Shadowgate is a point-and-click adventure game in which the player must solve a series of puzzles throughout a castle to proceed to the Warlock Lord's chamber. Due to the castle's perilous nature, at least one lit torch must be in the player's possession at all times. If all torches are extinguished, the player soon stumbles,[9] breaking their neck, and must then continue from a saved game (or the area where they died, in console versions). Only a limited number of torches can be found throughout the game, which effectively acts as a time limit. The player may acquire various items such as a sword, a sling and other ancient weapons which can be used at the appropriate time to deliver a fatal blow to specific enemies.
The game has many instances of death, including being burned by dragon's breath, attacked by a cyclops, sucked into outer space through a broken mirror, dissolved by acidic slime, eaten by sharks, mauled by a wolf-woman, and suicide. Virtually any action taken by the player which is not the correct solution to a puzzle will result in a fatality. These deaths are often graphically described in the game's text (along with frequent sardonic and humorous comments), even in the NES version (in spite of Nintendo's policy of censorship at the time). Many of the game's puzzles rely on a system of trial and error, requiring the player to frequently save their game to avoid losing progress. Subtle hints can be found in books and the descriptive game texts. In the NES version, these are replaced by a hint feature which gives vague clues about what is noteworthy in any given room.