Shadowgate

An excellent revival of a classic that has not gotten a chance to grow old, and thanks to many improvements and extensions it charms not only the people who do not know it but also those who are its old time fans. It delivers a solid challenge and long hours of puzzle solving in an excellently elaborated game with a great atmosphere. If you are into first person adventure games that are focused on secrets and their discovering, you should not miss modern Shadowgate.

Zojoi’s Shadowgate remake is everything you loved – and maybe everything you hated – about old-school adventuring. It offers a captivating journey into a fantasy dungeon, but it’s inhabited by puzzles so artificially challenging that this quest is one not everyone will want to undertake.

Shadowgate doesn't religiously preserve the architecture or the puzzles of the original game, and is better for it. What it does retain is the castle's sense of threat and atmosphere of danger—rare things to find in an adventure game.

Implementation of difficulty levels gives an unpleasant aftertaste: on easier modes developers forcibly cut from the game some locations and puzzles, leaving a lot of useless items that litter the inventory starting from the second hour of gameplay. [Oct 2014, p.83]

An old-school RPG experience with some faults but also a great appeal.

If you can learn the system down to your bones, then this will be a fulfilling adventure.

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.

Despite its drawbacks, Shadowgate manages to maintain the aura and evocative atmosphere of the original game. The old-school style of the game is more than obvious and will be appreciated mostly by the fans of the series.

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.

Overall Shadowgate is another solid offering for puzzle-solving and adventuring enthusiasts, one that comes with a pedigree and a healthy dose of retro charm.

Extremely faithful to the original, Shadowgate brings back everything that made the 1987 release a cult classic, but it doesn't add anything to the formula. In other words, it lacks the innovation value to remain relevant by today's standards.

Shadowgate isn't just retro, it's retrograde, and the visual update really isn't as impressive as it first appears.

The command system is not perfect and can feel slightly convoluted to utilize at times, and the tedium of solving cryptic puzzle after puzzle may wear down the patience of most players, yet despite these shortcomings, Shadowgate still remains a stimulating adventure, for both veterans of the and newcomers to the series.

An abusive classic, but still. If you remember it fondly, it’s both a return trip and a good chunk more of the same, beautifully drawn and well made, despite a clumsy UI and a few annoyances.

Shadowgate is a faithful update then, but Zojoi have squandered the opportunity to actually update the gameplay too.

It still is a great game, and even though it's hard and challenging, it does feel as a rewarding experience. If you like the genre and you are patient enough, go for it.

Ultimately, this remake does a great job respecting the original game, but bringing the visuals and interface to a modern age.

The risk of facing an old-fashioned adventure such as Shadowgate is to give up after the first half hour. Not just for the frequent deaths, but also to the feeling of displacement, for certain puzzles and for the extreme freedom given immediately to the player. However the atmosphere is awesome and fans of original game will love the new interface and the new puzzles.