Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island

Released

Release Date: February 27, 2024

The sixth main installment in a series of jRPG with roguelike elements, originating from 1995. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island tasks the player with traversing a dark dungeon and rescue the prisoner held inside by a horrible monster.

8.4

OpenCritic

8.9

Steam

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Ratings

 Videos: 2 

Images: 70 

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is the sixth main installment in a series of jRPGs with roguelike elements originating from 1995. It was developed by the Spike Chunsoft.

Plot

The protagonist of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is the titular Shiren. One day he sees a vision of an unknown girl held captive by a horrible monster and decides to save her. His adventure leads him to the Serpentcoil Island, rumored to be a hiding place for immensely valuable pirate treasures. Shiren is not alone on his journey, as he's accompanied by his faithful ferret Koppa and other allies with their own goals.

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Mechanics

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island makes use of the top-down perspective. The player must traverse the titular dungeon, search for loot, useful items, avoid traps and fight enemies. Combat is turn-based, requiring skillful use of the party's abilities and their equipment. As we progress through the game, we upgrade our characters, acquire better gear and face greater challenges.

As in all previous installments, death means permanently losing all our belongings and experience. Each time we start the game anew, the procedurally generated dungeon changes, and so do the enemies, traps and items. We can still be saved and revived by another player... if they happen to stumble upon our corpse.

Technical aspects

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island features simple, though colorful manga-like visuals.

Platforms:

PC Windows December 11, 2024

Nintendo Switch February 27, 2024

Developer: Spike Chunsoft

Publisher: Spike Chunsoft

Similar Games:

Undertale

For the King

Tangledeep

Game Series

4GAMES

Mystery Dungeon Game Series

Features

System Requirements

System Requirements for Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Video Game:

PC / Windows

Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i3-3220 / AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 750 Ti / 2 GB Radeon RX 560, 8 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.

Recommended System Requirements:
Intel Core i7-4770 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600X, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB GeForce GTX 1660 Super / 8 GB Radeon RX 570, 8 GB HDD, Windows 10/11 64-bit.

Ratings

Game Ratings for Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Video Game.

8.4

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 93% of Critics. There are 34 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

RPG Fan: 80 / 100 by Jerry Williams

I praise the developers for making an accessible yet strategic roguelike because this subgenre often has a steep learning curve and barrier for entry. While I’ve beaten the game, I can tell that I’m going to do my routine 90% completion on this game, even after investing 20 hours. The post-game is the game.

Full Review

PC Gamer: 89 / 100 by Kerry Brunskill

Flexible, fun, and ferocious too, this roguelike has more than enough dungeon diving for everyone.

Full Review

GameGrin: 8 / 10 by Alana Dunitz

This game is fun and addictive, but damn, it can be frustrating when you have a great weapon and items and then die, making you have to start from the beginning with nothing.

Full Review

89%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Very Positive (241)

STEAM

Reviews Summary generated by AI

The main pros of the game

Challenging Gameplay: The game is praised for its difficulty, providing a rewarding experience for both new and veteran players of the roguelike genre.
High Replay Value: s mention the extensive amount of content available, including numerous dungeons and unique mechanics that encourage multiple playthroughs, with some players logging hundreds of hours.
Quality of Life Improvements: The game includes several updates that enhance inventory management and gameplay smoothness, making it more accessible for beginners.
Visuals and Music: The art style is described as beautiful, and the music is highly praised for its quality, contributing to an immersive experience.
Engaging Story and Characters: Players appreciate the charming characters and the unfolding main story that adds depth to the gameplay.

The main cons of the game

Difficulty Balance: Some players feel the game can be unfair or unbalanced at times, leading to frustrating experiences, especially for newcomers.
Cumbersome Menu Navigation: A few reviews mention that the menu system can be awkward to navigate, particularly when using controller controls.
Lack of Co-op Mode: One expressed disappointment about the absence of cooperative gameplay, feeling that it would have enhanced the experience.

The features or elements that are missing from the game according to s

Demo Version: Players expressed a desire for a demo to try the game before purchasing, as some found it a risky investment without prior experience.
More Detailed Rescue Mechanics: s suggested improvements in the rescue system, particularly regarding clarity on the starting gear of rescued characters.
Additional Visual Styles: Some players preferred the pixel graphics from earlier titles in the series over the new 3D style, indicating a desire for more visual options.

Summary

Overall, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is well-received for its challenging and rewarding gameplay, beautiful presentation, and extensive content, despite some criticisms regarding difficulty balance and navigation.

Summary generated on: January 6, 2025

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