Shadowgate Reviews
It doesn't move the genre forward in any way, but Shadowgate is a wonderful return to the early days of adventuring.
Shadowgate is loved or hated without half measures, but it does not leave indifferent and for those looking for the adventurous thrills of the past, this remake of the Roelofs-Marsh couple has very little to envy to the classic of the late 80s.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ultimately, this remake does a great job respecting the original game, but bringing the visuals and interface to a modern age.
Shadowgate hates you and wants you dead, but fans wouldn't have it any other way.
Several antiquated mechanics like the limited supply of torches and the unhelpful hint system also serve to make exploring Shadowgate Castle more frustrating than it should be, and that's even before we debate whether baffling cryptic trial-and-error puzzles are a good thing or not. Shadowgate is a faithful update then, but Zojoi have squandered the opportunity to actually update the gameplay too.
Shadowgate isn't just retro, it's retrograde, and the visual update really isn't as impressive as it first appears.
If you are a fan of the series or the enre you will find this title to be instantly intuitive to you and you will likely slip back into the old mind set. If you are new to the genre and are interested I would suggest you give it a go. If you are not interested in adventuring point and clicks This game has no real departure from the original formula so I do not think there will be anything to convert you.
We're in love with Shadowgate and its complexity, but that has to do with nostalgia, so, without a doubt, veterans of the franchise will love this new installment. As for the new players outside the point and click, they may consider the experience inaccessible and even unattractive, because the title is true to its roots, but it stays in the past by not providing novelties that keep it relevant in the present.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While you're busy destroying your brain to figure out the game's logic, you will at least have a beautiful environment to look at. Unfortunately, graphics alone do not make a game great.
In addition to torches, you'll collect a vast assortment of items, from weapons and armor to seemingly useless trinkets, bones, and even magic spells, that you can then use on the few hotspots in each room trying to get further into the game.
Shadowgate is, well, Shadowgate. If you know what that means, you're probably keen on playing it. It's not exactly a taxing title as far as computer specs run, so there's really no issue for those who traditionally stick to consoles. But if if the name means nothing to you, either you're about to be made a believer in the joys of brain-breaking puzzles or sent screaming out of the castle and back to the loving arms of Call of Duty.
If you don't like point-and-click adventure games, they game may not be for you. If you are a fan of the genre, looking for something difficult to tackle, or wondering why you haven't played Shadowgate in 30 years, absolutely pick this up. I swear, the music will bring you back.
Shadowgate wants to remind players of what games were like twenty years ago, albeit with a fresh visual covering. The improved presentation is a welcome addition, but the unevolved gameplay and story will tend to feel outdated. In the end, it feels overpriced for a single jolt of nostalgia.
Shadowgate is a loving recreation of a seminal point-and-click adventure, with a few modern touches tacked onto a thoroughly 1987 chassis.
Some players will appreciate the fact that this game is remorseless a lot of the time. Meanwhile others — even fans of this sort of punishing experience — may feel that the game is a bit too daunting at times.
Zojoi have attempted to resurrect a classic here, but time has undoubtedly taken its toll. What's here is enjoyable enough for hardened adventure game fans, but gamers honed on a diet of The Walking Dead may be turned off by its complexity and strict adherence to difficulty. If you've got the patience then Shadowgate could be the game for you - it's often amusing, always head-scratching, but most importantly it's a taste of gaming past that many may miss.
In all, Shadowgate is a formidable if sometimes frustrating return to classic adventure gameplay. If you're a fan of the original or undaunted by Shadowgate's unforgiving depths, it's worth grabbing a torch and venturing inside.
If you can learn the system down to your bones, then this will be a fulfilling adventure.
Zojoi Studios have done an excellent job bringing Shadowgate up to date without adding or removing its original appeal. I would recommend this game to anyone looking to experience either something a little different or looking to recapture that magic from their childhood. My biggest concern for this release is the attention it will get from gamers. Being a remaster of an older point & click game, I fear that a lot of people will simply overlook it in favour of other titles (I sincerely hope not). Shadowgate fully deserves the Thumb Culture Silver Award and I hope to see more of this kind of game making its way onto modern consoles.
Shadowgate on Nintendo Switch is very much the same reboot we saw on PC back in 2014, taking the same mix of puzzles, difficulty and exploration the original was famed for and mixing it up with some enhanced conundrums and much more appealing presentation. Even with the updated visuals, Shadowgate still has a clunky UI, however, the button mapping on Switch does help negate this issue a little. Problems aside, this is a faithful remake that retro fans will lap up, although newer players might find this elder gaming statesman has teeth that bite a little too hard.