Draft:Beyond Shadowgate (2024)

• Comment: Great draft, well put together and almost there. Just needs a few tweaks to de-emphasize non-WP:RS sources and hopefully another RS review. It's fine to use GOG and Steam as primary sources, but I'd avoid MobyGames and StrategyWiki as WP:USERG. Also, you may have noticed that Retro8BitShop has just basically republished the Retronauts review with different phrasing, and shouldn't be included at all. I think with AGH, Retronauts and HG101 as the key three sources here, this narrowly edges to notability. AGH looks legit, but isn't really a WP:VG/S source and is from an anonymous writer called Beau, which is a red flag given the site seems to invite applications from writers with no previous experience. A to J Connections looks to be pretty unreliable as a review source. Any more coverage out there? Also remember you can use< ref name = > to cite the same reference in multiple places to avoid duplicate citations. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 09:28, 27 September 2025 (UTC)

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This page is about the 2024 video game. For the Turbografx CD video game, see Beyond Shadowgate.

Beyond Shadowgate
Developers	Zojoi Grahfmetal
Publisher	Zojoi
Directors	Studio Shinigami Christian Moseley
Designer	Christian Moseley
Programmer	Jason Canam
Artist	Jeff “Grahf” Canam
Writer	Christian Moseley
Composer	Orie Falconer
Series	Shadowgate
Engine	GameMaker Studio 2
Platform	Windows
Release	September 19, 2024
Genre	Adventure
Mode	Single-player

Beyond Shadowgate is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Zojoi and Grahfmetal Games and published in 2024. It released simultaneously on Steam and GOG.com. It is a sequel to the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Shadowgate, which itself is a port of the original 1987 Macventure game.

Gameplay

Beyond Shadowgate retains the first-person perspective and classic point-and-click puzzle-solving design of the original 1987 game. The player explores 250 unique rooms in a variety of environments.

As in the 1987 game, there are many humorous or grisly player deaths, although modern design choices prevent dead ends or game failure. Torches are absent from the game, removing any resource limitations from the original.

The adventure also features cameo segments from other ICOM MacVenture titles, including Uninvited and Déjà Vu.

Plot

The game is set decades after the events of Shadowgate. The player character, a Fenling named Del, begins the game imprisoned in a castle dungeon. Guided by a wisp companion who provides hints and objectives, Del esapes and discovers a conspiracy threatening the kingdom.

Over the course of his journey through many new environments, Del encounters allies, enemy creatures, and specters from the past tied to Castle Shadowgate. The story expands upon the original’s lore by including more dialogue, character interactions, and narrative detail than its predecessor.

Development

Although titled Beyond Shadowgate, the 2024 release is unrelated to the 1993 TurboGrafx-16 game of the same name. In the early 1990s, Shadowgate co-creator Dave Marsh had written a script and design document for a sequel, but those materials were largely discarded by the TurboGrafx-16 team. The 2024 project draws more directly from Marsh’s original vision.

Development was handled by Zojoi, rights holders to the ICOM properties, in partnership with indie developer GrahfMetal Games. GrahfMetal had previously created retro-inspired adventures Spectacle and Infested, themselves homages to the MacVenture style. The team aimed to recreate the look and feel of the NES title while expanding its size and complexity.

A Kickstarter campaign launched February 18th, 2023 was successfully funded within four hours and reached all of its stretch goals.

The soundtrack was composed by Orie Falconer, who had also worked on GrahfMetal’s earlier games.

Reception

Adventure Game Hotspot gave the game game a 73%, noting the game would appeal to fans of the original but might alienate newer players unfamiliar with old school point-and-click adventures.

Kurt Kalata of Harcore Gaming 101 gave the game a positive review, stating the larger game world made the experience much grander than the original and any flaws could be attributed to the game emulating a specific older type of adventure game.

Stuart Gipp of Retronauts called Beyond Shadowgate "a brilliant adventure game of a unique breed," praising the writing, puzzle design, soundtrack and graphical aesthetic. He notes that the game streamlines the gameplay of the original Shadowgate in a way that "eschews frustration and provokes interest."