Shadowgate 2

About

Shadowgate 2 is a single player action game. It was developed by Highball Games and was released on February 14, 2025. It received negative reviews from players.

Magic is retreating from the land of Kal Torlin and shadows once again begin to move across the land. You embody the sorceress Raven, Lakmir the Timeless’ great-great-granddaughter, on her quest to restore the ancient magic to its rightful place. Equipped with nothing more than Lakmir’s Chrono-Orb and accompanied by your sarcastic companion, Yorick, you make your way toward the source of the bligh…

Genres & Tags

Adventure

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

27%

Audience ScoreBased on 22 reviews

emotional1 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The time manipulation mechanic adds a unique layer to puzzle-solving, allowing players to explore different eras and uncover hidden secrets.
The game captures the essence of the original Shadowgate series with its challenging puzzles and cryptic clues, rewarding patient players with a sense of discovery.
The sound design effectively creates an atmospheric tension, with a haunting soundtrack and nostalgic voice acting that pays homage to the franchise.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and game-breaking glitches that hinder progress and immersion.
The turn-based combat system feels underdeveloped and repetitive, lacking the depth and engagement expected from a modern RPG experience.
Visual quality is inconsistent, with flat textures and a lack of detail that detracts from the overall atmosphere, making the game feel unfinished and amateurish.

graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The graphics in Shadowgate 2 have received significant criticism, with many users reporting game-breaking bugs and poorly executed 3D visuals that feel generic and uninspired. While the 2D artwork and voice acting are praised for their quality, they are overshadowed by the overall lack of polish and the presence of technical issues, leading to a recommendation to avoid the game until these problems are addressed.
- “Another huge difference between the previous games and Shadowgate 2 is the graphics and gameplay.”
- “The 2D artwork and the voice acting are solid, though.”
- “The whole game feels to me as if it is made mostly from generic 'game maker assets' with some unique elements like the artwork thrown in.”
- “I’m only an hour into Shadowgate 2, and I’ve already encountered game-breaking bugs and graphical issues.”
- “The graphics, music, and sound effects are all entirely generic and uninspired.”
- “The 3D graphics in particular are boring and simply poorly made, apart from some key items here and there that stand out with better quality.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
The story of Shadowgate unfolds gradually through fragmented lore and environmental storytelling, weaving themes of tragedy, betrayal, and forbidden power across intertwined timelines. While the narrative aims for a mythic quality, the protagonist Raven lacks emotional depth, and much of the storytelling relies on exposition rather than engaging drama. Additionally, some players find the integration of lore immersion-breaking, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The past and present iterations of Shadowgate reveal hints of tragedy, betrayal, and forbidden power, and the intertwining of timelines gives the story an almost mythic texture.”
- “Magic is also an important part of the story.”
- “The narrative itself unfolds slowly, told through fragments of lore and environmental storytelling.”
- “Raven, though positioned as the protagonist of a grand legacy, lacks emotional depth, and much of the story’s weight is carried by exposition rather than dramatic momentum.”
- “The way the devs try to build in storytelling lore is immersion-breaking at best and insipid at worst; SG64, Beyond Shadowgate, and Shadowgate would never let you walk through a library without the capability to read a book.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its effective blend of ambient and orchestral elements that enhance the atmosphere, while others criticize it for being generic and uninspired, lacking the depth and variety found in previous titles. Despite some players attempting to supplement the experience with nostalgic tracks from other games, the overall sentiment suggests that the soundtrack falls short of expectations.
- “The soundtrack is understated but effective, blending haunting ambient drones with orchestral cues that heighten moments of danger or revelation.”
- “We want exploration, clever victories and unexpected deaths, amazing music, and a sense of dread outside of actually playing a bad game.”
- “The music is just as good as it has been in the previous games.”
- “I wanted to try despite the review bombing - I even put on Shadowgate NES music, because the game forgot that music is important to tone.”
- “The graphics, music, and sound effects are all entirely generic and uninspired.”
- “The music is solid, but it's not inspired the way SG64's was, and it's basically just 2 tracks through the entire game.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The atmosphere of the sequel to Shadowgate is a mixed bag; while it retains elements of eerie isolation through effective sound design, it lacks the polished gothic beauty of its predecessor, feeling sparse and unrefined. Although it evokes the essence of the original series, the overall ambiance is less oppressive and more reminiscent of the 2014 remake, appealing to those who appreciate a haunting yet less hopeless environment.
- “Building on the legacy of the original Shadowgate series, which became legendary for its cryptic puzzles and eerie atmosphere, this sequel reimagines the experience in a fully 3D first-person perspective.”
- “The atmosphere is more reminiscent of the remake than of the hopeless mood from the original and especially SG64, but Shadowgate II still manages to capture the basic feeling of its predecessors.”
- “Sound effects—creaking doors, whispering winds, and the distant rumble of magic—help sustain an atmosphere of isolation.”
- “Be wary adventurers, this ambient atmosphere is not for the faint of heart.”
- “The atmosphere is more reminiscent of the remake than of the hopeless mood from the original and especially SG64 - but Shadowgate II still manages to capture the basic feeling of its predecessors.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The gameplay is highlighted by a unique time manipulation mechanic that enhances puzzle-solving across two eras, reminiscent of the original series. However, the magic-based combat feels underdeveloped and often serves as filler, while numerous bugs and poorly designed mechanics frustrate players, detracting from the overall experience.
- “This time manipulation mechanic stands out as the game’s central innovation, allowing puzzles to unfold across two eras in ways that recall the layered logic of the original series.”
- “The inclusion of magic-based combat is an interesting evolution for the series, but it never reaches its full potential, serving more as filler than a compelling layer of gameplay depth.”
- “The reviews I took the time to read are simple things where the gamers' frustration is in getting stuck on a puzzle and/or combat mechanic.”
- “It's riddled with bugs that range from 'annoying' to 'game breaking' and features some poorly designed gameplay.”
- “It's a bad look for a puzzle game to leave you more puzzled by broken mechanics than its actual puzzles.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent technical issues such as clipping, buggy interactions, and crashes that necessitate reloading. Many players find the experience frustrating due to constant freezes and glitches, making it difficult to enjoy the game. Overall, the stability problems significantly detract from the gameplay experience.
- “Compounding the problem are technical hiccups—occasional clipping issues, buggy object interactions, and interface glitches that can force reloads or even soft locks.”
- “Glitchy, buggy, crashes and sometimes you're doing the right thing and it won't do it, so you have to exit the game and enter again for it to work.”
- “Remove the constant freezes and talking on every interaction and maybe I could play it, but as it is at the moment, it is too irritating to sit through; I'm hesitant to click anything.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is criticized for being thin and inconsistent, which detracts from the narrative's potential. Additionally, the art direction suffers from mismatched assets and awkward designs, further undermining the overall experience.
- “The art direction struggles to establish a coherent identity, with mismatched assets and awkward character designs that sometimes pull you out of the experience.”
- “Unfortunately, this narrative promise is weakened by inconsistent pacing and thin character development.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of depth, as the protagonist Raven fails to evoke strong feelings, and the narrative relies heavily on exposition instead of delivering impactful dramatic moments.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating due to an overly simplistic and clumsy interface, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The interface is both overly simplistic and frustratingly clumsy, making interactions feel tedious rather than intuitive.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is generally stable and offers good performance for its low price, making it a slight recommendation for fans.