To Be Or Not To Be was a choose-your-own-adventure 'chooseable-path' version of Hamlet that was either a) great or b) intolerable, depending on a) your enjoyment of Ryan North's (opens in new tab) particular brand of linguistic playfulness and b) your level of deference to "the Bard".
The book has now been turned into a game. The same considerations apply.
"William Shakespeare’s Hamlet has finally been restored to its original second-person non-linear branching narrative format. Now it’s up to YOU to decide what happens next. Play as Hamlet and revenge your father’s death. Play as Ophelia and make scientific discoveries. Play as King Hamlet, Sr. and die on the first page!"
The game features art from all kinds of famous web-comic people, including Anthony Clark (opens in new tab), Ethan Nicolle (opens in new tab) and the amazing Kate Beaton (opens in new tab). I backed the book during its Kickstarter days, and was pleased with the result. It's a fun and funny adventure that shows just the right amount of disrespect for Shakespeare's source text.
To Be Or Not To Be is available now on Steam (opens in new tab) and Humble (opens in new tab).
