been better and more richly explored in Adam's other work. As for the setting, it's a parody/re-envisioning of the infinitely-rehashed white house; and while Adam's version is more memorable than most, it isn't the kind of setting one wants to settle into and enjoy.