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Review
This ultra-long game will appeal to three kinds of people: Shakespeare fans, Lovecraft horror fans, and realistic simulation fans. The amount in which the game succeeds will vary depending on the audience.
As a fan of Shakespeare, this game was wonderful. I was skeptical of someone trying to write dialogue for Shakespeare, but this game succeeded fairly well. Shakespeare didn't necessarily talk in as flowered language as he writes, so it works out. The game contains several references to plays William is considering writing (a story about an island in the New World, a story about witches written, etc.). It contains numerous quotations, mainly from Hamlet, and your character (Spoiler - click to show)attends the premier of Hamlet. Other people involved in the game include Christopher Marlowe and John Dee. If you are a fan of Shakespeare or Elizabethean times, you will love this game.
As a Lovecraft game, this game must stand under the fierce gaze of its predecessors, including The Lurking Horror, Theatre, Lydia's Heart, and of course the almost-genre-killer Anchorhead. This game acknowledges its roots; at one point in the game, you can view scenes from many of these previous games, starting with Anchorhead. The King of Shreds and patches offers nothing much new in this area; it has a little bit more gore than some of the other games, but only in one or two scenes (the rest of the game is fairly clean). The main nemesis has more character than most Lovecraftian foes. The obligatory elements (cult, language, mist, visions, etc.) are well-crafted. The game does drag in the middle a bit, but it's huge. I think, overall, it is one of the best of its genre.
Finally, the game contains several simulations of Elizabethean technology. Fans of simulations (such as flying the Ghost Plane in Jigsaw) will really enjoy this game. Others can consult the numerous hints to bypass these segments.
Overall, I resorted to the hints 2 or 3 times, generally finding out that I had missed some text. I highly recommend this game.
