Overall I liked this. I found it a bit dull at the start, but ultimately I'm glad I gave it a chance and played to the end. It does, however, have some problems that make it difficult to give it a high rating.
I'll join the chorus in saying that the lack of interaction and heavy focus on dialogue makes gameplay a bit tedious. I'll also note that the game bears a very striking resemblance to Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. And by resemblance I mean it comes very close to crossing the line between homage and ripoff. The visual style, several of the locations, the moody protagonist in the long coat, some of the story themes; anyone who has ever played GK1 will find it impossible not to notice the similarities.
Another problem this game has, that has been mentioned in other reviews but not really addressed in detail, is its rather tedious commentary on modern social issues. I don't enjoy it when my entertainment tries to preach to me, and I particularly don't enjoy it when it does so in an asinine manner that is inconsistent with the story and world. The problem is that this game has a very obviously Victorian setting, yet all of the "good" characters inexplicably have very modern, cosmopolitan worldviews, and spend a fair portion of the game tut-tutting at other characters who don't share the same level of enlightenment. The Bill character is particularly annoying about this.
What this game does have going for it is a very richly detailed and well-thought-out setting. The developer clearly put a lot of thought into this alternate history timeline, as well as the city of New Bretagne; in fact the backdrop of the city and the events going on in the background tend to be more interesting than the game's actual story. The musical score is also quite impressive.
Overall, this game doesn't quite stand on its own, but the world is complex enough to be reused as a setting for future games, which could hopefully overcome some of the shortcomings of this one.
