Product Info

Platform

Switch, PC

Publisher

Another Indie, Hound Picked Games

Developer

HomeBearStudio

Genre

Adventure, Puzzle

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

1.6GB

Release Date (NA)

Nov 29, 2018

Purchase From

eShop

Steam

NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a point-and-click adventure game with a strong story and beautiful illustrations.

It’s a Cat-tastrophe!

The game takes place in a desert environment with human and humanoid animals living together. Society itself consists of upper, middle, and lower classes. Upper class citizens live a fancy lifestyle, whereas those in the lower class desperately struggle to survive.

Players follow Nairi, a little girl who’s from an upper class family in the city of Shirin but finds herself in a sticky situation with the government. Not knowing what happened to her parents, she’s forced to flee from home and leave the city to be safe. While traveling through the desert, she’s captured by cat bandits, but she ends up befriending them. Knowing that Nairi must return to the city to help her parents, the cat bandits send her off with a tip to meet a fellow friend of theirs named Rex. Rex would be able to help Nairi get back home without being caught by the government.

Rex requests Nairi’s necklace as payment in exchange for help. However, the two find out that her necklace holds a key to uncovering the history of the city, its famous tower, and why the government is after Nairi and her family. With Rex intrigued by the history of the tower, the two venture off together to uncover its secrets.

The characters and level designs are visually appealing and rich, looking as if they were on a painted canvas. The design of the people and backdrops feels visually inspired by Studio Ghibli and classic Disney films. Characters have very little movement, but in this point-and-click adventure, that’s okay! A beautiful looking game doesn’t have to animate and move. In fact, many classic point-and-click games from the 1990s can still hold their ground when it comes to characters and storytelling.

Point-and-Click Your Way Out

Those who have played classic games such as Maniac Mansion, Grim Fandago, and Monkey Island will know the jist on how point-and-click adventures function. You’ll be tasked with solving puzzles from each scene such as picking up keys to unlock locks or cutting a piece of rope to pick up an important item. Other times, you are doing a lot of item trading, similar to the Game Boy game (and upcoming Switch remake) The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The point-and-click adventure doesn’t bluntly tell you everything you need to do, though. In fact, players will have to use their brain to uncover the usage of some items, such as combining items you’ve collected, in order to continue the story.

Some of the items you are searching for will blend quite well into the design of the scene. You may at times find yourself stuck and going back and forth between rooms, clicking randomly. It’s important to be patient and take your time. The game isn’t on a time crunch compared to the classic Maniac Mansion.

Some scenarios require additional work to unlock, too. For example, you’ll be required to cause a fountain in a dungeon to overflow before continuing your adventure. To do so, you need to first uncover and then complete five additional tasks. Of course, this doesn’t include the extra time needed to pick up clues between these steps.

That said, some solutions can be annoying pedantic. There’s a task where you need to fill a jar with water in order to unlock another area for a key item. While there are many areas to fill the jar, the game does not let you fill it in most of them. Instead, the game insists that you fill it in a specific room but neglects to tell you this. The game could be more open-minded in some of these situations.

At least the amusing dialogue between characters helps make the adventure enjoyable as you figure out these mysterious clues. For example, Nairi has the power to go back in time to witness past events, thanks to the power of her necklace. In one of her time travels, she witnesses a citizen who decided to hide a key in his butt cheeks. Coming back to the present, she searches the citizen’s skeleton for the key and finds it. Rex is of course shocked Nairi knew where the key was.

Completing your goal is worth the hassle as the narrative in the game is done very well. Just expect your brain to be tested in the last dungeon. This dungeon will require a lot of memorization and going back and forth between rooms. Luckily, the rooms aren’t too far from each other.

The End?

The game ends on a cliffhanger, so it’s clear that the story isn’t over yet. Fortunately, NAIRI: Tower of Shirin will have additional “episodes” that will continue the story of Nairi and her companions.

After speaking with publisher Another Indie, don’t expect a free update to the game. Details right now are sparse, but be prepared to pay extra money for each new “episode.”

Joy-Con Triumphs

In trying the different controller options on the Nintendo Switch, the Joy-Con is the best fit for playing on the big screen. Its ease of movement as the game’s cursor to point and click triumphs over a Pro Controller joystick. The latter moves slow in comparison, especially on a bigger screen. It just feels like it takes too much time.

On portable, you have the option to use the joystick and the touchscreen. Using the touchscreen is better for exiting and entering rooms, while using the Joy-Con and joystick makes the cursor’s appearance change when you hover over an important item or person. The combination works well.

Final Secret

NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a colorful point-and-click adventure with a solid story you will sink into, but some of its puzzles will test your problem-solving skills till your brain taps out. Nairi’s tale isn’t over yet, so look forward to the next exciting episode when additional content becomes available!

Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by PR Hound for this review.