There are also some daily occurrences to be discovered in the valley. The gypsy fortune teller, for example, will read your future through tarot cards once each day, while resting in certain places triggers dreams that tell a continuing story each night. These are interesting extras, but it's likely the game will end before you're able to witness all these bonus events.

As a typical QFG game, the focus still isn’t on puzzles as much as traditional adventure games, and the puzzles that are available commonly revolve around the use and training of your skills, such as throwing and picking locks. However, there are more inventory puzzles this time, although you can't approach each and every obstacle expecting to solve it with your items. But because it is uncertain whether your inventory holds a solution, you’ll be encouraged to deal with each situation with a more open mind instead of constantly reaching for every object in your possession.

There are also some mini puzzle games in QFG4, such as jigsaw puzzles and memory games, most of which are essential to completing the game. These puzzles aren’t very difficult, especially when the difficulty setting is turned down, which simplifies the challenge at the expense of the bonus reward to your intelligence skill. The difficulty can be adjusted at all times in the options menu, and those that are still frustrated by the puzzles can also freely get help by clicking on the hint button. Repeatedly asking for hints may even lead to some solutions being given away completely.

All movement and interaction is done through Sierra’s now-familiar point-and-click interface. Different icons can be selected to walk around and interact with the surroundings. Additional sub-menus display icons used for skills, spells and accessing the character sheet. Shadows also introduces a small status bar on top of the screen that shows how much health, stamina and magic points you have left, so you no longer have to go looking for it on your character sheet.

Like the earlier QFG games, various puzzles can once again be solved differently by each of the character classes, Fighter, Wizard, Thief and Paladin, depending on their individual abilities. Each also has one or more sidequests available only for their class. The Fighter class is again a watered-down version of the exclusive and much more interesting Paladin class, which can only be played if imported from one of the previous games. The Paladin gets a couple of extras, such as two sidequests, which makes it regrettable that it is not possible to obtain Paladinhood in this game.

Another typical element of the QFG games is the presence of random wandering monsters and combat. In Shadows, however, the combat system has been completely overhauled. The previous three games showed the Hero from behind, facing his opponent. There were some strategic options, but since these usually didn’t work very well, the best option was simply to continually strike at the enemy. QFG4 uses a more action-arcade style combat shown from the side, which allows you to move closer to and away from adversaries. Defence and dodge options can be used more effectively, and there are options like employing distance attacks by throwing daggers, casting spells and a even a special combo for Heroes with the acrobatics skill. The Hero isn't the only one to receive a combat upgrade in this game, mind you. Previously the difference between various monsters had been nothing more than some being stronger than others. Now, monsters use their own tactics: some are fast and aggressive, while others cast spells and will try to keep you at a safe distance.

While these tactical improvements make combat an actual challenge, it may not be for everyone since the controls aren’t easy to use and are even more difficult to master. Fortunately, players that either don’t care about combat or dealing with the controls can make use of the strategic setting, which lets the game control combat for you. This won’t grant you automatic victory, but since the artificial intelligence is very adept at combat you will only lose to those enemies whose skills really are a notch above your Hero’s. This strategic setting also lets you adjust the balance between aggressiveness, defence, magic use and special attack for tactical fine-tuning. When combined with the difficulty set to easy, then, the arcade-style combat shouldn’t be a nuisance to those that dislike fighting. As long as you don’t neglect to train your skills, which will also continue to improve when combat is automated, you’ll be able to play through QFG4 without doing combat yourself if you so desire.

Enemies aren't the only obstacles you'll need to contend with, but the other type is technical in nature. The game's original release was rushed for Christmas but was so loaded with bugs that many gamers were unable to complete it. Some of these bugs were dealt with in patches released by Sierra, but not all of them, and today’s faster computers now cause some fatal speed errors to occur. Most of these issues should be resolved when using DOSBox in combination with helpful fan-made patches.

Even though Shadows is one of the later games in the series, it can be enjoyed as a standalone game. This may have something to do with the fact that QFG4, unlike parts 2, 3 and 5, puts you in an isolated new environment without being accompanied by characters from any of the previous games. On the other hand, the unwelcome attitude of the villagers and the vague nature of the plot early in the game might confuse new players as to what they are supposed to be doing.

While remaining true to the series as part-RPG, the fourth Quest for Glory is even more of an adventure game than its predecessors due to the increased focus on story, characters and puzzle solving. It would be regrettable if people were to miss out on a wonderful adventure game because of its hybrid nature. Shadows of Darkness might take some time to get used to due to its dark mystery theme, but once you really get into this game it becomes an intriguing experience that will keep you excited all the way up to the dramatic finale.