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Review
A story masquerading as a game, July 27, 2026I first played this game as an impressionable 20 year old and remember being blown away. I didn't quite understand what had happened but I remember thinking "Wow"! Now, 20 odd years later, the story holds up just as well. I am no longer puzzled by the plot - (Spoiler - click to show)it involves time travel, family secrets and the literal fragmentation of time into pieces, like the title of the game. I thought it was very clever. Those expecting a traditional interactive fiction game will be disappointed, it's a story first and foremost, and the interactive elements are simply there to help you experience the game in first person. Adam Cadre is a writer first and game designer second, so adjust your expectations accordingly. Fortunately for me, I appreciate well crafted prose. This is probably one of the few interactive fiction games where the actual writing kept me hooked till the end.
Now for spoilers, for those who didn't understand the plot:
(Spoiler - click to show) You are Bill Blake, the business partner of William Whitman, whose house you are standing outside of at the start of the game. Except Bill Blake isn't real. Young William went to fight for the Confederates during the American Civil War and was hit by shrapnel, leaving him in constant pain. As a result, he developed a split personality. Bill Blake was his alter ego, a brutish thug who came out whenever William couldn't handle a situation. William started a family and had five children - William Jr, Ann, Johnny, Gregory and Betsy. You (Bill) wreaked havoc in William Sr's life as you increasingly dominated his personality. Bill brutally injured Gregory when he was a child, giving him permanent brain damage. Bill also stole William Jr's money to invest in his business. And worst of all, Bill raped Betsy, causing her to commit suicide at the age of 14. The remaining children decided to kill William Sr. Later, Ann became a writer famous for producing southern gothic tales based on her messed up life. 200 years later, a man named Tycho Green finds out about Ann and falls in love with her. He travels back to the past to meet Ann, and finding out that Ann was insane, decides to travel further back into the past to prevent Bill Blake from appearing by saving William Sr from being hit by shrapnel. Trouble is, Tycho's time travel device is hit by shrapnel instead and the timeline ends up in fragments - which is what you get to experience as you play the game. (Note: the dialogue in one of the cutscenes hinted that something happened to the children's mother but this wasn't revealed when I played the game. Perhaps someone else can enlighten me.)