Shadowgate is a point-and-click style game of adventure and exploration originally developed by a small team at ICOM Simulations for the Macintosh. This was the third game in their “MACventure series,” as the games have been affectionately dubbed. The original lineup consisted of Deva Vu, Unintived, Shadowgate, and Deja Vu 2. All but the Deja Vu sequel were later ported to the NES by Kemco.
The NES version features a fresh coat of paint and some tweaks with the interface. Although Deja Vu was the only MACventure title to receive a sequel during the original development, Shadowgate is the one to have persisted. It’s received two sequels done without the original team on the TurboGrafix CD and the Nintendo 64, a followup novel in 1991, a board game, a full remake, and an official sequel from the original creators set to release mid 2024.
But enough about all of that extended universe stuff. This is a fun little game on its own. I rented this a few times when I was younger, and was thoroughly defeated by a number of the game’s puzzles. Did not make it very far into the game. I picked this up again, and got inspired to dust off the ol’ guide writing hobby. And here we are…stuck in a living castle with only this guide to help us reach the exit.
