SHADOWGATE is an excellent adventure game with click-on commands, graphics, and sound. To begin playing SHADOWGATE, as with UNINVITED and DEJA VU (all from ICOM Simulations), you need to familiarize yourself with the commands. In this game, use OPEN to open doors, books, and scrolls. EXAMINE will describe the details of an object, or it will read a scroll or book. SPEAK is used only once. HIT is not used in this game, nor is CONSUME. OPERATE is the most important command in the game! It is used for anything that involves mechanical manipulation, such as secret panels, of which there are many! For example, when the game begins you see a door with a skull over it. Click on Operate, and then click the skull, and finally click on the skull again. The skull will move, revealing a key hidden behind it.
Mistakes can be made, or these instructions may cause confusion. So remember to save your game regularly (but use the "Save As" command, otherwise you will overwrite your last saved game).
This game takes place well before the time of T. A. Edison, so to see where you're going you'll need a flaming torch. However, each torch has a limited life. Torches are stuck in the walls of most of the rooms, and you can pick them up and bring them with you, but you can't carry ALL of them, so knowing where another torch can be found is crucial to your success. Also note that a torch will flicker momentarily six turns before going out (except the torch you start out with, which only lasts about ten turns), so when the torch flickers, light another torch.
Not all entrances in this game are apparent, or even shown in the Exits window. Sometimes there's a hidden passage in a scene, or moving a loose brick will uncover a hidden passage. Keep your eyes out for them.
Before opening the door, take the key from behind the skull. Now that you're inside, take and light (that's OPERATE the lit torch on the unlit) one of the unlit torches you see on the wall. Take the other one too. Light another one immediately and discard the old one when it burns out. You will see two doors. One to the right (in the pillar) and a double-door in the upper center. Unlock, open, and go through the center door. Discard the key as you won't need it again. You will see a hallway and an alcove with a book and two candles. Here we are at another hallway. Grab the funny-looking torch, so save your game here! We're going to do a couple of interesting things now. First, light the funny looking torch and examine it. Greenish tint, eh? That might come in handy soon, but we don't need it now, so don't save here. Now pick up one of the candles, or the book. Whoops, a trapdoor opens under you and sends you to your death! Enjoy the funeral dirge (soon it will start to drive you insane). Now open your saved game (funny how the default is to start from the beginning, and not from a saved game position) and don't pick up anything from the shelf. Open the book. Another key is hidden inside. Take it, and return and use this key to unlock the pillar door.
It's a closet. Take the sword and sling (note that you can click on one, and then hold down 'Shift' and click on the other, and you can select both at once. Be sure to release the 'Shift' key before dragging them) and discard the key, and go back to the second hallway. Look at the far wall. Something fishy about that stone there... open it. A secret passage! Head through it. Now we are in a chamber with a large exit. You can't get through that (go ahead and try it), but there is another exit from this room. First pick up the arrow, and note which way it's pointing. Hmm... that torch on the left wall won't come out. Perhaps it's attached to something? Maybe if we pull it... Operate the torch (on itself). Ta-dah! Another hidden entrance! Go down there now. Two bridges, but which to take? For now, don't try to cross the rickety skull bridge. Stick with the sturdy one. Uh-oh. Good time for a save. That wraith won't kill you immediately (unlike everything else in this game), but will instead curse you. This is to be avoided. There is a way to destroy the wraith. Like many mystical creatures, the key to victory lies in the occult. In other words, try some smoke. If you operate your torch on him, he shudders. Maybe some particular kind of smoke? Green smoke? Fire up the oddball torch and fry him with it. Now you can pick up the cloak and go through the door (the exit in the upper right of the exit window is totally useless).
Cages? Don't bother trying to open them as it can't be done. Instead, read the scroll on the shelf (you don't need the scroll itself, just the information). This little rhyme basically states that the object of the game is: to find the bladed sun, the silver orb, the staff of ages, the olden thorn, and the platinum horn. We will be returning here later, but now let's leave through the top exit. Wait! You can't reach it?! Try climbing the rope. But how to get it up there? Read the sign. "EPOR"? What does that spell backwards? "ROPE"! Perhaps it's a magic word... Say "EPOR" to the rope. Now we can climb it. Mirrors, mirrors, on the wall, who's the bravest of them all? Anyway, right now you can leave this room alone. Just open the back door and go through. Here we have a bunch of coffins. Actually, most of them are safe to open. The only one to avoid is the middle one on the left side. But the others, can be opened. Try the left front coffin. Close call, there! Now the back right. Nothing... the back middle, now. Those coins are useless, so leave them alone. Now, the right front.
Ah, now things are getting interesting! That mummy is holding something useful. But how to get it? Maybe we can remove the mummy's rags. Don't bother trying to unravel them, but burn them off with your trusty torch. Now grab that scepter (it's not the Staff of Ages, by the way) and head through the back door. Go through the right door. There's a shark in the lake! Don't worry about it yet. Go through the door on the far wall. Those stones would be good ammunition for the slingshot. Grab one and load it (either operate it on the slingshot, or open the slingshot and put it in). For a chuckle, try putting in something else while the stone is in the sling.
Now comes one of the nastiest parts of Shadowgate: a secret door. See the black space under the waterfall (right of the rock slide, which is for all practical purposes impassable)? Go through it. A secret room, and a rock. Take a look at the rock. Try whacking it. Grab the bag revealed and open it. Gems! Go back to the fork now as we can't do much here yet. At the fork, take the left door. Ignore the rat as we have better things to do than chase rodents. See the gem-shaped hole in the door? A gem would fit in that nicely, wouldn't it? Put the lightest-shaded gem in the hole (you can drag the gem over the hole, or operate it on the hole). That sphere is not the silver orb, but is useful anyway. Examine it. Brrrr! Pick it up and return to the lake (don't try the trapdoor). Now we have to try to grab that object (a skeleton key, in fact) from the skeleton. Swimming is suicidal (try it, if you desire and have a save handy). Time to think here... the shark can swim in the water, but if the water weren't water... Maybe if it were ice, he would be stuck.
But how can we freeze the water? The sphere! Operate it on the lake. Now how do we get it back? Melt the ice a bit. Your torch will do nicely. Now take the sphere and the key, and return to the pedestal room. Open the door and go through. Oh boy. Time to save your place, because one false step and you're fried adventurer. If you were to take something, the dragon at the far end of the room would roast you. You need some way of blocking his fire. What's here that can do that? The shield. Snatch it up (if it's too big, go back out, drop some stuff, and come back, but don't drop anything in here). Now grab the hammer, the spear, and the helmet. We can't get any ore here, so leave (you can drop the shield now it's totally useless for any other purpose). You can get more room in your inventory by wearing the helmet and the cloak. Now it's time to head for the mirror room, where your adventure really begins. One of these mirrors holds a surprise. But which one? The middle one. Smash it with the hammer (nothing else will do it). Don't worry about seven years of bad luck, you won't last that long if you don't do it. The hammer will do you no good anymore, so drop it.
Open the door and go through. Whoa! It's locked, so use the skeleton key to get it open. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, or find something protective. If you aren't already wearing the cloak, do so now. That will enable you to tolerate the flames. Now open the door. Uh oh... it's a firedrake! This creature feeds on fire. But if there's no fire... put out the fire with the chilling ball. Whew! Now you can take off the cloak, and drop it too. Go through the door. Cross the bridge. Wouldn't you know it, there's a troll guarding this bridge. Don't worry about the toll (for a laugh, get the coins from the coffin and pay the toll). Instead, dispatch him with your trusty spear. That will take care of him... for now. In any case, head on down the bridge. Another nastie! This time it's a Cyclops. Thirteen feet tall... kind of reminds you of Goliath, doesn't he? So treat him the same way. Nail him with the slingshot. Bull's-eye! He's out cold, but he's not dead. If you really want to kill him, stab him with the sword. Neither the sword nor the sling will be useful anymore, so drop them. There's a well here, too. Anything inside? Operate the well on itself and find out? A bucket, but what's inside? Open it up and find out. A metal glove (technically a gauntlet). Hang on to that, but now open the door and enter another area of the castle.
When you enter the castle, you see a hallway. Take the torch. On your immediate right is the library, on your left is the Trogg room (a red herring; don't go there), straight ahead is the Banquet room, and the second door on your left is to the lab which leads to the garden. Leave the broom here as you may or may not need it. If you do, you can always come back for it.
Go to the library first. You can read all the books! There are about fifteen titles, each of which has a paragraph which you will find entertaining. The only book of interest to us is the thick book on the bottom left shelf, third from the left. Open that book up and copy down the stuff about scrolls and books. Take the book on the desk. Then open the desk and take the key and the scrolls. Take the spectacles. Operate them on yourself. Now you can read the book and cast spells! You have taken the torches in the hall, haven't you? Take the skull on the bookshelf and the map on the wall.
Notice the gem-shape in the wall? Use the medium shade gem on it. The bookshelves slide open, revealing another room. Enter it and open your scrolls. Find the one that has the word "Terra" in it. Operate it on the globe you find in this room. It opens up and you find another key. Leave the bottle. It's only useful for curing the curse of the Wraith and you haven't been cursed, have you? Take the bellows by the fireplace. Leave the other objects. Leave the library and go to the banquet room (the upper center door in the main hall).
Operate your torch on the rug (notice that lump in the rug). The rug burns away and you find another key. Now that you have three keys, unlock and open the three doors you find in this room (two upstairs, one downstairs). Drop the keys, broom, bellows, map, and skull here.
Go back to the main hallway. It's time to go through the lab to the garden. On the way through the lab, operate the ring in front of the little cage door. Don't open the cage, just operate the ring. A rock rises up and you find a bottle of Holy Water, which you take. Take the horseshoe over the fireplace too. Go to the Garden and take the flute. You must be wearing the glove to do so. You can now discard the glove. The fountain is acidic. Operate the flute. A little tune should be heard and the tree should open. There will be a gem ring. Take it and discard the flute.
Go back to the banquet hall. Drop the horseshoe. Climb the stairs to your right. Enter and find a sphinx and some weird drawings on the stair. Use pencil and paper to copy the drawings, which are clues to the positions of the levers you will later need to operate (the bottom step shows the first position of the levers. Going up the stairs, shows the subsequent positions the levers should be in). The Sphinx will not let you pass unless you answer his riddle. There are six possible riddles. Go and get whatever object you think the Sphinx is asking for. Go back and Operate that object on the Sphinx.
You can now go up the stairs. You'll be in an observatory. There take the shooting star. Operate the picture it was in. A secret panel will reveal an iron rod. Take the rod. Go up the ladder into the turret. Operate the silver arrow on the pretty girl and she turns into a dead werewolf. Take the Golden Thorn and leave the arrow. Go back downstairs to the banquet hall. Go in the door and up the stairs to your left. Open the bottle of holy water. Try to take the platinum horn. A demon dog will appear. Banish him to hell with the holy water.
Go up the ladder and you'll see a Wyvern. Operate the shooting star on the Wyvern. When the sparks clear, take the Bladed Sun. Go down, back to the banquet room.
From the banquet hall, take the middle passage, and from there take the left doorway. The lightning is awfully menacing, but we can control it. Notice the flagpole hole on the stairs? What better way to control lightning than with a lightning rod! Typically such things are made of metals, such as iron. We do indeed have an iron rod, so stick that in the hole. Blammo! The hand seems to have something for you. Take the wand, and examine it and discover the sign of the serpent.
Take the stairs down. Leave the pot of gold alone. Open the bag and take the large coin, and the small coins, which have a skull on it.
Now where have you seen a serpent? Yes, the rope bridge! Go back to the rope bridge. Remove everything from your inventory save the wand and a torch. Cross the bridge, operate the wand on the snake. Take the staff. Recross the bridge and pick up your inventory. Now go back to the rope room (cross the other bridge). Go through the hole in the back. Place your remaining gem in the hole on the slab in the center. The Mage will give you a scroll called Wind Shadow.
Go back to the Troll bridge, where the troll will reappear. But you don't have a spear! Operate the Wind Shadow scroll on yourself. You'll become invisible. Now you can cross safely and return to the banquet room. Now go through the bottom door, but this time turn right! You'll see a skeleton sitting on a throne. But he's missing his scepter. You have it, so operate it on the skeleton. He grasps it tightly.
Operate the panel to the right of the throne. It slides up revealing another gem-shaped hole. Put the gem-ring in it, and the throne rises revealing a secret passageway. Go down. Take the torches. Do NOT go left (a slab will fall and kill you)! Take the other exit and you'll see some gargoyles. Leave them alone for now. Take the exit farthest to the right. You'll see a statue in the center of a pool of lava, and an exit on the other side of the lava.
You need a bridge! Open the book you got from the library. Put your spectacles back on, if you haven't already done so. Operate the opened book on the statue. A bridge will form, which you will cross. You'll be in a room with some levers. Remember, you wrote down the positions. You had to change them too. Use those drawings now. Operate the levers one at a time, so they are step by step in those positions (operate the third one (right), then the second one (middle), then the third one (right) again). Machinery will operate and you will receive a silver orb. Operate the Thorn on the staff. Operate the staff on the silver orb. You now have the Staff of Life! Return to the gargoyles and blind them with the Illumunaris spell. Go through their door, and you'll be in the well room. Operate the crank.
The well will open. Operate the LARGE coin on the well. A wind will come up. Descend into the well. The wind will allow you to do so gracefully. You will be on a riverside. Operate the drumstick on the gong. The Ferryman comes asking for his fare. Operate the small coin on him. He says come aboard. Click Go, and click on the RAFT! Not on the Ferryman! He will then ferry you to a room with a skull door. There will be three odd shaped holes in a panel. Just the same shape as the Bladed Sun! Put the Sun in the first panel on your left. Now about the staff. Recall the scroll: "Five to find, three are one." Also recall: "Three for the staff, one to be the key, and one to be thy pathway." We need to put together some stuff; the staff being one of the three items in question. Stick the orb and the staff together, then add the spike to that. Ta-dah! The staff is now ready for action. Now how to get inside. "One to be thy pathway." The only one of the five we haven't used is the Platinum Horn. Blow it. Besides a few eerie notes, you may now enter the skeleton, and have a rendezvous with your destiny.
Go in and you will see the Wizard with a Giant Behemoth. Operate the Staff of Life on The Wizard? No, the Behemoth! Angered and banished below, he takes the Wizard with him and you have won the game!
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