Shadowgate
Shadowgate
Game
Game2015
Shadowgate: MacVenture Series
Developer Zojoi
Shadowgate is a 1987 point-and-click adventure game developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Mindscape for the Macintosh as part of the MacVenture series. The game takes place in the Castle Shadowgate, residence of the evil Warlock Lord. The player, as the "last of a great line of hero-kings", is tasked with saving the world by defeating the Warlock Lord, who is attempting to summon the demon Behemoth out of… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
210 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Steam reviews, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 3, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
60
Fresh
35 positive · 23 negative
95% range 47–72%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 38 | 7 | 83 |
| Steam reviews | 35 | 23 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 5 | 0 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
39 of 63 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
59% recommend · 35 yes, 24 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 59 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (48 of 78 positive).
Players praise the faithful recreation of the original Macintosh experience, calling it a nostalgic time machine. [1][2][3] Many find the game unforgiving and frustrating, with instant death mechanics and a lack of hints. [2][4][5] Some reviewers criticize the port for bugs, missing music, and a clunky interface that hasn't aged well. [6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
This is the worst version of one of history's best Adventure games. With no soundtrack and no indication of when the torch will go out, this version of "Shadowgate" is practically unplayable. Combine these major flaws with the weird Mac OS interface where every UI element is in a separate window (much like The GIMP open source PhotoShop clone), and the game is really just an awful experience. I love "Shadowgate" but …
- [8]
https://youtu.be/g0VYJ4OuS5k Enter the dangerous world of shadowgate where even simple darkness can spell your doom! Either that or you're the clumsiest adventurer ever. This classic game hasn't aged very well a clunky interface makes playing awkward and bugs only increase the frustration. Made in the era of design where placing the player in no win situations in the first room be prepared to start over frequently …
- [2]
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. …
- [4]
Shadowgate is a very old adventure game, made before Lucas Arts made clear that adventures don't have to mercilessly slaughter the player. That's what this game really loves to do, in fact it's downright (in)famous for the many ways one can die. It can be pretty amusing, especially due to the rather sarcastic writing, but can also be very frustrating for some. And frankly, that's not even the worst part. If you want …
- [1]
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 …
Summarised from 34 of the 195 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Shadowgate: MacVenture Series talk about faithful recreation of the original Mac version; those who didn't talk about torches go out too fast with no warning. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Computer Gaming World gave the game a very positive review, noting the game uses the same superior interface as prior MacVenture games. The difficulty was noted as a step up from Deja Vu and Uninvited, but Shadowgate was also said to be more flexible, allowing more than one solution to some puzzles. The game was reviewed in 1987 in Dragon #128 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers stated "Shadowgate is a great adventure game in that you must continually be aware of what’s already been accomplished to complete subsequent puzzles". The reviewers gave the game 5/5 stars. Keith McCandless of Macworld reviewed the Macintosh version of Shadowgate,…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 210 · most liked firstWith this episode I have officially ranked 500 NES games. Plenty more to go, but this week includes Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, Shadowgate, and more. youtu.be/UrPCeUCTAIM
neutral · AI labelView post →NES Works this week covers the excellent NES version of Shadowgate, a game that feels very much ripped from today's headlines, in that there's essentially no penalty for failure so you can keep doing stupid things over and over again until you win: youtu.be/56Dzv004W9s
neutral · AI labelView post →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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First retro game beaten in 2026: Shadowgate for NES!! We actually started this months ago. Got stuck a couple times but after returning to it with some days to think, we slowly figured it out. Using the platinum horn after placing the crest key took the longest to figure out. Like, weeks. #nes
positive · AI labelView post →Somebody fund me to make an Etrian Odyssey game except it's post-apocalyptic and all the classes are eldritch horrors and mutations. Also, instead of 3D movement, each square is displayed as a small room like Sword of Hope or Shadowgate.
neutral · AI labelView post →Oooh, the Cursed remake came out the other day! Must've missed it. The trilogy are very Shareware-era point & click adventures riffing off the likes of Shadowgate, etc. All three free. The first one was very 'my first game' but the developer has been redoing it all from scratch. Cursed 3 is *WILD*
neutral · AI labelView post →Coming soon is InfestedX, a remake of our 2016 Shadowgate-style game, Infested. This time featuring updated 16-bit graphics, tons of animations, and multiple endings... ...and like the original, this one will be FREE on #itchio #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGame #PointAndClick #PointAndClickAdventure
neutral · AI labelView post →Shadowgate & The Immortal - NES Games That Want You Dead. Stumbled upon this youtuber and I really like her style. As much as I enjoy digging through massive lists to find niche retro games to play, it can be nice to just kick back and watch a video review now and then.
neutral · AI labelView post →Flat2VR Studios, which has 4 PSVR2 titles set to release this month, and a fifth game in 2026. These titles are VRacer Hoverbike, Audio Trip, Roboquest VR, Shadowgate VR: The Mines of Mythrok and Rager (2026).
neutral · AI labelView post →Might some time down the line be getting back into streaming as an occasional thing & have been rotating in my mind a recurring Fieldies day… playing old Sword of Moonlight engine games… modern KF-influenced games….. the one weird Shadowgate game for the N64…. And so forth
neutral · AI labelView post →INFESTED DX is now available for purchase on Steam! $9.99 USD, with a launch discount of 20% off! Thank you everyone for your support and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about the game. #IndieGame #PointAndClick #PointAndClickAdventure #Shadowgate store.steampowered.com/app/4964640/...
neutral · AI labelView post →Shadowgate 64 is a 6/10 game for the real 6/10 sickos
neutral · AI labelView post →For fun, I put together a proof of concept of what a Sherlock Holmes game would look like in the NESventure style of Shadowgate, Beyond Shadowgate, Deja Vu, and The Uninvited #SherlockHolmes #Shadowgate #PointAndClickAdventure #ConceptArt #PixelArt #pixel
neutral · AI labelView post →Last weekend I played (and finished) Beyond Shadowgate by @zojoi.bsky.social @thechrism.bsky.social and GrahfMetal. An epic blast from the past with modern game design considerations. Check it out! store.steampowered.com/app/2332240/... 🏰✨💀⚔️🧙♂️
positive · AI labelView post →It has been 38 years since Shadowgate was released for the NES. This iconic point-and-click adventure game may not have aged particularly well, but it did spawn half a dozen follow-ups of varying qualities that could be worth checking out. Review: www.rpgfan.com/revie...
neutral · AI labelView post →🄵🅁🄾🄼 🅃🄷🄴 🄵🄰🄻🄲🄾🄽 🅅🄰🅄🄻🅃🅂 #365xFalconGames25 A game a day keeps the doctor away! Game 1️⃣9️⃣4️⃣ This is Shadowgate! I was always attracted by that beautiful cover. Turns out it’s a good game too. What are you sharing today? #gaming #GamersUnite
positive · AI labelView post →A decade ago I reverse engineered the Macventure game engine, allowing you to play Shadowgate and Deja Vu etc on modern oses. The current copyright holder then paid me to iron out the rough edges and create the official ports currently on steam.
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 100: Beyond Shadowgate (PC) Catch up post for February 13, 2025 Happy 100th Game Over!!
neutral · AI labelView post →I've seen some people question why Shadowgate is in BBG this year, and I fully expected that. Turns out the game is considered kusoge in Japan due to the translation, and the text is unskippable in that version; we wanted to include it specifically for our Japanese audience!
neutral · AI labelView post →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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Firedrake screams triumphantly and gives you an eternal sunburn. Shadowgate, 1987, ICOM for IBM PC/Tandy As much as I love the NES port, these original releases are far more ominous and better at establishing atmosphere. The spinning of the drive was a gamble. Room or Doom? #RandomGameSaturday
positive · AI labelView post →The console awards get a little unusual. This might be the only time an award was given out specifically for Best Martial Arts Videogame. There was also a niche award for best console port of a computer game. Shadowgate for NES won. Tough to argue with that!
neutral · AI labelView post →Never beat a Shadowgate game before, but I conquered the OG Macintosh version on stream tonight, hooray! Definitely need to tackle the NES version next, it's been taunting me since childhood
positive · AI labelView post →#RandomGameSaturday Haven't done this for a while, but have some Shadowgate Classic on Game Boy Color! To date, the only way I have experienced Shadowgate.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's not an exaggeration to say that Arisa has been a fundamental part of me becoming a game developer. All the support with getting games on Catalog and the amazing experience with Shadowgate PD in @play.date Season 2! Thanks Arisa! We'll miss you more 💛
neutral · AI labelView post →Our #PointAndClickAdventure #Shadowgate -style #IndieGame, Spectacle, released in 2020, is FREE on #itchio (link below) Check it out, and let me know what you think! I even wrote a step-by-step guide for the game (Bottom link) grahfmetal.itch.io/spectacle grahfmetal.itch.io/spectacle/de...
neutral · AI labelView post →The Mines of Mythrok section of #BeyondShadowgate was based on the #Shadowgate VR game of the same name. I don't do VR, so in order to draw rooms for that section, I watched a playthrough uploaded by a team member. I would periodically take screenshots, then trace over them in my 8-bit style.
neutral · AI labelView post →5 year old Sprock picking Shadowgate as the NES game he rented for the weekend; Yes! I did cry when I saw what it was
negative · AI labelView post →Here's my unboxing and review of Beyond Shadowgate for the PC! (Note that this is not the same as the 1993 Turbo Grafx CD game of the same name.) It's a sequel to the NES version, and looks and plays just like it! Check it out here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsG0...
positive · AI labelView post →And as pointed out by others, Steam also has the NES version of Shadowgate! The only versions it doesn't have are the Turbografx version of Beyond Shadowgate (which is an entirely different game to the current Beyond Shadowgate), or Shadowgate 64, which is *also* a sequel to the original. Weird.
neutral · AI labelView post →In 1990 Scholastic published these Nintendo game themed story books WORLDS OF POWER Sprinkled with game hints and a tear out trading card inside. I have the Castlevania II: Simon's Quest wish I had the rest especially Shadowgate book
neutral · AI labelView post →Ya know, when I grew up a couple of my friends had Macs. On this day I feel even worse for them now than I did back then. I'm so glad I went Win 3.1 instead! This game only succeeds in reminding you never to buy an Apple product!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the more fun things to draw in #BeyondShadowgate was the world map. I loved the idea of collecting the pieces of the map as you progressed through the game, hiding puzzle hints on the pieces, and using it as the fast travel system #Shadowgate #PointAndClickAdventure #IndieGame #Pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →Shadowgate 64 is a fascinating game in how it so elegantly combines the qualities of being strangely compelling and sucking ass
neutral · AI labelView post →I am live now finishing up Carl's new kaizo SMW hack, then doing some SPEEDRUNS of it. It's pretty fun, and I think I wanna try to learn it! Later, we start a new N64 game, Shadowgate 64. I am terrified twitch.tv/thabeast721
neutral · AI labelView post →I bought the MacVentures version of this game on Steam for a quarter that turned out to so buggy as to be unplayable but I'll be damned if I don't play SOME version of Shadowgate today
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s finally hereeee it’s Shadowgate PD from @pixelghost.bsky.social which means it time to die way more than anyone has ever died in a Pixel Ghost game. play.date/games/shadow...
neutral · AI labelView post →Side Quests is back and this episode's host is the perpetual podcasting sidekick and imprisoned Fenling, @poppykeaton.bsky.social! The game he is talking about today is Beyond Shadowgate (2024) by Zojoi. funandgames.libsyn.com/side-quests-...
neutral · AI labelView post →One of the things I didn't even imagine I would ever get in my life: Beyond Shadowgate!! I played the original Shadowgate as a teen and I absolutely loved it, even tho I sucked at it. I listened to the soundtrack for so many years, I never imagined one day we would get a sequel!!
positive · AI labelView post →A lot of bugs sadly, but it is a great classic that I enjoyed as a kid.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Devlog link: Shadowgate PD is a Playdate port of the classic Mac game, currently in development using our web-based game maker, Pulp. Check it out! 🕴️ pixel-ghost.itch.io/shadowgatepd
neutral · AI labelView post →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.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I talked about it before, but as I kid my first console was a NES that I got from my cousins, and one game I was terrified of was Shadowgate. Looking back it wasn't that scary (really hard tho), but between me not grasping English that well, and that death screen, I couldn't look at the screen.
neutral · AI labelView post →On the one hand, yes, it's silly that the one piece of swag I've allowed myself at two consecutive PRGEs has been a Shadowgate Game Over Skeleton. On the other, the Shadowgate Game Over Skeleton is the most kickass memento mori pixel art ever, so...
positive · AI labelView post →If you want to get some insight into my fucked up brain, the first N64 game that I'm likely to actually play all the way through from this current run through the library is Shadowgate 64.
neutral · AI labelView post →*Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders*, LucasArts, 1988. It's a computer game though. It was never on the NES. Deus Ex (2000) was popular for mashing together tabloid stories to make a story, but Zak did it first. And it was way cornier. You play a tabloid reporter who is sent to Seattle to investigate a two-headed squirrel when he learns of an alien invasion (whose leader is an Elvis impersonator). The game is awesome and IIRC you almost can't lose at it, at least not *now*. The game came…
neutral · AI labelView post →Shadowgate is a good game still, even a friend who was blind on the game only needed a few hints for some of the more esoteric puzzles. The sets pretty good has a lot of the fun deaths in there so you can explore the space. 3 torch run isn't that hard once you know the critical path.
positive · AI labelView post →In my ongoing and likely futile effort to write a Steam review for every game in my library (#352 out of 612)... it's time for Shadowgate: MacVenture Series If ever there was an argument for against the necessity of remasters instead of proper remakes, the MacVenture series is it. I can't quite call Shadowgate unplayable—it's not, not literally, but... very nearly so. It's a very, very dated game that is very, very difficult to get into—even for fans of the highly idiosyncratic point-and-click…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tonight I’m joining Defeating Games for Charity to raise funds for the Video Game History Foundation! I’ll be sharing playthroughs of the original versions of Shadowgate (Mac, 1987) and King’s Quest (IBM PCjr, 1984) as well as talking a bit about their history. www.twitch.tv/robotspacer #Twitch
neutral · AI labelView post →⚔️ Shadowgate Classic ⚔️ Did you know the iconic point-and-click adventure game, Shadowgate, was ported to the Game Boy Color with enhanced sprites and animations? Not a bad way to play the game!
neutral · AI labelView post →This is the worst version of one of history's best Adventure games. With no soundtrack and no indication of when the torch will go out, this version of "Shadowgate" is practically unplayable. Combine these major flaws with the weird Mac OS interface where every UI element is in a separate window (much like The GIMP open source PhotoShop clone), and the game is really just an awful experience. I love "Shadowgate" but I hate these "MacVenture" ports. Anyone who wants to enjoy the game would be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SEVENFOLD's source is open. A mini Shadowgate-like Game Boy castle crawler built in GBDK C, with a 44-room castle, virtue sacrifices, and three endings. Take a look under the hood: github.com/retroromrunn... #gamedev #indiedev #gameboy
neutral · AI labelView post →It's been a Heck of a news cycle, so I don't know about you, but I can use a distraction. Let's wander around in an old video game, shall we? I'm live now with Shadowgate 64: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox1N...
neutral · AI labelView post →Spooky Game 13: Shadowgate (1989 | ICOM/Kemco | NES) Replay. A lurid penny dreadful in video game form, and easily the goriest game on the NES if text counts. There are a million ways to gruesomely die, and most of the fun is finding them.
positive · AI labelView post →Limitations ruin the fun The look and feel of this will certainly appeal to oldschool adventure gamers of the '80s, with its colour pixel graphics and mode of gameplay, which involves you using/combining objects to solve puzzles. But the game itself kills the fun and exploration for the player, by insisting you always have a burning torch in your inventory, else you die. (You are exploring a cave system so it's presumably pitch-black inside.) You find more torches as you explore more rooms,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I do not think Shadowgate 64 is a good game, and I do not recommend it. But it *is* a really unique and weird sort of disaster that I'm enjoying the experience of playing.
negative · AI labelView post →Shadowgate Released in 1987 for the Macintosh and then ported to NES in 1989. was the first game my family and I sat down and played together. Gave me my love of puzzle games. Also the music is amazing. #shadowgate #retrogaming #retrogames #NES
positive · AI labelView post →reminder that the TurboGrafx “skateboarding bear who loves The Beach Boys” game, Yo Bro, was made by the same studio that did Shadowgate, Deja Vu, and the Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective series.
neutral · AI labelView post →You're not wrong at all. Baldurs Gate 3 was a surprise success. But then again, it took them many years and many Divinity games. Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk also are narrative darlings. But CD Projekt took a lot of chances over the years to get here. A bunch of my favorite heavy-story games are sitting at under 2000 steam reviews. While Meme game for Twitch Streamer hits 10k-100k reviews. I'm currently playing Shadows of Loathing right now, and I can't believe it took me this long. Next up…
neutral · AI labelView post →
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