Following the events of Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare is about to bring
his first play on stage. His patron and the sponsor of Lord Strange’s Men
theatre group, Ferdinando Stanley, has some friends who are getting married.
For this occasion they want to see an exquisite play about love. Shakespeare
thinks his comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is perfect for the event, but
the problem is, once again, that the play isn’t quite finished. He has less
than two days to piece it up together and make sure the troupe can perform it
decently in front of the audience. He is not alone, since Ferdinando’s
daughter, Anne, and the dramatist Christopher Marlowe are there to help him
with an advice or two.

The Chronicles of Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a hidden-object
adventure game based on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The
story which unfolds across several acts is narrated by the renowned playwright
himself, in his virtual form. The original play is mainly about four young
Athenian lovers that found themselves in a peculiar predicament. Hermia and
Lysander love each other, but their relation hasn’t received the approval of
Hermia’s family; Demetrius loves Hermia, and his proposal is backed by
Hermia’s father; Helena loves Demetrius, but her feelings are unrequited. Into
the fray jump the fairies Oberon and Titania, who in spite of their own
marital problems are determined to “set things right” between the four
Athenians. The game focuses on these two plots, and the players will control
each of the four lovers, but also Puck, the shrewd and knavish sprite working
for the fairies.

In order to progress further, the player needs to find specific items, which
are usually hidden in the surrounding environment. Some puzzles are based on
logical thinking, however. Objects stored in the inventory can be used with
the environment, e.g. using a torch to burn the vines covering the exit, but
the game usually specifies an item’s purpose directly. Unlike the first game
in the series, neither the areas of interest nor the objects have a
description, besides what can be made out of the objective. There is a hint
button, however, which either points to the area where the needed items are
hidden or solves the current puzzle.

The Chronicles of Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream