For the first time in 13 years, Shiren The Wanderer returns for a new adventure. The roguelike from Spike Chunsoft sees Shiren traverse randomly generated dungeons as he fights monsters and climbs Serpentcoil Island in search of treasure. While the difficulty spikes may turn some players away, those looking for a difficult roguelike should consider checking this game out.
The Adventures of Shiren The Wanderer
The story starts as Shiren and his pet ferret, Koppa, hear rumors about an island called Serpentcoil Island and how there is treasure to collect. Later, in a dream, a mysterious girl asks the heroes to help rescue her, and it is off to the island they go to. The next thing you’re fighting the big boss, where you instantly get obliterated. You wake up on Serpentcoil Island with amnesia and must find your way back to the top to defeat the monster.
The setup of this game is not great and felt very cliche. As you progress deeper into the dungeons, more characters reveal themselves, and side stories unlock. You meet a pirate crew who only takes treasure that they need as they oppose a rival pirate faction that wants to take everything. You meet a village of ninjas who defected from their old clan and are afraid for their lives. Old characters from past games pop up along the way to help you as well. Optional side paths open up to give players extra challenges along the way. There is nothing earth-shattering here, but it does a good job of fleshing out Serpentcoil Island and gives players a reason to keep running through the dungeons.
Deciphering The Mystery Dungeon
Of course, the main part of the game is the dungeon crawling. Shiren and enemies move on a grid. When you move, the enemies move. Floors are procedurally generated, and you pick up items as you explore each floor. In other roguelikes, such as Hades and Slay The Spire, the depth lies in what power-ups you get and how you build your character. Power-ups do not exist in this roguelike. Instead, the depth of this game lies in how you approach the dungeon. How you move to influence the enemies’ movement. As the player, you must influence the enemy’s movements to avoid taking unnecessary damage or getting overwhelmed by multiple enemies. Learning about the different enemies to navigate each dungeon efficiently is key to surviving this roguelike adventure. Managing your items, health bar, and fullness bar is also a crucial part of the game.
This game is difficult. Enemies hit hard, especially at the beginning when you’re just picking up items. Many runs have ended early for me because of unfortunate enemy placements or because I didn’t pick up a weapon or shield to deal with enemies. Not knowing what to do against certain enemies can lead to untimely deaths. In particular, I’ve had a lot of trouble dealing with these mudslimes that can surround and trap you in place before beating you to death. Your runs can end if you don’t have items to escape certain situations, which can be frustrating. That frustration turned into some fun ah-ha moments the more I played the game.
Shaking Off The Rust
While strategizing how to tackle these dungeons is fun, the combat itself is unsatisfying. You press a button, attack the enemy, and the enemy attacks back. Rinse and repeat until someone dies. You can throw items at enemies or use weapons and magic, but executing combat is not fun. This is a shame because this genre has games with excellent combat. The other big problem I’ve had is with movement. I’ve been in situations where the game would move me one more space than intended, which led to unintentional damage. Other times, the grid system would make talking to NPCs along the way frustrating.
A lot has changed in the roguelike genre since Shiren’s last adventure. Many of those evolutions in the genre make playing this game feel a little dated. I wish there were more to do in the hub world. I wish I could build my character in the dungeons rather than rely on items to survive. Despite not having those things, learning how the game works is still fun. For those looking for a challenging roguelike, Shiren The Wanderer offers a dungeon crawler that makes players think about how they move. While there is strategic depth, its clunky movement, unengaging combat, and generic fantasy plot keep this game from being a great roguelike.
