If you like point-and-click adventures; good. If you dont; bad.
Shadowgate puts you in an ancient castle that's now populated by bandits, thieves, treasure-seekers, magicians, mystics, merchants and all the works. You as Del Cottenwood, a halfing whose caravan was attacked by highway robbers, must journey through the keep solving puzzles and learning the history of Shadowgate to stop an evil wizard from resurrecting the all-powerful Warlock Lord.
From the beginning, you're forced to do what becomes a main focus of the game; analyze your surroundings and use the objects around you to proceed further. And surprisingly, it becomes a bit fun. The main enjoyment from the game is simply traveling through all the areas of the castle and seeing the sights, which range from libraries to towers to armories to graveyards and more; it feels like you're actually inside a real fortress. Otherwise, the other source of enjoyment comes from learning the history of the Shadowgate. A lot of this comes from reading books, which certainly will turn off a lot of people from the get-go, but if you're interested in fantasy worlds, then you'll love the researching about the world of Kal Torin. But this doesn't mean you learn everything from looking at old, dusty tomes, you'll also find out a lot from meetings with characters. The interaction with other people is somewhat rare in the game, however. Still, in one sense, it seems fitting to feel alone while making your way through the dark castle.
There are some real puzzles in the game, but like character interaction, they're not that common, as most of the gameplay comes from investigation and exploration. These puzzles are often interesting, but are divided between being easy, and hard. In fact, several parts of the game feel like this; the challenge can be very uneven. It's common that you'll either be breezing through parts of the game, or groaning in frustration.
Graphically, Shadowgate has its ups and downs. Most rooms and interiors of the buildings look great, and even outside areas are nice, but things seen on the horizon look very grainy and almost straight out of a bad cartoon. Other problems include a lot of repeated item design, and dull animation when performing certain tasks, and interacting with other characters.
In the audio department, Shadowgate is great, however. The music is surprisingly good; it fits each level well, and sounds perfect for the location you're in. You'll hear holy hymns in the church, ominous winds blowing in the graveyard, relaxing chimes in the archives, and dark, severe tunes in some of the towers. The sound-effects as a whole are awesome, too, probably the highlight of the game. From flipping the pages of a book to the sounds you make with using items, everything sounds very real.
If there's one thing that can be agreed up by both those that like the game and hate the game, sadly, is the sheer lack of value in Shadowgate. The main quest will probably take you only six to ten hours, maybe less if you know what you're doing. And there's no reason to go back unless you want to experience again down the road, but once you beat the story, that's it, no extra content, nothing.
When it comes down to it, Shadowgate 64 has a lot of flaws no matter how you look at it, but if you enjoy the type of gameplay that's presented in it, you can very well have a fun time with it. The history about the world in the game is in-depth and interesting to read about, and if you like visiting fantasy realms, then you'll love visiting the ancient castle.