Game #227: Shadowkeep (1984)

I have been slowly chipping away at the 1984 CRPG list and I came to the realization that there are very few dungeon crawlers that are represented there. In 1984 we are seeing three themes that figure prominently. The first theme is the rise of the JRPG in the form of a new action RPG subgenre. We have the American Sword of Kadash but also out of Japan you have the popular Courageous Perseus, Dragon Slayer, Hydlide and the Tower of Druaga. So there are five games from the list that are very “arcade-like”. The second theme that emerges in 1984 is the fascination with converting popular role-playing books into computer games. There are four such offerings on the list: Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom, from the mind of Ian Livingston, and Lone Wolf: Flight From the Dark and Lone Wolf: Fire on the Water from Joe Dever. The two Lone Wolf games I yet to play. The third theme contains games that emphasize outdoor exploration or work from a central map. These hex crawls include: Xyphus, Pendragon: Water of Life, Lords of Midnight, Fortress of the Witch King, and Fame Quest. Many of the other selections seem to be experimenting with the medium except for Questron which more of a traditional RPG experience. Caverns of Zoarre was a top-down dungeon experience but did require a lot of mapping. Thus far, The Black Onyx has been the only first-person dungeon crawler that I’ve been able to play in 1984. The dungeon crawler is probably my favorite subgenre so imagine my elation when I learned that Shadowkeep is a first-person dungeon crawler.

Shadowkeep may not be based on a book, but it does feature a novel written by Alan Dean Foster which was a licensing tie-in. I have not yet read the book, but I did order a copy and it is on its way.

The documentation which comes with the game is nicely done. There is quite a bit of information contained within. It goes over the plot, character creation, lists all of the weapons and armor along with offensive and defensive values, lists all of the spells, magic items you might find or purchase, and the enemies that you’ll face.

The plot is fairly standard RPG material. Shadowkeep is the home of a powerful wizard known as Nacomedon. A demon, Dal’Brad, has imprisoned Nacomedon in a crystal and held him captive deep in the tower. The demon than began to reap evil and madness which began to spread out from the tower to the surrounding countryside. A few brave adventurers were sent forth to try and put a stop to the evil.

Character creation is a lengthy process because you can have up to 9 characters in your party. You can be male or female and then have the option of four different races to choose from: Humans, Roos, Thalidars, and Zhis’tra. Once you’ve decided upon sex and race you then have five different classes to choose from: warriors, monks, necromancers, runemages, and shadowmages. Each of the different spellcaster classes have their own spells as well. It took me about 45 minutes to merely create a party of 9 characters. The size of your party is quite large which matches the aspirations of the game.

Shadowkeep is huge in size and scope compared to other games that we’ve played up to this point. It has four game disks, a large party size, a huge dungeon consisting of 9 or 10 levels, original races, original classes, and original monsters. The publisher, Trillium, also hired Alan Dean Foster to write a novelization. This is an attempt to offer quite the epic experience for a player. The game boasts that it has amazing graphics as well. Even though the game is a first person dungeon crawler, in many instances it looks like a graphic adventure when you encounter a room or object of interest on a particular level. The game also boasts an amazing vocabulary and parser and you can type your actions in complete sentences. I have found that almost all of my sentences have been recognized and carried out so far. Here is just one page of the game’s vocabulary:

Each time you encounter a foe they charge at you via animation. Now all of this sound absolutely amazing on paper, but the reality is that what it has created is a ponderous game. It’s enjoyable, just slow. You don’t do anything fast in this game. There is a lot to it.

If you’re going to play this game and see it through to the end, it is going to require quite a time commitment. I wonder what percentage of players have actually finished this game.

For the party make-up, I decided to go with three warriors, two monks, two runemages, a shadowmage, and lastly a necromancer. The innkeeper can sell equipment to you, heal you, and raise the dead. Once you’re ready to purchase items to equip yourself the innkeeper suddenly transforms into a tentacled monstrosity.

You take each of the nine characters through the equipment process. This is why it was a good 45 minutes to an hour before I even ventured into the dungeon.

You can also purchase magic items from Raddath.

Each character begins the game with a random number of goldens ranging anywhere from 25 – 100.

Once you enter the dungeon you’ll see where the parser really comes into play. The game responds: “I hope that somebody remembered to bring a torch” Assuming that someone did indeed purchase torches you then need to type in; LIGHT TORCH. Everything about the game is impressive thus far, just very slow.

Movement about the dungeon is much like any first-person dungeon crawler. Combat is quite the ordeal as there are several options and you have a party of 9 to manage.

There are three different attack and defend options to choose from and your different spell casters all have different spell lists to navigate. All of the spells are outlined in the game’s documentation. When you first begin the game, your chances of hitting your opponent are very slim but that improves with use of your weapon or skill. This is where character improvement is unique. There are no experience points or levels to be gained in this game. You will find that your chances to hit improve the more that you use a weapon, and the same formula applies to skills such as searching and opening.

This character snapshot was taken after I had completed most of the 1st dungeon level. You can see that Attack, Parry, Magic, Search, and Open are five areas that can all be advanced or improved over time. You also increase your power by purchasing and/or finding better armor, shields, and weapons.

There are a couple of interesting puzzles found on the first dungeon level. The first and most intuitive is that you find an anvil and a hammer in one room. Experimenting doesn’t do much until you place a sword on the anvil and strike it with the hammer. There is a flash of light (via animation) and you then get the following message:

When you then check your inventory, any sword that you’ve taken through this process will have an * next to it. So, I think you are imbuing the weapons with energy or magic by doing this. Each time I upgraded my sword type I would enter this room, place the sword on the anvil, and then strike it with the hammer.

The second unique room on the first level held a pedestal. When you examine the pedestal, you are informed that there is a small circular depression on top of the pedestal. My mind jumped to the idea that the game wants you to set something on top of the pedestal. I didn’t find any other objects on the 1st dungeon level other than some soggy sticks. I did remember however that the innkeeper had a black crystal for sale and a funny rock for sale. I did some grinding until I could afford both objects and then I went back to the room. It seems that if you place either object on the pedestal there is a flash of light, and you are then teleported to a different level. I restored my game and I have not yet pursued this line of investigation and am instead choosing to map and complete the levels in order.

Shadowkeep is like a tower and so far, each level can be accessed off of a central spiral staircase. I have successfully mapped out the entire 1st dungeon level thus far and I am making my way through the 2nd dungeon level.

Monsters that I have encountered thus far on the 1st dungeon level are trolls, goblins, dark knights, and deathsheep. The trolls are the toughest opponent on the 1st level.

I am enjoying the game thus far and am amazed at its attempt to be so epic in scale. The going is slow and so I’ll be checking back in sporadically and updating you on my progress. We are heading out of town tomorrow take a much-needed weeklong vacation and then I’ll be back next week grinding away.

Until next time…