Draft:Beyond Shadowgate (PC Game)

• Comment: Random Youtube reviews are not reliable sources. It got a HG101 article which was indeed added here, but overall still does not seem notable yet. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 10:24, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: I'm getting major WP:TOOSOON vibes. Maybe once it's released you can incorporate reviews into it. Right now it doesn't seem to pass WP:GNG. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 07:26, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: You're getting there with this draft, Editor. Your games journalism sources are good, and work to establish notability. I'd personally prefer to see reviews of the game and post-launch analysis, so it is perhaps WP:TOOSOON for the article to go to mainspace.
  However, the reason I am declining is that the Gameplay section looks to be WP:ORIGINALRESEARCH. We need a source for that statement. Likewise we need sources with in-line citations for the box art info, the steam release date (feel free to use a primary source for that) Qcne (talk) 10:34, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

• Comment: Notability has not yet been established in the article. One independent source is not sufficient towards proving this subject's notability. Utopes _{(talk / cont)} 20:57, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

• Comment: Sources need to be independent and cannot include digital storefronts. McMatter ^(talk)/_(contrib) 23:21, 10 September 2023 (UTC)

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Beyond Shadowgate
Developer(s)	Zojoi, GrahfMetal Games
Publisher(s)	Zojoi
Director(s)	Dave Marsh
Series	Shadowgate
Platform(s)	PC
Release	September 19th, 2024

Beyond Shadowgate is an upcoming video game sequel to the 1987 game Shadowgate.

In January, 2023 the creator of the Shadowgate series of adventure games, Dave Marsh, announced the official sequel to the Nintendo Entertainment System port of Shadowgate.. This is not to be confused with the other official sequels.

After the release of the original Shadowgate for the Macintosh home computers, Dave Marsh worked out a completed design, but ultimately shelved the project once focus shifted to the TurboGrafx 16. The new development team used the original design, but ultimately just mostly did their own thing. Which gave us the previous version of Beyond Shadowgate.

For this current iteration, Zojoi decided it was time to release the original version of Beyond Shadowgate. Deciding to stick to an NES-style of gameplay, Zojoi has teamed up with GrahfMetal Games to bring this updated version of the original vision to life. And at almost five times the size of the original game, this absolutely dwarfs what came before it.

A Kickstarter to raise funds for the production of Beyond Shadowgate was launched on February 18, 2023 and reached the funding goal of $25,000 in four hours. The campaign subsequently raised a total of $120,982 and reached all reported stretch goals including additional chapters from other Macventure titles Deja Vu and Uninvited, as well as the VR game Mines of Mythrok.

Plot

35 years have passed since Jair defeated the Warlock Lord in the caverns beneath the living castle, Shadowgate. In that time, the land of Kal Torlin prospered and the events of Shadowgate were forgotten. But once again evil is stirring, scheming to bring the world to ruin.

In the dungeons of Gwynenthell, the capital city of Kal Torlin, a lowly Fenling by the name of Del Thornburrow awaits his fate. No stranger to a jail cell, Del soon frees himself from the dangers of the dungeon, only to begin a journey that will push him to the edge of his limits.

Lead Del as he travels through Gwynenthell, across the Torlin Forest, over the Gatekeeper Mountains, and beyond! Uncover plots to overthrow kingdoms that threaten to plunge the land into darkness! Interact with old friends and new, while protecting Del from the traps, hazards, monsters, and every other peril that may introduce him to the ever-present Grim Reaper.

Gameplay

The gameplay emulates the retro point-and-click style of the NES ports of the Macventure games, rather than the 3D movement and combat style of the previous sequels. Rather than the stiff D-Pad of the platform it seeks to emulate, Beyond Shadowgate employs the mouse for a much smoother experience. Additions like a mini map and controller mapping help bring the old point and click style gameplay into the modern era.

One welcome change over the original format is that the checkpoint system is more liberal. Much like the NES Shadowgate, when you die you are automatically reloaded to the previous room. Unlike the original, however, Beyond Shadowgate tracks what accomplishments you made before death. If you took a pot off of a table in the NES version before dying, you would need to pick it up again upon reloading. In Beyond, the pot would still be in your inventory after death

Reception

Reception has been overwhelmingly positive. This game has a 97% positivity rating on Steam, and has received positive media coverage.

Friday Night Arcade says of this game: "for all intents and purposes, this is the one true sequel to Shadowgate that I've always wanted to see..." John Riggs describes this game as "Perfect." In the opinion of NES Friend, "In the modern age of constant remakes, ports, refurbishes, remasters, and odd choices for nostalgic cash, I can confidently say that Beyond Shadowgate is legitimate and a worth sequel."

Hardcore Gaming 101 was mildly critical of the pixel hunting that needs to be done on the small visual area, but recognizes that, due to this being a retro throwback, "such things come with the territory."