Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness is a video game that combines elements of adventure games and role-playing games. It is the fourth part of the Quest for Glory computer game series created by Sierra On-Line. This game is unique because it is the only one in the series that does not include numbers in its title.

Plot

Shadow of Darkness continues the story from Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. The Hero is suddenly taken from a victory in Fricana and appears in the dangerous Dark One Caves in Mordavia, a land filled with undead creatures. This world combines elements of Slavic folklore and Lovecraftian horror. After escaping the caves, the Hero meets a mysterious young woman named Katrina, who helps him several times during his journey. The Hero assists townspeople in solving their problems. He faces old enemies, such as the not-quite-dead Ad Avis and the ogress Baba Yaga, and forms strange new alliances. The Hero is forced to help Ad Avis’ Dark Master gather Dark Rituals to summon Avoozl the Dark One, a character inspired by Cthulhu and likely referencing the Slavic god Chernobog. The Hero escapes this control, stops their plan, and defeats Ad Avis. During a celebration of the Hero’s hard-won victory, the wizard Erasmus appears with his familiar Fenrus, calling the Hero to the land of Silmaria.

Gameplay

The game Quest for Glory III used a graphical point-and-click interface. It also added a new combat system that showed fights from the side. Players could choose to let the computer fight battles for them.

Development

Quest for Glory IV includes darker themes but keeps the humor from earlier games by including parodies of actors like Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. The game’s story centers on a dark cult trying to summon an incredibly large evil, which is very different from earlier villains like Baba Yaga. The undead and monsters inspired by Lovecraft are also unlike the lighter monsters in previous games. However, there are vampiric rabbits similar to those in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The game was influenced by gothic fiction, old horror movies, and books about vampires and werewolves.

Development of the game took longer than expected, which caused Sierra to release it with limited testing. The first version of the game, stored on floppy discs, was nearly unplayable. A year later, the game was re-released on CD, with improvements made by a programmer who had more time to fix issues. The GOG digital version later fixed many remaining problems. According to the game’s director, Corey Cole, the budget for Quest for Glory IV was $750,000.

One detailed scene in the game shows the Gypsy Magda using a deck of Tarot cards to learn about the hero’s future and possible enemies or allies. The images used were from the Russian tarot of St. Petersburg, a copy of the Rider–Waite–Smith deck. The card layout used in the game is unique but somewhat similar to the start of a Celtic cross layout.

Shadows of Darkness was developed using SVGA graphics.

The CD-ROM version of Quest for Glory IV was the first in the series to include voice actors. Notable voice actors include John Rhys-Davies as the Narrator, Jennifer Hale as Katrina, and Bill Farmer as Leshy. The game also had an original soundtrack by Aubrey Hodges. It included a reprise of the Hero’s Theme from earlier games and a version of “Anitra’s Dance” by Edvard Grieg, which plays in the Hotel Mordavia.

According to an article in InterAction magazine, John Rhys-Davies spent over three weeks recording his lines, which led him to call the game the “CD-ROM from Hell.” Quest for Glory IV was the first game in which Jennifer Hale voiced dialogue. The dialogue of three local farmers is notable for its focus on jokes and conversation, even if it does not match the text on the screen.

The end of Quest for Glory III referred to the game as Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness. The original game manuals called it Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness. Later, the game was named Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness in the Quest for Glory Anthology collection. Quest for Glory II referred to it as Quest for Glory III: Shadows of Darkness.

Release

The game was first released in December 1993 on nine 3.5" floppy disks, like many other Sierra adventure games at the time, because some players did not have CD-ROM drives. The rush to release the game before the holiday season caused problems, as the early version had bugs that upset players. Other issues included the game’s large size and complex design compared to other adventures, and Sierra’s SCI game engine was being updated during development. Sierra later released a free version 1.1a patch on January 10, 1994, to fix these issues for customers who requested it. This game was among the first published games to include known bugs that the publisher planned to fix later. A final version was released in September 1994 on CD. This version included full recorded dialogue, a new introduction, and improved gameplay. The CD version came with a jewel case containing a game CD, manual, store catalog, and legal information. The floppy disk version had a smaller and simpler manual.

The floppy disk version did not use special copy protection, so players had to answer several questions at the start of each game. The CD version only required the disc to play.

Reception

In March 1994, Computer Gaming World described Shadows of Darkness as offering "a unique mix of dark mystery and light humor" and called it "another award winning adventure." In April 1994, the magazine's reviewer, Scorpia, gave a less positive review. She praised the game's automatic combat feature for players who dislike fast-paced action in adventure games but criticized the puzzles as "weak to obscure" and the final boss as "a letdown." Scorpia also noted the game had many bugs, calling it "the sloppiest product ever released by Sierra" and stating it required multiple patches and "numerous replays." She mentioned the game was released too early because of financial reasons, which hurt Sierra's reputation for making high-quality products. She hoped this was a one-time mistake and warned that Sierra should not join other companies that release poor-quality games and rely on patches and upgrades to fix problems. Scorpia concluded that Shadows of Darkness was a disappointment.

In May 1994, James V. Trunzo reviewed Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness in White Wolf #43 and gave it a "Very Good" rating. He noted that the game would not satisfy players who enjoy violent or macabre themes but recommended it for those seeking challenging fun in a gothic setting.

In more recent years, Rowan Kaizer of Engadget and Ryan Stevens of GameTrailers called Shadows of Darkness the best game in the series. Michael Baker of RPGamer described it as a "good game worth money even twenty years later" and gave it a 4 out of 5 star rating. Adam Rosenberg of G4TV called it "the most elaborate and well-designed" entry in the series. PC Gamer’s Richard Cobbett called the game "absolutely wonderful." In 2011, Adventure Gamers ranked Shadows of Darkness as the 23rd-best adventure game ever released.