Thumbs up if you've ever stabbed a HeroQuest skeleton with a scythe. The country's gone soft, I'm telling you. I've seen those new HeroQuest skeletons. You can't hurt yourself with those scythes. That's polearm accuracy gone mad! Well, if you're nostalgic for simpler times, when those little scythes could cripple you for life and binary digits weren't much more than an octal and a binary digit. RPG Beyond Shadowgate is a vastly expanded, modernized sequel to the classic NES adventure created by the designers of the original, and it was released last week.
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“With a world five times larger than Shadowgate, Beyond Shadowgate captures the same look and feel as the 8-bit console version, while incorporating modern design sensibilities,” it says on its Steam page. How exactly do you measure the size of a labyrinthine fantasy world? Oh, it's got graphics and all! 250 rooms! 40 monsters! Over 180 deaths! Oh! I've written before about how much I love special death events, so this one appeals to me. Here's a bit of the story:
Thirty-five years have passed since Jair defeated the Warlock Lord in the caverns beneath the living fortress of Shadowgate. In that time, the lands of Kal Torlin have prospered and the events of Shadowgate have been forgotten. However, evil has awakened once more and is plotting to destroy the world.
Ah, 35 real-life years, I get it. Those 35 years get you a new hint system, controller support, day/night progression, and a few other modern features. The developers' last release was a VR adventure in the same series, and while it looked reasonably handsome, I'm more drawn to the beautiful retro art in this game. I sense a fair amount of people are excited about it, which is why it did well on Kickstarter. Have you played Shadowgate? I Do you play Shadowgate? kiss Shadowgate? Let me know!