The Collection Chamber: SHADOWCASTER

Morph at Will

Each of your six metaforms (feline, floating eye, gremlin, frogman, flame lizard and terramental) unleashes new powers and reveals new weaknesses. Fascinating shapeshifting technology morphs you from human to metaform and back before your eyes.

Replay the adventure in a number of different ways, based on the metaform you select at any given time.

The Pace Never Falters

Fly, swim and run indoors and out, through dungeons, caverns, castles, mines, volcanoes and underwater caves.

Immerse yourself in combat and puzzles - no mapping, spell memorization or anything that might slow the breakneck speed of this surging adventure.

CD-Enhanced Sights and Sounds

Submerge yourself in the most outstanding 3-D animations and texture maps in any point-of-view game - only possible with CD-ROM.

Battle the latest formidable creatures in two challenging new levels of electrical excitement - where even the walls are watching you!

Enjoy the heightened experience of fully digitized speech and an even richer tapestry of sound than before!

~ from the back of the CD-ROM Edition box

In 1993, ShadowCaster was released by Origin Systems, a company known for its ambitious games like Ultima and Wing Commander. While this action-heavy RPG may not have achieved the same level of fame as those franchises, it offered a unique and thrilling adventure that stands out among its peers. Think of it as the quirky, lesser-known cousin of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, only instead of a rampaging space marine, you’re a shape-shifting sorcerer battling dark forces in a world teetering on the brink of destruction.

The plot of ShadowCaster is steeped in mystery and magic. You play as a character named Kirt, a young man from our world who finds out he is descended from a long line of sorcerers. A demon breaks through and takes him to a parallel dimension where he must rid the land of evil. The twist? Kirt has the ability to shape-shift into various creatures, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. So, while your usual FPS protagonist might be armed with a shotgun and a bad attitude, Kirt has something a bit more... flexible. In this game, your primary weapon is not just the crossbow or sword, it’s your ability to transform into creatures like a wolf, a gargoyle or a giant floating tentacled eyeball. It’s like if a druid from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign recently discovered wild shape.

The opening moments of the CD-ROM Enhanced version (left) and the Floppy disk version (right). Apparently,
textures have been enhanced for the CD version, but the only real difference is cool cutscenes and voice overs.

These "metaforms" aren't just an excuse to hit things harder, they are key to solving the world's numerous puzzles. The wolf-life Maorin, for example, has the gift of sight - cat sight (I guess his actual species is ambiguous). This allows you to see things you wouldn't be able to otherwise, such as booby traps and hidden areas. Each of these alter-egos have a special ability from healing, elemental attacks and strength enough to take down entire walls. This adds layers of puzzle solving and strategy to the game. Each form has its own strengths and weaknesses, forcing you to adapt your tactics depending on the situation. The wolf-cat is quick and nimble, but not much more dangerous than Kirt himself. How about Grost the gargoyle? Well, he’s built like a brick house - perfect for bashing enemies - but he’s not winning any speed races. Sea creature Kahpa, on the other hand, can swim beneath the surface of water to find new areas and avoid detection from above.

That said, while the shape-shifting mechanics are genuinely innovative, the game's age does show. The controls can feel a bit stiff compared to modern FPS games, and the combat occasionally devolves into repetitive "hit, move, hit, move" loops. But the thrill of figuring out when to switch forms to gain an advantage keeps the experience fun. You’ll find yourself asking, “do I need to be a wolf here? No, wait - gargoyle! GARGOYAAAALE!” as you solve each puzzle, and it's oddly satisfying.

The game unfolds in a series of dark, labyrinthine levels filled with monsters, traps, and puzzles. And while you’re hacking and slashing your way through these twisted corridors, the story will unfold gradually as you play. This is primarily through text and barely animated screens, but if you're playing the CD-ROM version you'll witness some neat CGI cutscenes and full voice acting. The plot is nothing special, like a YA power fantasy with a mild gothic mystery thrown in; dark, atmospheric, and sometimes just the right amount of weird.

You can collect new metaforms throughout your playthrough (left).
Maorin the multi-armed wold-cat-thing can see what been hidden with his Cat Sight (right).

At its core, ShadowCaster is a first-person shooter, but with minor role-playing mechanics tucked away in there. It uses an updated version of the groundbreaking Wolfenstein 3D engine modified to allow a much more complex world and more dynamic level design. Dubbed the Raven Engine, it allows for improved texture mapping, giving the world a slightly more immersive feel than the flat corridors of Wolfenstein 3D (though "immersive" is a stretch when you’re still walking through grid-like corridors). The game also introduces verticality, letting you jump up in the air, swim underwater or fall down large chasms, though the ability for our hero to look up and down still eludes him.

You control the game with the keyboard and mouse, but not how you might expect. The arrow keys or number-pad moves the character while the mouse interacts with the environment by controlling the cursor. You can forego the keyboard altogether and just use the mouse's left mouse button to move but I do not recommend this; it will make fighting off enemies incredibly difficult when you cannot move out of the way quick enough. Right clicking will perform whatever move is highlighted on the bottom of the screen. Select each hand for a left or right hook, or the two custom abilities just to the right of them. Should you wish to interact with anything in the environment, such as opening a door or activating an obelisk, make sure none of them are highlighted. I'm ashamed to say it took me far too long for me to figure this out on my first playthrough.

For 1993, ShadowCaster is visually impressive. The dark and foreboding environments are detailed enough to capture the gothic, decaying atmosphere the game is going for. The level design is intricate, with plenty of hidden areas to discover and secrets to uncover. You’ll find yourself wandering through shadowy corridors, deciphering strange symbols (pretty much always keys), and getting lost in all the dark corners where monsters (and sometimes treasure) lie in wait.

The map screen fills out as you go along. It's useful to find hidden areas (left).
Using a triangular key on the plinth to reveal a teleportation pad (right).

ShadowCaster doesn’t hold your hand. It’s a challenging game that asks you to think about your immediate surrounding and use your shape-shifting abilities wisely. You can’t just rush in and expect to survive let alone find the exit to each of the 21 multi-staged levels. You have to figure out which form work best in each environment, and that makes the game more like a puzzle than a straightforward shooter. You have a limited inventory to collect items, which can be equipped in each hand (or claw or tentacle) for quick access. It's easy to fill up the eight slots quickly, but fear not! You can switch to a new metaform for a whole new chest to store stuff.

ShadowCaster is a hidden gem from the early ‘90s, a creative blend of fantasy, shape-shifting mechanics, and dark adventure. While it may not have reached the legendary status of games like Doom or Quake, and it isn't as well remembered as Ultima Underworld, it still offers something genuinely unique - a fresh twist on the dungeon crawler that hasn’t been replicated too often. The combination of strategic gameplay, explorative action, and that sweet shape-shifting mechanic makes it a quirky but memorable experience.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox to bring the game to modern systems. Both the Floppy version and the enhanced CD-ROM Edition are included. Manual, Player's Guide, Clue Book, Reference Card and original Install Guide included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

01.03.2025 - Version 2 - Fixed save game issue

File Size: 81.6 MB. Install Size: 132 MB. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download

CD-ROM

FLOPPY

CD-ROM ENHANCED EDITION