In 2018, I reviewed a point-and-click adventure game called Nairi: Tower of Shirin and found it to be a cute game with solid gameplay despite a few frustrations and an intriguing story–until it abruptly ended with most of its plot unresolved. Until the sudden cliffhanger, I hadn’t realized Nairi was only the first part of the story, and it left me frustrated with a game I’d otherwise enjoyed. The wait for answers might be almost over, however, because Nairi: Rising Tide is coming in 2021. A free demo called Nairi: Rising Tide – Prologue gives players a chance to try out the first twenty minutes of the game, so I took a look to see what the second Nairi game has in store.
The first thing I realized when I started the prologue was that I didn’t remember much of the story from Tower of Shirin. I rewatched the ending to refresh my memory on some of the details, but I suspect Rising Tide will expect players to have gone through the first game rather than starting there. Most of the appeal of this demo comes from remembering what happened leading up to this point. It begins with Shiro, a character from Tower of Shirin, setting out with Mahir in search of Hessa. (The significance of this setup is one of the things I needed to rewatch the previous game’s ending in order to grasp.) To reach the city’s Middle District, they need to cross through the elaborate waterworks, which is filled with locked doors and steep cliffs.
A few simple puzzles stand between you and the exit, and everything is intuitive and straightforward, with an easy-to-use inventory system. Unlike the previous game, there now are two sections to the inventory. Regular items went in one spot, while the grappling hook I was given went into the other. I assume that section is for tools used in multiple puzzles, which suggests the inventory-based puzzles might be more elaborate this time around. According to the description, the full game will include a customizable hint system, as well.
My biggest gameplay criticism of Tower of Shirin was that navigation could be confusing due to the way areas were connected. I didn’t experience that trouble here, so I hope that’s an improvement that carries over for the rest of the game. My other criticism was of the precise clicking required for certain puzzles, which also doesn’t appear to be a problem in Rising Tide. Right now, it looks as though the sequel has cleared up those little issues, which just leaves the matter of the story.
Nairi: Rising Tide is officially described as the “second chapter” of the series, so it’s not clear if the mysteries will be resolved here or if it will end on another cliffhanger. Nevertheless, although my memories of the original were fuzzy, a little time with the Nairi: Rising Tide – Prologue had me eager to continue this story once again. As a standalone demo, it doesn’t do much to introduce its world and plot, but as the continuation of Tower of Shirin, it promises a return to the charm and intrigue that captured my attention before.
