Sequel NAIRI: Rising Tide from Hound Picked Games and HomeBearStudio is launching today on Nintendo Switch. Learn more about it in our NAIRI: Rising Tide review!
Sequel NAIRI: Rising Tide from Hound Picked Games and HomeBearStudio is launching today on Nintendo Switch. The previous game, NAIRI: Tower of Shirin, was reviewed by DuskFox on Nintendo’s console, and it’s now time to see if the sequel is worth your time and money. NAIRI: Tower of Shirin was the debut game from indie HomeBearStudio, giving us a point and click visual novel adventure experience that takes around 3-4 hours to complete. The running time has been doubled for the second NAIRI game, so you can expect to spend around 6-10 hours to see everything this new game has to offer, depending on your experience with this type of game.
While the story follows right after the events that took place in NAIRI: Tower of Shirin – which was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2018 – you can definitely jump straight into the sequel without playing the previous game – but you should definitely play it as well! This sequel has a handy recap in the bottom right corner of the menu from which you select your save file. By clicking on it, you can have Nairi fill you in on her story and what has happened up to this point. Having said that, do know that what follows could be considered spoilers if you haven’t played the previous game!
But before that, I do want to bring up how the game’s art and presentation feel more alive for this new release! Just looking at the trailer and screens for our NAIRI: Rising Tide will let you see how the game’s artist – that would be You Miichi, who also happens to be developer Joshua van Kuilenburg’s wife – has improved her craft over the last 6 years. And even though there are some characters making their return from NAIRI: Tower of Shirin for this new game – main protagonist Nairi and her companion, Rex – they have been completely redrawn for this new adventure.
The game opens up with Nairi and Rex at the Tower of Shirin after they have witnessed Hessa push Shiro from the top of the tower. Sayo has found Nairi and Rex and offered to help them keep a bit of a low profile in the Middle District. As for Shiro? It seems he managed to survive what would be a fatal fall and has been brought back from almost joining the other side thanks to Mahir’s care. With Esma, Khan, and Lola searching for Sayo, Nairi, and Rex, her uncle, Reza, tries to cover for them.
Since the game is part of the point and click genre, you’ll be moving a cursor around the screen as you press the A button to interact with other characters or items. This will lead you to have conversations with characters or to review an item or spot in the current area. The hand cursor will change into a magnifying glass if you find a point of interest. If you find an important item that will be needed to complete a puzzle or a quest at a later moment, the item will be added to your inventory. Open up the inventory by pressing the X button. Once it’s open, you can check the items you’ve managed to collect. The game can also be played with the touchpad if you’re not playing with the console docked.
A point-and-click visual novel like this one will have many puzzles for you to solve, with some being easier and others requiring that you complete several steps. Two of the earlier easier puzzles in the game – which happen within the first 20-30 minutes, so this doesn’t count as a spoiler! – will require you to move a watermelon to find a key to open a door, as well as to use a rope so that you can reach a ledge that would otherwise be out of your reach. Why is climbing to that ledge important? Because you’ll find a key that you need to open a door in a secret passage used to smuggle items and people!
New to this sequel is the toolbelt that you can use to craft new items by using the right tool to get the job done. The first time you’ll get to do this is when you run into a character of the canine who is a bit sad since his favorite toy has broken. By collecting all three parts and grabbing yourself some glue, you’ll be able to find the right way to fix it! By inspecting each of the three parts of the toy, I was able to learn which part went in what spot on the toolbelt. All that I needed to do next was use the glue as the tool… and presto! Something else that is new and that I found very useful is how you’ll get new maps for the different locations you’ll explore. These will tell you how each area is connected, as well as show which direction your character is currently facing, which makes things a lot easier and more streamlined! Speaking of which, there’s also a fast-travel system you’ll unlock around the one-hour mark, which will make traveling between locations a lot easier.
Sequel NAIRI: Rising Tide is definitely worth checking out on Nintendo Switch. The game opens up with Nairi and Rex at the Tower of Shirin after they have witnessed Hessa push Shiro from the top of the tower. Sayo has found Nairi and Rex and offered to help them keep a bit of a low profile in the Middle District. As for Shiro? It seems he managed to survive what would be a fatal fall and has been brought back from almost joining the other side thanks to Mahir’s care. With Esma, Khan, and Lola searching for Sayo, Nairi, and Rex, her uncle, Reza, tries to cover for them. If you want to 100% this game, you should keep an eye out for all of the concept art that you can find for your digital collection! NAIRI: Rising Tide is out today on Nintendo Switch with a $14.99 price tag.
Disclaimer
This NAIRI: Rising Tide review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Hound Picked Games.
