Alas, poor Yorick, here we go again
So... this time, it's Groundhog Day with Shakespeare.
Elsinore is, from the jump, a contemporary re-telling of Hamlet. You've got your throne-stealing fratricide, your dead king haunting up the place, your angsty teenage prince hanging out in graveyards, all the classic plot points; but Elsinore's dialog is written more like what human beings in the 21st century might say to each other.
There are a few casting adjustments, including gender-swapped Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (now, cheekily, "Rosie" and "Guilda") and multi-racial Ophelia and Laertes. These aren't just superficial tweaks: female characters lament their lack of freedom and influence in the world, and Laertes' personality is shaped by the alienation and discrimination he's faced in super-duper-white Denmark.
(Laertes is also a fascinating foil to the more laid-back personality of Othello, who makes a surprise crossover appearance in Elsinore's castle town.)
But Elsinore isn't just a punched-up and self-sufficient take on classic Shakespeare -- it's also a time-looping murder mystery game. You, as Ophelia, must prevent your own untimely death!
The majority of Elsinore's gameplay is information gathering, talking to and observing characters to learn their scandalous secrets. An in-game timeline (like the Bombers' Notebook in Majora's Mask), and a map tracking the cast's movements, guide you toward the story's many parallel and intertwining threads; being in the right place at the right time, to eavesdrop on the right person, will unlock some new information that you can reveal to someone else leading to more revelations and so on.
And as you gradually uncover the truths behind King Hamlet's death, and Claudius's plans, and the Norwegian spy, and the castle guards' late-night tomfoolery, you can use this information to change the story. Tell someone a secret - or even a lie - that will influence them to do something different, and that could alter the chain of events throughout Elsinore.
Even if you still die, the info you gather might let you try something new in the next loop.
There are some parts of the game that feel a little under-polished: like the bland "Try Again" screen at the end of a loop, and the lack of a Skip button for conversations you've had before (so you need to furiously click through each dialog box again), and the timeline's fairly inaccurate timestamp values.
The ending situation is also a bit unsatisfying, although that seems somewhat intentional and very "on brand" for Shakespearean drama.
But ultimately those are pretty minor defects in Elsinore's expertly-written story and compelling detective mechanics. And there's so much written content to explore, here, that I was still peeling away and finding fresh layers more than a dozen hours later.
Not what I was expecting from a game based on Shakespeare.
Better than: Eliza (2019), Omensight: Definitive Edition, The Sexy Brutale
Not as good as: The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures, The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve
A much slower burn, but about as good as: Outer Wilds
Progress: saw all the endings, with some internet tips.