Shadowgate: MacVenture Series Reviews

Shadowgate is the third game in ICOM’s MacVenture series. The ahead-of-its-time graphical interface is exactly the same as the previous two games, but the gameplay is slightly more evolved. POSITIVES Similar to Infocom’s Enchanter Trilogy, this game has a more traditional (D&D-style) fantasy setting and incorporates relatively simple methods of learning and casting spells (that avoid the tediousness of having to laboriously type in commands to find, take, and view scrolls, and to record, memorize, and cast spells). NEGATIVES The only criticism I have for this game is the lack of easier-to-notice warnings that the burning torch is about to stop burning. The single text message and screen flash are frustratingly easy to miss, and without a lit torch, the game cannot be finished. Therefore, the only reliable solution to the expiring-torch problem is to depend on an excessive number of game saves. While this particular game-save dependency isn’t as bad as the first game in the series, it’s still rather tiresome when the game has to be repeatedly restarted every single time you neglect to notice the dying-torch warnings. RECOMMENDATIONS If you’re wanting to explore vintage (80s) adventure games, I highly recommend the middle two games in the MacVenture series (Uninvited and Shadowgate). The graphical user interface of these early-Mac games is unlike most other adventure games of the pre-CD-ROM era. But even if you don’t want to waste any time on old-fashioned games, you absolutely have to play the 2014 remake of Shadowgate. It’s not only a spectacular recreation of the original, it’s a truly great game in its own right.

Just like the other MacVenture games, it's a fun, retro point and click game with a god awful inventory system. If you think you can put up with that and like those kinds of games, then you'll like this.

I got this game through the MacVenture Series Collection during the 2016 Summer Sale (I think...) as I played Shadowgate, Uninvited and Deja Vu on my NES a good few years back (fun games) and figured I should get the original Apple versions to go alongside the Kemko ports on the NES - yeah, they're still as enjoyable as I remember on the NES. This, like the rest of the series, is a point 'n click that's a bit unforgiving. I like just about everything in here - they've got some fairly nice art. (higher-res than the NES, espically on the Mac version) The only gripes I have are minor - first off, the plot is a bit generic (it still works though) and the other is that I miss the NES version with the music which I thought was pretty great, although if you want that you can just look it up and have fun. I'd say the game is worth picking up if you're interested in some old point 'n clicks, and if you can then pick up the full MacVenture Collection as it's a really nice value for what you get.

Early dungeon point and click puzzler, a little "mature". For better or worse, it was more linear than previous ICOM point and click games. Still had you walking on eggshells though. I don't believe there are any real-time, arcade battles, you defeat monsters, ghosts etc. by hitting them with the right object from your (limited)inventory, much like say King's Quest. It's interesting how you find a sword in a locked cupboard just inside the castle, but it's barely useful for anything. So it's an interesting "pick the right object, choose the right path" sort of game with some nice, atmospheric graphics and scary death scenes. And there was one particular secret path that I thought was cleverly hidden. Like I said, you're walking on eggshells. If you forget to light another torch before your's goes out, you're dead. There are a lot of false moves resulting in death. Standard for ICOM games I suppose. It's learn by death. I'm sure I completed the Game Boy version of this game in 2001 without help, but it took a long time. I don't really believe in making such sacrifices for games anymore. I gave up on this version maybe just over half way through, after deciding that the removing the game's obstacles relied too much on random, try anything, experimentation. It's not really a game which you can appreciate for the logic put into the puzzles. Sometimes even if it takes ages to solve a puzzle, or you have to look up the solution, you can respect the challenge and see it as worthwhile. In other games though, not necessarily in this one. If you're interested in early point and click though i.e ICOM, this game is decent enough and I think more enjoyable than the Déja Vu games.

Excellent port of the original Mac version Shadowgate. Outside of the game, which remains as fun and challanging as it was when I played it 20 years ago, I was particularly entertained by the emulated operating system for which Shadowgate functions. Not only does the console bring back memories of the past through comparable menu imagery, but the functionality of the console through resizable windows makes the game remarkably easier and more fun to play than on the stamp-sized screen of the old Apple II. While I do hope that the developers acquire the appropriate licensing to place the NES music into the game as a option, it has not detracted from my overall experience as the game function and sense of adventure have remained intact.

This series has been around for eons, so I'll keep it short and sweet. I'm old. I loved these games growing up. I still do. I don't mind shelling out a few extra bucks for the nostalgia. The game functions. That's all I need. The end.

The original Shadowgate and the IIgs version. This game is timeless, still every bit as fun and frustrating as it always was! Really fun to go back and play this again after enjoying the 2014 version. If you are a modern gamer who expects fancy things like music, be warned. There are only sound effects. So please don't trash a great old game for no reason. I would recommend buying the package with all the Macventure games if you want some great retro point and clicks.

Shadowgate is the third, and arguably the most popular, game in the four-part MacVenture point and click series from the mid-to-late 80's. Originally released for both Macintosh (1987) and Apple IIGS systems (1989), this infamously difficult horror-fantasy title found itself ported to several other systems over the years; including Amiga, DOS, NES, Windows, Gameboy Color, and Pocket PC. Much like the two Deja Vu games that came both before and after it, Shadowgate also spawned a couple of sequels; Beyond Shadowgate for the Turbo Grafx CD in 1993, and Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. However, neither of these latter entries have left their initial birthright consoles. Shadowgate did manage to become the first, and so far the only, MacVenture game to get a remake as well. Compared to its predecessors, The Uninvited and Deja Vu, Shadowgate manages to be a little more sparse on the side of storytelling. Basically, you're a warrior who has magically been whirled away by the wizard Lakmir, to Castle Shadowgate to defeat a Behemoth that has been raised by an evil wizard. The plot is further expanded through the novel, Before Shadowgate, and also a comic book, Shadowgate Saga: Raven; good luck finding them in this day and age, though. It would've been nice if PDF copies of these stories were included in this Steam re-release, just so players can have access to the full lore in modern times. The writing style is also a far more lackluster than previous entries in the MacVenture series, and much of the deep atmosphere has been lost due to that. Moreover, the puzzles in this release are some of the hardest and most demanding of the small franchise. The way that items must be used can be trickier, and death is an adversary that's easy to get to know well. Gone is the invisible time limit from The Uninvited, instead replaced by a somewhat more forgiving system that involves torches. Though don't take quarter-step into "more forgiving" territory too lightheartedly, there are a limited amount of torches scattered throughout the game, and each action depletes their burn time; this includes picking up and dropping items. If a torch goes out before you light another, you can inadvertently force yourself into a dead end as you will die if you click around in the dark. If you're in a room with a candle or another torch, you can use them to light a new one for yourself if you have one on hand. If you screw up and run out of torches, you'll be unable to progress. In the end, Shadowgate feels a bit less rewarding to both play and complete when compared to the titles that came before it. This feeling is driven by the reduction in writing prowess; which has definitely taken a few leaps back in terms of quality. This title does not feel like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, nor does it have any particular atmosphere to it at all for the most part, and almost all of the charm is gone. Additionally, most of the sound effects are grating to the ears. With all of that said, there are some clear progressive steps made for the original time period when it comes to visual effects; the flashing screens when lightning is striking is an amazing touch for a game from 1987. If you're a hardcore point and click fan, this one may appeal to you, but for most gamers this one is a pass. [h1]Rating: [b]3.0/5.0[/b] - Average, can take it or leave it.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore

It was amazing to find this adventure again. It was like a time machine, it took me back to 1994, when I was playing it on the Apple Classic of my sister. It was impossible then, and it is impossible now. The adventure is unforgivable and unforgiving. It doesn't help you in any way. You may burn something which is crucial to proceed later on, you may not pick up a crucial object... the game does nothing to help you. And it's as vintage as you can get. Simply great. I recommend it 100%. By the way, I still haven't beaten the game!!! :--)

I jumped into this without knowing anything about it. Yeah I played the Mac games on an emulator and have seen them here and there and finished some on Nintendo, i'm kind of familiar with the games, I was just expecting this Steam release to be a handful of roms and some kind of emulator. Surprisingly it isn't though.. it's a set of games built from the ground up to resemble the old versions, and it does a remarkable job at it. You've got the old Mac note windows (albeit with new fonts) and all the methods of interaction are the same, including the item management where you can just lose stuff if you don't organize it well. That's refreshing. Everything works the way you'd expect it to and it even comes with a mono and color version for picky types. That's all great engine wise. Gamewise - you might want to consider that part. First point: these games don't care AT ALL if you ever finish them. You will die in the first room, you often won't know from what or why, and you usually will not get hints on anything. They are all completely unfair by modern standards and you can often make them entirely unwinnable no matter how often you save. Do you like challenge? Are you psychic? You may enjoy these games more than other people. If you don't care so much about that and want to dick around in glorious retro adventures for cheap this stuff will do it for you. If you owned these on a Mac way back.. well you probably already bought this i'm guessing. Bottom line - surprisingly good port of classic adventure games with massive problems that just aren't for everybody, but at this price you can afford to take a peek.