Shadowgate Reviews
Overall, the first chapter comes together as a wonderfully fun and exciting dungeon crawler. Shadowgate is a superior first VR effort from the Zojoi team. They have struck an engaging balance between the roots of the game, the tropes of the fantasy genre, and the spatial and immersion possibilities that VR offers for gaming. Hopefully, there will be more VR chapters of the Shadowgate saga to enjoy in the future.
With a shift from stationary puzzling to action-oriented (but still with puzzles!) Shadowgate VR is an important step for the franchise. It preserves the soul of the original, but modernizes it for a whole new audience. This first chapter is a taste of things to come, and I'm excited for it. Now I've just gotta get over those Buick-sized spiders...
If not a fan of the Macintosh/NES Shadowgate, this won't convince you otherwise, as it's the same, below average (yes, fellow nostalgic friend) game. Now, if a fan, or think that this is for you, and don't mind playing something with early '80s visuals, you are advised to play the original, which is somewhere out there on the web (and completely free), as the "improved" visuals of this remaster actually lack that special retro magic, and the few additions aren't worth the price of admission.
Overall I enjoyed my time with Shadowgate. I found myself frustrated from time to time but still really immersed in the game. As admitted above I am not always the fondest of this genre however fans of the adventure point-and-click games may find more enjoyment. If you are a fan of the genre or just want to give the style a try Shadowagate certainly is a good starting point. The story is compelling and the music and graphics are great.
In Shadowgate we go back to the living castle and we do it in the best possible way, a quite worked remake with new puzzles, a very well drawn artistic section, and an orchestrated soundtrack. As a good classic, it retains a fairly high difficulty, although attempts have been made to smooth out the new generations with more difficulty modes and modernized mechanics. Despite everything, the type of game, its puzzles, its trial and error mechanics, and its difficulty, may make the game not suitable for all audiences, although fans of the classic will be satisfied.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Shadowgate is still Shadowgate, and there's an inherent classic quality to this adventure that, coupled with the dark fantasy atmosphere and general difficulty, also makes it inherently rewarding.
Shadowgate for the Nintendo Switch is a wonderful rendition of the 8-bit NES version that is near and dear to many of our hearts. This rendition isn't merely a direct port but a re-imagining that still holds true to the classic Shadowgate formula. While the user interface is a bit cumbersome at first, patience and a little time spent in the game will make that an afterthought. For the modest price of $19.99, you can take this classic adventure game on the road. Shadowgate is perhaps one of the earliest point-and-click adventure games conceived and with this modernized version it gets to renew its crown!
For more modern gamers you may find this to slow and tedious so I would suggest if you’re looking for a fast paced game you would be best looking elsewhere.
MEDIOCRE - The lesson learned here is that there are plenty of great games that do not need remakes. I’d love to see the game designers make a true sequel that plays and looks like the original. In a better world, Super Nintendo owners would have gotten a direct sequel to Shadowgate and this series and others like it would live on today.
Shadowgate is very easy to recommend to fans of the original game or of the early days of point-and-click in general. For modern genre enthusiasts, it may be a tougher sell thanks to basic presentation and lots of opportunities to get a game over. Regardless, this is the best updated version of a thirty year old game that one could hope for, and it should leave nostalgic adventure gamers hopeful for more classic revivals in the same vein.
Shadowgate really suits the on the go feel of the Nintendo Switch. Staying true to the 2014 version will please fans and with the art style, this point-and-click game was a pleasure to play even if it's incredibly hard at times. The controls are adapted well but do take some time to really grasp as there are a lot of options and customisation available, making it clunky at first. Fans of the original game will love the updated graphics and extended puzzles, but newer players might find it hard to get stuck into.
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.
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.
If you can learn the system down to your bones, then this will be a fulfilling adventure.
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.
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.
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.
Shadowgate is a loving recreation of a seminal point-and-click adventure, with a few modern touches tacked onto a thoroughly 1987 chassis.
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.
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.