Shadowgate Reviews
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
If you can learn the system down to your bones, then this will be a fulfilling adventure.
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, 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.
Shadowgate is a loving recreation of a seminal point-and-click adventure, with a few modern touches tacked onto a thoroughly 1987 chassis.