Developer: Enigami
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Tested on: PS4
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom – Review
We are surprised by the amount of extremely colorful games that have passed the revue lately, such as Snake Pass and Yooka & Laylee, which both drew a lot of their likeability from their graphical prowess. This time we get another big publisher who follows this subtle nod to the games of the nineties and we can’t help but feel rather joyful that companies are going back to basics, and don’t just aim for more and more grim games, which seems to be the current trend. Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom had us both overwhelmed and frustrated, and we’ll tell you why.
Story
Truth be told, when you first start playing this game, you’ll hardly know what’s going on. You’ll be thrown into a colorful world, where there’s many different races and species to be found, all on their respective ‘meteora’, which is pretty much the equivalent of a planet, albeit that they hang so close to one another, that travel by air is possible. You will be playing as a young Waki, Chado, who is pretty much a small cute bear-like creature, who has the ability to see Terra, which is basically one of the spirits of this ‘Earth’. Together with the help of said spirit you were on your way to the Lands of Life, which holds no meaning at the beginning of the game. Sadly, you and your friend crash-land on another meteora, and you find yourselves in the midst of a conflict between two factions of different meteora. Being the goody two-shoes that you are, you decide to stick around and defuse the situation.
Overall the story progresses quite slowly, but it is brought in a cute way, with the usage of comic book-like sequences and a lot of conversations. If you don’t mind a somewhat slow and bumpy race towards the finish, you’ll make do with what the game has to offer.
Graphics
Just like the titles we mentioned in the introduction, this title is equally as colorful which makes us long for even more games such as this, as this was once the standard for many titles. Nonetheless, while Shiness looks quite spiffy, adorable and pretty, it also looks a tad on the dated side. While you’ll be treated to a cast of likeable characters, who faceoff with a variety of equally adorable enemies, you’ll also notice that they are a bit rough around the edges and are more adherent to the standards of the PlayStation 3, rather than the current generation. You’ll find yourself looking at a character whose feet sink in the ground, who gets stuck in the walls from time to time, and you’ll also be treated to rather abhorrent lip-syncing.
Those somewhat negative sentiments aside, the game still looks good in all its colorfulness. You’ll still be able to enjoy the luscious sceneries, which sometimes may feel a bit empty, but still have enough clutter in them to feel alive. There’s also enough variation in the different environments to keep things interesting from start to finish.
Sound
The sound department of Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is rather superb, ranging from subtle background tracks, to more adventurous themes that get your blood pumping if needed. Overall the music is top notch, and even the voice acting is very likeable, even though the game is only voiced during key scenes. Nonetheless, the English voice cast does a great job, and in a way, the acting reminds us of series of the nineties, as they also have their fair share of rather adorable overacting, which suits the characters perfectly.
Gameplay
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is a retro-inspired action-adventure RPG, where you’ll roam around the world, battling monsters, saving people and of course fetching items while you explore. For the most part you’ll be running from one point on the map, to another, investigating things, all while you’ll have to go through a fair amount of enemies, which also roam freely through the world, even though they seem to spawn on fixed points.
Combat in Shiness is a bit different than most modern RPGs where hack and slash combat has become the new norm. Every time you start a battle you’ll find yourself in a small enclosed area, fighting off enemies one at a time, with only one team member. During this combat sequence you’ll be able to stick to your normal moves, but you’ll quickly notice that enemies don’t stand by idly for you to pound them. Before long you’ll have to start using your ‘Shi’ abilities (spells/skills) and guard and counter, if you want to have any chance of winning fights in this game. Sure, the first handful of fights you’ll be able to win with just mashing all the buttons, but you’ll quickly learn that this game has a rather high difficulty curve, which forces you to learn the basics of combat. The latter isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn’t make this game accessible for everyone, even though it looks like a game that is pleasing for young and old.
Like many games in the genre, you can also equip new gear and abilities, but the game doesn’t really give you that many instructions on how everything works, safe for where you can find said abilities. Abilities are slowly found in this game, while gear is also rather scarce. You can however collect resources and create pieces of equipment in shops, that might help you on your way. This is pretty much true for the entire game, as it doesn’t really hold your hand all the way through. For quests you’ll get a marker on the map where you’re supposed to go, but as far as help goes, that’s pretty much it. The game will also force you to move back and forth a lot, which might not please every fan of the genre.
Conclusion
Even though Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom may have a few flaws hither and thither, it’s still a very decent action RPG, which pays proper homage to the games of an almost forgotten era. You’ll find yourself enthralled by a colorful world, fun characters and a progressive combat system, which might at first annoy you, but slowly starts to grow on you and adds another layer of excitement to your experience. If you’re looking for something that’s new, yet classic, and you don’t mind a few defects along the way, than this game might grant you many hours of fun.
Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom - Review,
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