Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island doesn't re-invent the wheel, but adds a new entry in a solid, dependable series of rogue-like adventure games.

Lovely presentation and quirky emergent elements make this traditional roguelike a real charmer, but feeling at the mercy of fate makes the repetition wear thin a little too quickly.

Shiren's latest adventure proves that game sequels can benefit just as much from what they remove as well as what they add.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is the gold standard for mystery dungeon games. Every system, item, and mechanic come together in endlessly dynamic ways, reaching levels of emergent and exciting gameplay that I've never experienced in the world of roguelikes.

Shiren The Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is a pure roguelike experience. It also is a very addicting roguelike experience.

Series fans already understand Shiren, so this review is for the rest of you. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery of Serpentcoil Island is tremendous fun; you just need to give it multiple sessions to understand why.Read More

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.

Rise, and rise again. Take Shiren to new heights. Shiren the Wanderer and Koppa, his talking ferret partner, received a vision of a distant land and a girl in distress. It led them to the mysterious Serpentcoil Island. But they're not alone. Rumors speak of lost pirate gold hidden away within the depths of Serpentcoil Island, and a powerful monster at its highest mountain peak, said to hold an exquisite treasure in its belly. Switch version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is the best Mystery Dungeon game. It's absolutely heaping with mechanical depth and a breadth of content. The gameplay requires acute focus and a smart mind in order to progress. Items and enemies have a staggeringly high amount of interactivity that makes exploring even more engaging. Those who don't like roguelikes or strategic RPGs may not enjoy the randomness, as poor luck or focus can ruin a run in a flash. The game's story a...

Shiren The Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is an excellent addition to the franchise.

The term ‘roguelike’ came from the classic ASCII game Rogue, where the objective was to get through the adventure without dying, and every time that did happen, your progress was brought back to zero and you had to try again. The idea became so popular that an entire genre was built around it, and thus the term we normally use today became the norm. One of the biggest names in roguelikes has to be Shiren the Wanderer, an often referenced franchise that I’d bet a lot of money not a whole...

Shiren the Wanderer may have been one of the pioneers in the roguelike genre, but this latest entry sure hasn’t advanced it in any positive way.