I suppose the biggest issue with the game is the sheer difficulty of Parker’s task. This is an incredibly tough game that will take even seasoned gamers a very long time to complete. By the second day, you’ll be lucky if you don’t die at least once every half hour, and towards the end of the same day, every five minutes. There are so many pitfalls and traps set up by the villagers to bump off the unsuspecting Parker that it proves exceedingly prudent to be saving every time you do anything remotely important, because once Parker has gone to meet his maker, you are forced to manually restore from the last save point. Personally I didn’t find this a problem, because I like to be challenged when playing a game, but if you’re looking for just a light game to work your way through when you’re bored, this probably isn’t the game for you.

Finally, the puzzles can often be very tricky. They’re largely inventory-based with a few time-limit puzzles thrown in for added panic value. These timed puzzles are easy, as long as you can remember which way you came, although a lot of saving is necessary, especially in the crypt maze. The inventory puzzles are less straightforward, and require the player to think laterally as well as literally. After all, this is a supernatural force Parker’s up against. There is no logical progression of the puzzles, either, so if you miss something at the start of the game, it’s highly likely you’ll be stuck later on and will need to go back to previous saved games in order to redo it, which is something that could put a lot of impatient people off. Nothing is as it seems in Illsmouth, so make sure you listen to everyone but trust no one. A small amount of note taking will be necessary throughout the game in order to log important facts. Thankfully, Parker keeps his own journal that you can read to glean important information.

All of these points remain trivial, however, when you look at the game as a whole. The difficulty of the game adds to the atmosphere that envelops Shadow, and the inability to trust anyone adds to the paranoia and feeling of isolation the player experiences when playing the game. In fact, Infogrames has created the perfect atmosphere for a horror game and then ladled it on so thick that players will almost feel like they’re drowning in it.

It’s this atmosphere that makes Shadow of the Comet so spectacular. The music is as memorable now as it was then—spookily catchy and loaded with feelings of dread and paranoia. Even on an old midi soundcard from back in 1993, the music instantly sets the tone of the game without becoming annoying and interfering with the gameplay. The sound effects, especially in the woods, make for a truly terrifying wander around Illsmouth. The voice acting, although a little fuzzy at times, also makes for an unsettling experience. Infogrames really hit the nail on the head with suitable voices for the villagers of Illsmouth.

The crowning glory of this game, and the reason why I found it impossible to stop playing, is its story. From the humble beginnings of Parker’s arrival at Illsmouth to the inevitable race against time at the end, Shadow is a giddy ride of murder, mystery, mayhem, and the occult. Infogrames went to great lengths to create a story that did justice to the works of Lovecraft. Chaosium, experts on the works of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos, were brought in to aid in the writing process.

In my opinion, the horror genre is vastly overlooked when thinking about adventure games. If you can’t scare the begeesus out of someone with loud noises and a rubbish monster lurking round a corner in some lame action game, then it seems it’s not worth bothering with. But this game proves that with atmospheric music and a damn good story, you can easily create a game that’s as unsettling to play as it is engaging.

Shadow isn’t instantly accessible, and takes a while to get the hang of, but perseverance definitely pays off. Assuming you can deal with the die/reload method of gameplay you’ll encounter, anyone with an interest in good, challenging, lengthy adventure games that make you think will love this game. It’s no surprise that Shadow of the Comet was a key player in defining the horror sub-genre of adventure games. If you dare travel to Illsmouth, you won’t be disappointed.