This was unrepentantly old-school. In certain places, it was necessary to fail in order to learn what was required to succeed. Fortunately, the game allowed you to back up one turn away from the move which killed you, though it kept track of how many times you took advantage of this function, for the purposes of scoring at the end. Meanwhile, combat was both frequent and randomised, and heal-ups were limited. Thus, I found myself frequently replaying each fight in order to get through them with minimal damage to myself.
These elements should make up a point of great annoyance, but instead I found the game strangely satisfying. Perhaps it was the fact that I'd made the mental adjustment to the type of historic IF that the game emulates, and, having made that adjustment, found that the game was pretty well-written for its type. It had both story and backstory. These are things one takes for granted nowadays, but once upon a time they were unusual and revolutionary.
That said, how does it compare to the other games of the competition? It may be good for 1985, but is it good for 2010? I'm afraid that the scale these days is different.
Blood pudding and hard-boiled eggs and hot chocolate gone cold.