12DOVE Verdict
Pros
- +
Intense
- +
strategic gameplay
- +
Intriguing "puzzle" dungeons
- +
Quirky characters
Cons
- -
Random generation can be stupid
- -
Dying makes you lose everything
- -
WiFi feature isn't too useful
Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
An update of a Super Nintendo Entertainment System title, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is an old-school, turn-based dungeon-crawler. It's slow, intense, and unforgiving - all of which might be a turn off to gamers weaned on modern titles - but for those that appreciate old-school sensibilities, Shiren the Wanderer offers dozens of hours of slow-burning fun.
Gamers control a wandering adventurer named Shiren, who is accompanied by his mouthy weasel Koppa. The two are on a quest to the Lair of the Golden Condor. This is all a good excuse to explore randomly generated dungeons, fight monsters, and snatch items. Players will explore caverns (that look like dungeons), forests (that look like dungeons), and mountain ranges (that look like…wait for it…dungeons).
The action and movement in this game are completely turn based, which makes for a slow game. The deliberate pace is somewhat necessary, since players have to be mindful about every step they take - a zig in the wrong direction can make the difference between escaping a dungeon and being devoured by a monster that's way too powerful to defeat.
More info
| Genre | Role Playing |
| Description | For those with old-school sensibilities, Shiren the Wanderer offers dozens of hours slow-burning fun. For the rest of us: death and burning. |
| Platform | "DS" |
| US censor rating | "Everyone" |
| UK censor rating | "Rating Pending" |
| Release date | 1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK) |
Cyberpunk 2 associate game director reveals his greatest development secret: 10 hour loops of music like "Epic Sax Guy" that "gives me insane focus and clarity"
After hitting 500,000 copies sold and nearly 24,000 reviews on Steam, viral $13 horror game Mouthwashing is coming to consoles this year
"A really sad day for speedrunning": The world's fastest gamers brace for a new Twitch storage limit on "all highlights and uploads"
