The Stack

Next we have a work by the prolific Adrift author David Whyld.
Spoilers follow the break.

Here’s another for the “interesting concept, flawed execution” category. The concept is that you’re a master of disguise, and the options available to you at any given moment depend on how you’re dressed. The game even continually reminds you of this by using the third person and referring to you as “The Master” or “The police sergeant” or “The gentleman” or whatever ¹ Except when it hits a bug and starts calling you things like “3%char”. I don’t know what causes that. I haven’t had much success at reproducing it. .

The story seems like an imitation of All Roads from the 2001 comp. You’ve got the identity-hopping, and the confusion about what’s going on, and some kind of conspiracy that expects you to assassinate someone — in this game, a cardinal who practices sorcery. The story funnels you toward a confrontation with that cardinal regardless of what you do, but I never figured out what to do about it. The built-in hints indicate that things can go differently depending on what disguise you’re wearing, but actually keeping a disguise on up to that point seems unduly hard. It’s a shame, because the author clearly wants us to notice the variations in the story, but at the same time has gone to some lengths to prevent us from seeing them.

Rating: 3