Single-player JRPGs are not a market in which Xbox seems to perform well in. With both Nintendo and Sony being based in Japan, it’s often easier for these smaller companies to stick to their native consoles. Shiness however is a little different. Indie developer Enigami Games don’t have this barrier as they are from the land of baguettes, mimes and braille, la France. My point is still relevant though as Shiness is still a JRPG at heart.
Let me start off by praising its gorgeous visuals. My best description of Shiness’ cel-shaded world would be that it’s like a more colourful Breath of the Wild. It captures all the beauty and complexity of Zelda yet manages to go one step further thanks to its implementation of high colour contrast. Edging out a game that currently has a 97 on Metacritic in any category is nothing to mock. A fine example of how to use the Unreal Engine properly. The visual fidelity is helped out by the flawless frame rate on display. In my entire playtime of Shiness I have yet to see a single notable frame drop. It feels like Enigami managed to balance their ambition with their budgets extremely well.
The JRPG inspiration becomes very obvious once you get into the game’s primary make-or-break unique selling point: its fighting. Shiness uses a precision and combo-based real-time combat system, in which you are tasked with balancing an array of abilities and movesets across several characters. It kind of reminds me of a faster, less punishing Dark Souls crossed with Persona’s level of character complexity. It certainly borrows from several games but this compilation creates a completely new set of mechanics. How much you get out of Shiness might entirely depend on your enjoyment of its combat. I think it offers enough to lure in those who already feel compelled by the game but not enough to bring in a huge crowd. I also have to say that after a few hours of playing it stops feeling so special. I found myself getting used to it and then no longer really caring. I reckon if I’d enjoyed it a little more then this could very well have been a Game of the Year contender but it’s that “if” that holds it back.
The story and characters are not badly done but I can’t honestly say I bought into the game’s lore at all. I tried to listen and care but in this age where incredible stories and legacies exist within franchises, Shiness just feels a little too simplistic narrative-wise. I can see others getting very involved in the plot though as it has enough going for it to still be enjoyable. The plot isn’t my biggest issue though, that honour goes to its cast. I found Shiness’ characters to just be plain boring at times. The dialogue, voice acting and presentation as a whole never interested me. I knew it was going to be a problem when, after about half an hour, it hit me how little I liked the main character, Chado. The introduction of the clumsy trope that is Poky shortly after didn’t help much either. They’re fine to use in combat but they do hold back the narrative’s ability to pique interests. It gets a little better the more you play with some of the later characters improving but it never reaches the level I’d like.
The freedom given to players to do what they want is a nice touch, with a considerable collection of side objectives being made available. There’s also not too many invisible barriers which makes the world as a whole feel more believable. I’ve mentioned how good it looks but now let me talk about how good it feels to play. Gendys Island, the main setting of Shiness, is not the biggest open world setting but it does use its space up flawlessly. Impressive verticality, a nice variety of biomes and complex yet easy to follow environments come together to make a truly delightful realm. There’s something very fun about running around and exploring all there is to see. I would have liked the world to be a little bigger but even with its current size there’s easily enough to do to keep anyone occupied.
This is less of a critique and more of a warning to potential buyers. Shiness can be fairly grindy at times as you need to level up your characters to stay competitive with enemies and bosses. Technically speaking, a high skill level can get around this but your average player is probably going to struggle if under-leveled. The game does offer general level guides for quests so it’s not unfair but I still think it’s important to understand this. If you spend time doing side quests and levelling up then you won’t notice this at all but for those who are only interested in the main quest, you might struggle in certain areas. I personally don’t mind grinding with some of my favourite series such as Borderlands and Hyperdimension Neptunia having similar levels of grinding, but I know some people really dislike this format of levelling.
Summary
We’ve seen a lot of horrendous Kickstarters recently which I’m sure has put people off the idea of funding games this way. I assure you though, games like Shiness should give us all hope that it’s worth it still. It might not at all be perfect but with a fantastic world and unique combat system, Shiness at least offers a well-built and brand new experience to enjoy. At $30 (£25) or your regional equivalent, Shiness is worth considering picking up even if it does lack is some areas.
Kurt contributed 8 articles to ICXM in 2017, covering game reviews, and Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @kurtjp35.