Nairi: Tower of Shirin

There's a good chance you've probably never heard of NAIRI: Tower of Shirin, but that doesn't mean this hidden gem should pass you buy. Sure, it doesn't have the pedigree of a Double Fine game or the licence exposure of something from TellTale's back catalogue, but it still offers up a safe and engaging world full of quirky characters, challenging puzzles and all the screen-tapping backgrounds you could ask for. It's no great reimagining of the genre, but it's still a curio worth playing nonetheless.

Despite this, Nairi: Tower of Shirin remains a charming and engaging point-and-click adventure game. The story is conveyed well via good writing, with enough twists and revelations that make it feel like a children's show due to the subject matter and higher stakes involved. The puzzles are great brain teasers but also have the good sense to not fall into the trap of being difficult for the sake of it. Most of all, that art style is too attractive to pass up, with every character being extremely likeable. Provided you don't mind the cliffhanger ending, Nairi is a worthy pickup for adventure fans.

While the journey is more important than the destination, the fact NAIRI lacks a traditional conclusion - leaving many arcs and themes in a resolution limbo - hurts the narrative considerably. Considering just how much the story focuses on Nairi as a character, a cliff-hanger ending that places emphasis on plot comes off structurally inappropriate at best. That said, the script, atmosphere, and puzzles all warrant at least one playthrough. Tower of Shirin might fall much flatter than it needed to thanks to a poorly realised ending, but NAIRI, as a whole, is a charming point-and-click with plenty of heart.

I really enjoyed my time with NAIRI: Tower of Shirin, it felt like an interactive storybook with delightful puzzles. Visually, this game is up there with the most artistically beautiful games of the last 12 months yet it also has a decent selection of unique and interesting puzzles to help it stand up as a great game to play. I had a few mild annoyances with the UX such as the lack of a map/fast travel, no interactive highlighters, and it’s rather easy to accidentally click to move to another screen, but I still felt compelled to move on and venture further into the story. Despite the lack of voice acting, NAIRI: Tower of Shirin‘s narrative is funny and witty along with the overall story the further into the game you get. Don’t be put off by the lack of voices though, use your imagination and make the characters sound however you imagine them to sound.

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!

NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is solid, but it lacks that certain something that dialogue-heavy games need. That said there is a charm with the characters and presentation, music especially. Fans of visual novels with puzzles might want to look into it further. Just beware of certain things – backtracking, the duration, pacing issues, potential puzzle frustration, and an unsatisfying story arc – when deciding if it's worth the reasonable ten dollar cost.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin contributes to the growing number of point and click games on the Nintendo Switch catalogue and does it with an experience that is very accessible, with an interesting and eye-catching art style, a very involving plot and a fluid control system. Its difficulty level and overall lifespan put this work on the simpler side of the spectrum making this opus more recommended to broader segments of the audience.

At its heart, Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a magical adventure. It contains quite serviceable puzzles and a solid set of character dialogue that should hold your attention for most of the narrative.

Overall, NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a very charming and enjoyable little point-and-click adventure game for the Nintendo Switch. I really enjoyed both the story and the art style quite a bit. It will take you probably 10-15 hours tops to complete your adventure, depending on how much you get stuck here or there on certain puzzles. I spent around 10 hours or so on my adventure and learning about the Tower of Shirin for this review. The game is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $9.99. You can also get it on PC via Steam. Can you solve all of the puzzles and reach the top of the Tower of Shirin?

Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a wonderful graphic adventure that entertained me very well. The story always remains interesting and with the intuitive gameplay based on touchscreen or Joycon, everyone can enter the oriental game world. In addition to the charming characters scores the loving look and the atmospheric background music. The puzzles vary a bit in their level of difficulty, but by talking with other people and pondering is no mystery too difficult. A game for young and old and also suitable for the current cold season.