Oh no! Nairi’s parents have been captured and it’s up to you to help get them back! What lies on the journey though? Well, that’s all the fun of Nairi: Tower of Shirin!
Diving in, there’s no doubt that the highlight of Nairi: Tower of Shirin’s appeal lies within the art style and how it’s chosen to present. The cast is adorable in every way–from cats to rats, to lizards and more. They are all done in a slight anthropomorphic, Legend of Zelda shopkeeper way that is hard to resist at any age. If marketed into plushes, every single one of the characters would be an ace in the hole to cuddle with.
Watch the Nairi: Tower of Shirin launch trailer below:
Being that it’s a story based game, there’s going to be a lot you’re going to have to read. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the dialog or the story itself, but the way the scrolling works is a bit muddled up. It reminds me very much of Windows 95 storybook games, that only my little self would have the patience to click through. Combine that with a very monotone ‘TK TK TK’ sound byte for the words appearing and you have, if you’re not interested in the story, what can be a very tedious game to play.
However, I do think there’s a massive audience for Nairi: Tower of Shirin, and it’s a very young one, be it physically or at heart. As I mentioned before about the patience–kids have way more of it than adults do, especially when it comes to this stuff. The story is captivating enough if you can get into it and I can very much see a little one getting attached to the characters. Besides, it’s a quiet, non-violent game if that’s what you gear towards buying as a parent. Innocent enough, quirky enough, and the elements of point-and-click puzzle solving will make it so your child has to think a bit to get out of certain situations.
View some Nairi: Tower of Shirin screenshots in our gallery:
I reviewed it on PC, but I can honestly say that if I were to play it on the handheld Nintendo Switch, it could have been a different experience altogether for me. Being able to take the handheld and cuddle up on the sofa, or in bed and enjoy Nairi’s interactive story-Kindleness would be ideal. Thinking about it more and more, Nairi: Tower of Shirin very much looks like it’s meant for Nintendo Switch, and if you have the option between PC and Switch, well, you know what I’m suggesting here: almost certainly you’ll get more out of it with a handheld.
Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a mixed bag if you look at it through the lens of most games, but if you’re into interactive storybooks, or just would like to find something that younger kids can enjoy–it comes highly suggested. It might be geared toward a very specific crowd, but, if that crowd has patience and enjoys really, really cute characters with a gentle story, you’re going to want to pick this one up.
Nairi: Tower of Shirin was reviewed on PC/Steam using a digital code provided by the publisher.
Publisher: Hound Picked Games, Another Indie Developer: HomeBearStudio Release Date: November 29th, 2018 Reviewed On: PC/Steam Also Available On: Nintendo Switch
