Kowloon's Gate

About

Kowloon's Gate is a 1997 adventure RPG developed by Zeque that blends supernatural themes with puzzle solving and combat. You play as a feng shui expert navigating the labyrinthine Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong, a location caught between two spiritual realms. The game mixes first-person exploration with point-and-click interactions, requiring you to converse with eccentric characters, figure out environmental puzzles, and battle shadowy foes. Its real-time 3D spaces let you roam freely through dense, layered environments rendered in early 90s motion JPEG graphics. The game’s surreal atmosphere and dense narrative stand out, rooted in Chinese mythology and the real-world history of the Kowloon Walled City. While its technical limitations are evident by modern standards, its cult following persists among fans of atmospheric adventures. With a Metacritic score of 68 and a retro gaming community rating of 4.2/5, it remains a niche title praised for its ambition. The mix of feng shui mechanics and a crumbling, otherworldly setting creates a distinct experience that feels both grounded and fantastical.

Storyline

The game takes place in the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. On June 22, 1997, before the handover of Hong Kong, the demolished Kowloon Walled City reemerged from the realm of Yin (陰界) back to the streets of Hong Kong in the living realm of Yang (陽界). The Hong Kong Supreme Feng Shui Conference (香港最高風水会議) determined that the reappearance of the walled city was a sign of an imbalance of the Yin and Yang, and if the two parallel worlds are not separated once again, great calamity would occur. To set things straight, the order of Feng Shui would need to be re-instilled in the realm of Yin. Thus the protagonist, a Super Feng Shui Practitioner (超級風水師), was sent into the Kowloon Walled City to seek and awaken the Four Symbols so that order would be revived.