Right, So I Found The *Real* Switch 2 Roguelike MVP, And You've Probably Never Cast A Spell On It.
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Forget the usual suspects; Shiren the Wanderer, the original Mystery Dungeon roguelike, is a deep, surprisingly permissive, and utterly captivating experience that demands your cleverness and offers up true digital wizardry – especially with its brilliant online rescue system, as Polygon rightly champions.
Right, so imagine this: you're rummaging through the ancient digital scrolls, maybe accidentally tripping over a rogue pixel, and *bam* – you unearth a game that's been quietly wizarding its way through the gaming world for ages, but somehow flew under everyone's radar. That's kinda how I feel about *Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island*, which our mates over at Polygon have been raving about.
Now, the original article (penned by Patricia Hernandez, cheers mate!) playfully (and rather cheekily, if you ask me – no judgement, just observational curiosity!) mentions this game as their 'most-played Switch 2 game.' A bold claim, considering the Switch 2 is still more of a rumour than a reality in our mortal realm, existing mostly in the realm of whispered prophecies and speculative schematics. But hey, if it's got someone from Polygon putting it on that mythical console, there must be something genuinely magical brewing here, eh? Something truly captivating to make one fantasize about its future platform.
So, what's this Shiren malarkey all about? Well, if you've ever dipped your toes into the delightful, often frustrating chaos of a *Pokémon Mystery Dungeon* or even a *Final Fantasy Chocobo* dungeon crawler, you've got a vague idea. They're good fun, those licensed spin-offs, aren't they? But Shiren? Shiren's the grandaddy, the OG, the ancient scroll from which many modern roguelikes drew their ink. It's Spike Chunsoft's original Mystery Dungeon series, where feudal Japan meets a generous dollop of fantasy, and it's been chugging along, quietly kicking ass, without needing a popular franchise attached to its name. Honestly, if you already knew about Shiren, consider yourself a connoisseur of digital delights. You've clearly got your arcane knowledge in order.
For the rest of us, myself included until recently, here's the lowdown: you play as a roving ronin, a masterless samurai, who embarks on adventures with a talking ferret – because, why not? It's a fantasy world, mate, anything can happen. You're plonked into a randomly generated dungeon, and here's where the strategic wizardry begins: nothing moves until you do. Every step you take, every swing of your sword, every sip of a potion – the monsters in the world take their action too. It's turn-based, but also not. Sometimes, the wisest move is no move at all, letting enemies come to *you* rather than charging headfirst into a digital brawl you're not ready for. You've got to approach Shiren with deliberation, like a cautious alchemist mixing volatile potions.
And speaking of volatility, let's talk about the difficulty. Shiren doesn't pull its punches. Every single run begins with Shiren at level one, nary a decent piece of kit to his name. You've got to scavenge, pilfer, and pray to the RNG gods for gear. Sometimes you'll cruise through areas with nothing but a glorified wooden spoon, other times you'll stumble upon incredible artifacts: weapons that attack around corners, or magical staves that let you take two actions at once. But no matter how stacked you feel, it's astonishingly easy to get into a dangerous spot, even against what seem like lowly enemies. Shiren is harder than your typical Mystery Dungeon game, which, bless its heart, is probably why it hasn't sold millions upon millions of copies like its more famous relatives.
But here's the absolutely crucial bit, the reason you *should* play it, despite the challenge: Shiren the Wanderer is also one of the most *permissive* games you'll ever experience. It's like having a magical grimoire where half the spells are written in invisible ink, and you only learn what they do by accidentally turning yourself into a newt – or, in Shiren's case, by eating an onigiri that used to be your super-duper sword. Ouch. Items can be used in all sorts of unusual, delightfully chaotic ways, and the only real limit is how clever you are at thinking outside the box.
Surrounded by baddies? You could try to fight, sure. Or, you could eat a consumable that teleports you randomly across the dungeon. Or maybe, just maybe, you whip out a wand that swaps your position with a faraway enemy, leaving the monsters baffled. Perhaps you use an item to break down walls, creating a path where none existed. My personal favourite, and I kid you not: there's food that, when eaten, makes Shiren's farts so rancid that everything in your vicinity literally runs away. Fair dinkum, that’s game design right there!
Initially, you'll be clueless about half the items. Even the ones that sound straightforward will find a way to screw you. Accidentally use a status-effect scroll on yourself instead of throwing it at an enemy? Been there, done that, died spectacularly. Read a scroll meant to be *placed* on the ground to create a monster-blocking barrier? Yep, wasted it. You'd think these nuances would stick after a few painful lessons, but you'll still find novel ways to mess up. I've had glorious runs end in seconds because I accidentally turned my legendary weapon into a rice ball. Or, in a dungeon where every item was unknown, I used a consumable that made a tiny enemy *invincible*. Nothing to do but accept my fate, mate.
You'll spend a lot of time dying in Shiren. Enemies have a nasty habit of disarming you, turning you into inanimate objects, or just spawning an entire *monster room* full of traps and overwhelming force. But like any good roguelike, the greatest weapon in your arsenal is knowledge. And Shiren, bless its heart, offers a few tricks to help you along.
You can fuse weapons and shields, combining their powers into a single, formidable piece of gear. Clear a run, and you can store items outside the dungeon for your next attempt – a proper reward for your perseverance. But, and this is Shiren's wonderfully cruel humour, it's just as easy to lose that painstakingly crafted item in the silliest way possible. It's a constant dance between triumph and utter despair.
Perhaps the most brilliant touch, and what really makes Shiren shine from a community perspective, is its online rescue system. Should you meet an untimely demise, the game allows you to post an SOS online that other players can answer. They can literally jump into your exact dungeon, at your exact point of failure, and try to save your run. What an absolute stroke of genius! You can also save 'yourself' with a new run, continuing from where your past self fell. The incentive for helping others? You earn points to make your *own* rescue runs easier. This means even the most devastating defeat isn't necessarily the end. I reckon Polygon’s author’s shout-out to that one Japanese player who repeatedly saved their Shiren from the stupidest situations possible really hammers home the magic of this system. It’s a genuine digital lifeline.
Polygon's Patricia Hernandez is well over a hundred hours into the 2024 entry, and the game continues to surprise them. It never gets old, continually introducing new dungeon types, temporary conditions, and nuanced challenges. Want to bring your equipped items? There's a dungeon for that. Start from scratch? Yep. Boss rush? Shops on every floor? AI buddies? Solo runs? Shiren's got it all, always keeping you on your toes with fresh objectives and, critically, always a reward for playing along.
Honestly, I'm with Polygon on this one: I'm begging you, please play *Shiren the Wanderer*. Not only could we all use more people to rescue our poor, doomed Shiren from a tight spot online, but the series genuinely deserves more love. The last Shiren game before this one was nearly 15 years ago in Japan, and we'd all love to see the next one before we hit middle age. It's currently $39.99 on Switch and PC – perfect for on-the-go wizardry, especially on a Steam Deck. If you like Mystery Dungeon games, or just a good, hard, but ultimately fair and incredibly clever roguelike, you owe it to yourself to dive into this deep, digital rabbit hole. Credit to Polygon for bringing this absolute gem to light!
**Source:** Polygon – "The best Switch 2 roguelike is the hidden gem Shiren the Wanderer" (URL)
Tags: Roguelike, JRPG, Indie Gaming, Nintendo Switch, Mystery Dungeon
Original article: Polygon