ICOM's graphic adventure on NES. Explore a haunted castle by making decisions. Dark and oppressive atmosphere, ingenious puzzles. Point-and-click that works remarkably well on NES.
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Category
Adventure1 player12+
Description
Point-and-click adventure featuring a sorcerer exploring the trap-filled Castle of Shadowgate. Published by Kemco, released in the USA in 1989. Text narration with action choices, complex puzzles and frequent death from traps. NES port of ICOM's Shadowgate adventure game.
The American NTSC NES edition of ICOM/Kemco's point-and-click adventure, on the console's flagship market. Almost absent from the NES catalogue, the genre made this title a curiosity from the start stateside, where it built a small loyal following. Loose copies turn up easily, but value concentrates in CIB with an un-warped cardboard box, since US boxes deform readily. Desirability rests above all on Shadowgate's historical standing in narrative adventure.
Is Shadowgate still worth playing in 2026?
Shadowgate is ICOM's NES graphic adventure, adapted from the original Mac game. Explore a haunted castle through textual and visual decisions, dark oppressive atmosphere, ingenious puzzles and spectacularly absurd deaths make for a point-and-click experience that works remarkably well on console. Adapting pad cursor controls takes some time, but writing and atmosphere are remarkable. Still an absolute classic today.
