Beyond Shadowgate

Enjoyed this as much or more than Shadowgate. Soundtrack, world, puzzles are incredible and very true to the source. Only a couple rough spots but that’s just a part of these games, most of it clicks. The devs are awesome (I reported a bug and they had it fixed in a couple days so I could continue my save, and they mailed me some swag). Highly recommended for fans of the original.

The long and short of it is, as a life-long NES Shadowgate fan, this game was basically perfect, big big love to the developers!! Music wasn't quite as iconic as the original but it was pretty close, plus trying to capture Shadowgate's music sounds insanely difficult so they did a great job with it either way! I really enjoyed how they tied together [spoiler]various things like De Ja Vu & Uninvited [/spoiler], and made them make sense, it was also very funny letting friends know how I died afterwards, making them wonder what the hell sorta setting it's in I loved the build up throughout the game for [spoiler]returning to Shadowgate[/spoiler] and the way it was handled was perfect, with the lack of music on the screen before and - wow... Very rare for me but I was punching the air like YEAH BABY HERE WE GOOOO - the [spoiler]trip through a previously pillaged Shadowgate was magical, I loved every second of it and how they managed to tie up loose ends from the original game[/spoiler] - it was the most loving nostalgia I've had the pleasure to go through totally blind Also of course, as someone who was born into a house with the NES with Shadowgate soon to follow (was scared of the game over screen when I was alone) - I of course tried to pick up every darn torch I could see, you guys knew I was going to and I appreciate the details with that all the way up to the end The [spoiler]room in the tower having EVEN THE GAUNTLET CURSOR FROM THE ORIGINAL was absolutely brilliant, I loved that so much![/spoiler] I remember when I was very little and saw the original Shadowgate completed I asked my mum, who had beaten it, what happened to the hand (I didn't really understand first person all the way up to Golden Eye 007 I guess) and I remember she gave up trying to explain it to me and said it went on holiday. [spoiler]I was hoping we could put it on to pick up the staff and have our cursor change, but alas[/spoiler] also finally the [spoiler]death screens changing with where you are and finally ending on The Original OG Gangsta Original[\spoiler] was an absolute blessing, honestly just Thank You devs for making this and having it be so true to the original and celebrating it so well, I never knew I needed this so much after it being part of my life for over 30 years 💜 I could ramble about Shadowgate almost as long as I can about Discworld, (but no one I know has played or read either one) so I'll just sayin closing that what an amazing closure I was never expecting for a game that has always been an important part of my life, I just wish my mum had gotten to see it 🙏

Took me 35 years, but I finally got the better of those damn leprechauns.

If you're even remotely a fan of MacVenture games and specifically NES Shadowgate, don't sleep on Beyond Shadowgate! I can't think of many new sequels to nearly 40-year-old franchises that balance nostalgia and take the gameplay, well, beyond, quite this well.

Very good game. I don't regret my purchase. If you played NES SHADOWGATE, DÉJA VU AND UNINVITED you will surely enjoy this game. Tumb up !

This isn't just some 80's nostalgia cash grab and this isn't a beloved IP being mishandled both of which in my opinion are almost always the two categories that the vast majority of modern sequels and/or remakes of games we loved growing up turn out to fall under. This is thankfully not at all the case with Beyond Shadowgate. It is a very worthy sequel to the excellent Shadowgate That I played back on the NES. I'm so glad this exists and am thoroughly enjoying playing through it. You can tell the devs care about the original in how they not only offer an experience that feels like the original, graphically, audio-wise, dialog and story but also in overall tone of the game, the tonality where it's serious but doesn't take itself overly serious where the descriptions of the death scenes describe enough detail while still letting your imagination take it and run with it, just like the original. In addition, the story is compelling enough to keep keep you coming back and the puzzles are as challenging as the original. Not to mention it is much longer than I thought it would be, which of course is always a good thing! Something also needs to be set about the soundtrack and audio. As a Sound designer/Audio engineer and musician myself I fully understand the importance of soundtrack and sound design in a game and how it can really make or break the entire experience, Beyond shadowgate absolutely knocks it out of the park in this respect. The combination of chiptunes with lofi sound effects is a perfect fit and the various songs match the mood perfectly. It's very well done. I also very much love chiptunes and hate when modern games try to fake the chiptune sound (by just using a random synth's pulse wave and calling it a day) but the chiptune sound track actually sounds pretty authentic, from what I've heard so far it seems that they stuck within the limitations of the NES sound chip (two pulse waves, triangle wave, noise/low bitrate samples) and that's what gives it an authentic chiptune sound. You can even here the aliasing in the triangle wave like that of the OG NES' triangle wave. So really really well done and those of us who know have noticed! This is one of those rare times when the stars align and a sequel to an old school game not only meets but exceeds your expectations. If you loved the OG Shadowgate you will love this one too. 10/10

Beyond Shadowgate is a "modern retro" sequel to the original Shadowgate released on various platforms in the 1980s. Whereas the 2014 Shadowgate (by the same dev/publisher as this game) was a remake and expansion of the original story with modern graphics, UI and music, Beyond Shadowgate is a completely new story that fully embraces the retro 8-bit graphics and chip tunes, with the only modern contrivances being an autosave system and a very limited in-game hint system. This means that you either "get it" or you don't. If you somehow stumbled onto this game without having played or maybe even heard of the original Shadowgate - that is, the one from the 1980s, not the 2014 remake - then you really should play that first to see if it's your cup of tea. Ideally try the NES version, which is very easy to find online and play in a web browser if you're not experienced with emulation. Play it to see if you like the style, and also to get the original story, because Beyond Shadowgate has many references to the original that are difficult to understand or appreciate otherwise. It helps to be familiar with the other "engine" games (specifically, Uninvited and Déjà Vu) as well, but not as essential in my opinion. With all that out of the way, for those who [i]do[/i] fit the profile, this is a great sequel. You can really tell how Zojoi respects the source material and appreciates the fans. It has a lot more lore than the original game did, and yet still manages to feel completely true to the original. The writing is perhaps very subtly different in tone, just a bit less dark, but given the nearly 40-year gap in time, it is impressively close. The morbid and sardonic humor is everywhere, and much like the original, you might find yourself intentionally doing the "wrong" thing or looking for innovative ways to kill off the player-character just to see if the devs planned for it and what funny snippet accompanies it. Especially since you don't play for very high stakes; dying just boots you back to the previous room, you don't lose progress and can't end up in an unwinnable situation (although this game does have two main ending branches, determined by your choices at about the halfway point). It is not a very long game; probably 8-10 hours assuming you solve the riddles and puzzles yourself, and I really recommend you [i]don't[/i] use a guide or walkthrough because figuring it out yourself is 80% of the fun, and there is really no filler content whatsoever nor "missables" aside from the aforementioned ending branch, which will be extremely obvious when you reach it. For fans of the genre or retro gamers in general, it's well worth your time.

The official sequel to one of my favorite childhood games on the NES. It brought me back in the best way possible and I had so much fun playing this. Thank you for bringing it back from the vault guys.

Easy to give this game a thumbs up. This is not only a homage to the game Shadowgate which I played 35 years ago (wow...time flies) it's a good game in its own right. Without giving anything away, this is a point-and-click adventure. Tons of fun, and if you get stuck, there is a hint system, or you can use a walkthrough without spoiling anything either.

If you likes Shadowgate you will love this the creators did a fantastic job not only keeping with the lore but adding to it and expanding upon it in very tasteful ways! You even get to find out what is behind that door.. yeah you know the one!!! and the pay off is great!