Choose The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Choose The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 95.9% positive across 3,019 reviews.
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition vs Shadowgate
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Shadowgate both land in Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Adventure games on Steam. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (2009) is 5 years older than Shadowgate (2014). The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (95.9% positive) than Shadowgate (88.6% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Shadowgate
Choose Shadowgate if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2014) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Shadowgate launched in 2014.
Both The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Shadowgate sit in Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition |  Shadowgate | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2009 | 2014 |
| Genres | Adventure | Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.9% positive (3,019 reviews) | 88.6% positive (394 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | LucasArts | Zojoi |
Side by side
- Both are Adventure games on Steam.
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (2009) is 5 years older than Shadowgate (2014).
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition scores higher on Steam reviews (95.9% positive) than Shadowgate (88.6% positive).
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Shadowgate (9.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Playable.
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition vs Shadowgate — FAQ
- Which is better, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition or Shadowgate?
- On Steam reviews The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition scores higher (95.9% positive) than Shadowgate (88.6% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition or Shadowgate first?
- If you want chronology, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (2009) came out before Shadowgate (2014). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Shadowgate similar?
- They overlap on Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.