We are approaching the month of Halloween, when spooks and creatures of the the night (without referencing Kiss there) roam, and once again the world of Shadowfell has emerged from the deeper darkness to tempt visitors with four regions of mystery, monsters, aliens and more.
The work of Calas Galadhon creators Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, Shadowfell marks its fifth anniversary and is now very much a part of Halloween events in Second Life and is always well received. This year sees some new features, fun and updates making a visit (or visits!) well worth the time.
As with all of the Calas themed builds, this is one in which it is important visitors note at least some of the guidelines regarding time in the regions, all of which can be found at the landing point – with the most important perhaps being:
- Make sure you Used Shared Environment (via World → Environment).
- Enable local sounds and make sure you have particles visible.
- If you can, enable Shadows on your viewer and, preferably, use a PBR-enabled viewer (or make sure Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) through Preferences → Graphics, if you are on an older viewer).
Note that if running with Shadows enabled does hit your system hard, Shadowfell V can still be enjoyed shadowless, so to speak!
Once again, Shadowfell offers a choice of taking to the trails and paths through its regions or allowing the boat tour to carry you through all the regions. There’s also the Elven Flyers for a shorter guided trip. If you’ve never visited Shadowfell before, the boat tour might be a good place to start, as it will give you a feel for things and allow you to see glimpse some of the settings you can re-visit in detail on foot – but do be aware it now runs for just shy of an hour, so allow time – and perhaps use it as a reason for multiple visits.
The boat tour is available close to the main Landing Point and will, among other things, reveal that even zombies like to occasionally simply sit down and dip their feet in the water and just chat 🙂 . It will also reveal some of the newer elements – a touch of Game of Thrones with skeletal dragons; a little humour – who knew Bambi was a creature of darkness waiting in the foggy waters to swim at unsuspecting travellers? – and more.
The boat tour won’t return you to the main Landing Point, but instead drops you off within the Mist II region, allowing on-foot explorations to resume from there. However, for those who prefer, the drop-off point is a short walk from a portal rock that will return folk to the Landing point to allow explorations to resume from there.
The Elven Flyer, meanwhile, offers a touch of Tolkien, the flyer in question being called Star of Eärendil II – a reference to Eärendil half-elven, forbear of Aragon, who carried the Silmaril Morning Star on his brow as he sailed across the sky (The Silmarillion). Like Eärendil’s voyages across the skies of Middle Earth, it will take you a a flight through the sky lasting roughly 17 minutes and has the novelty of having people ride the winged boats whilst floating themselves (both singles and couples).
Each year, Ty and Truck try to introduce new touches to their Halloween and Christmas builds, and for this iteration of Shadowfell there is a host of new elements to be discovered. a couple come early-on as you take to the path away from the Landing Point – and if you are something of an arachnophobe like me, can cause a shiver or six – thanks, guys! 🙂 .
This year, Shadowfell appears to have new mesh-based atmospheric effects in places, and the general environment settings appear to have been tweaked a little (either that or I missed things last year / my PC is behaving differently this year!). Both changes are welcome as they both add to the mystery of the setting and make a journey through the regions more engaging.
One of the things I’ve always loved with Shadowfell is the mixing of mythologies: classic horror in the form of zombies, sirens, monsters and more, together with clear elements of elements of Tolkien (in keeping with the roots of Calas Galadhon regions as a whole) and fantasy, the touches of humour and a rich touch of science fiction horror in the shape of elements from, and interpretations of, the Alien franchise. All of this remains evident this year, complete with some new touches – don’t touch the slime dripping from eggs!
With garden of colour and ethereal beauty rubbing shoulders with cavern of darkness and possible terror, there is also very much a sense of dreams and nightmares to be found throughout Shadowfell.
For those making a first visit to Shadowfell, do be aware that not everything is on the ground – and take nothing for granted in the cavern with the airborne figures – touch the right point and you’ll find yourself carried deeper into the dark caves which, for those familiar with past iterations of Shadowfell, have been updated quite magnificently with materials and more.
When in the “sky caverns” do make sure you touch the central portal stone in the main chamber. It will lift you to a place mixing elven elements with creatures of the deep and a touch of Alien’s Engineers. A further stone here will return you to the cavern of the aliens. Where you can explore deeper into the caves and eventually find your way back to ground level.
There is so much that could be written about Shadowfell – but it should be seen first-hand. As such, the setting will be open to all from September 29, 2026, whilst those joining the Calas Galadhon Announcemens Group can gain early access to the regions. Also, don’t forget to keep you eyes on the Calas Galadhon website for news on special events at Shadowfell throughout October 2026 (also advertised through the Calas Group mentioned above).
Should you enjoy visiting Shadowfell, do please consider making a donation to the Calas team – they do so much for Second Life throughout the year through Calas Galadhon Park, Shadowfell and the Calas Christmas regions, they deserve our support.
SLurl Details
- Shadowfell V (Mist, rated Moderate)
