Nairi: Tower of Shirin

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Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a single player casual puzzle game with fantasy, drama, mystery, comedy and others themes. It was developed by HomeBearStudio and was released on November 29, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Nairi is a cute graphic adventure with adorable visuals, yet compelling characters within a darkly troubled world that is sure to delight anyone looking for a strong narrative and puzzle experience.

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85%Audience ScoreBased on 272 reviews

story117 positive mentions

grinding17 negative mentions

Charming and adorable art style with beautiful hand-drawn visuals and a cozy atmosphere.
Engaging and heartwarming story with lovable characters and well-written dialogue.
Puzzles are mostly intuitive and balanced, with a satisfying difficulty progression especially near the end.

Navigation is confusing and tedious due to unclear exits, lack of map, and excessive backtracking.
The game ends abruptly on a cliffhanger with no resolution, leaving the story incomplete and frustrating players.
Some puzzles near the end are obtuse or overly cryptic, requiring brute force or guides to solve.

story
326 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
61%
3%
Nairi: Tower of Shirin features a charming, warm, and engaging story set in a beautifully hand-drawn world with cute anthropomorphic characters, blending lighthearted moments with some darker themes. However, the narrative is clearly incomplete, ending abruptly on a cliffhanger that leaves many plotlines unresolved, as it serves as only the first part of a larger story continuing in a sequel. While the storytelling and character development are praised, some find the pacing uneven and the plot occasionally confusing due to filler quests and fragmented narrative focus.
- “The world feels warm and cozy despite some of the heavier moments in the story, and that balance worked really well for me.”
- “Charismatic characters all around (I just can't pick a favorite!), beautiful art and music, puzzles that make you think but don't leave you frustrated, and an engaging and very, very well-written story.”
- “The level of care that went into the story and its characters was extremely surprising to me, and players will get lost in caring for many of the side characters and helpers in the lead's life.”
- “The story starts off alright only to abandon any likeable characters; from then on out it’s a string of exposition dumps.”
- “It tries to juggle two completely different story goals but instead of blending them together into one story, it starts off with one; introduces another and ignores the first one, then drops the new one and goes back to the old; then brings the new one back at the end while setting aside the old again. This is what a television series does: alternate between an everyday plot while occasionally bringing in the overarching plot to gradually progress the true story. A significant amount of the time which the plot spends focusing on the first objective is mostly inane chores, with a lot of meaningless filler and the second plot objective completely forgotten until suddenly revived at the end before the abrupt cliffhanger.”
- “Has its good moments, but overall struggles to have a cohesive story and plot progression; then just gives up at hour six and tells you to come back in a year or two and maybe said awkward story will be finished.”
graphics
93 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
42%
3%
The game features a charming, hand-drawn "chibi" art style reminiscent of storybook illustrations, with adorable characters and a vibrant, cozy aesthetic that many compare to Ghibli's work. While the visuals are widely praised for their warmth, detail, and unique personality, some critique the slow animations and occasional static scenes. Overall, the graphics are a standout element that significantly enhance the game's appeal despite its short length and simple gameplay.
- “The game's biggest strengths are its "chibi" hand-drawn artstyle and adorable characters, as well as a pleasant and thematic soundtrack and a decently written story.”
- “Graphically, this point 'n click adventure game is graced with hand-drawn pictures with a penchant for details in the middle-eastern environment that dominates this franchise.”
- “You can definitely see the attention to detail, as it makes you feel as if you're playing through a finely illustrated picture book or graphic-novel.”
- “I ultimately struggled to finish the game, not because of difficulty (because it is almost insultingly easy for the first 90% or so of the game), but because the plot, dialogue, and above all else, the art style, made me want to run off to some cloistered, rocky monastery somewhere and leave civilization behind.”
- “Look, if really basic (and I mean really basic) anime style artwork that looks like it was thrown together by a grade-school kid trying to emulate anime doesn't turn you off, and silly, simplistic dialogue and a nonsensical plot that also seems like it was created by a pre-pubescent doesn't turn you off, more power to you.”
- “Aesthetics are important in a game, and I just absolutely loathe the beads of sweat flying off from a pinched face to indicate stress style of anime.”
music
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
22%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for being pleasant, thematic, soothing, and perfectly fitting the adorable, hand-drawn art style and overall mood. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as catchy, relaxing, and a wonderful complement to the game's charming characters and story. A few found it subtle enough not to become annoying, while some felt it wasn’t extraordinary but still enjoyable.
- “The writing was fantastic, the characters are lovable, the dialogue is funny, the art is beautiful, the puzzles are logical, and the music always sets the mood perfectly.”
- “Absolutely delightful, this is a world I deeply want to delve deeper into with its beautiful hand-drawn art, soothing music and remarkably intriguing story and puzzles.”
- “The art is just-so-lovely, the music fits perfectly, and the puzzles and gameplay are clever and never frustrating - there's a very good sense of 'a-ha!'”
- “The visuals are stunning, but the music gets annoying at times. Characters are childish (cute-ish, I guess) and the story is also very basic and childish.”
- “Sounds and music: 5/10. Okay, nothing to be in awe of but nothing to whine about.”
- “I bought both soundtrack and artbook not because they are amazing, but I felt like the developer deserved everything they are getting.”
gameplay
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
57%
8%
The gameplay is a standard point-and-click adventure with enjoyable puzzles and charming art, though many find it hindered by excessive backtracking and repetitive fetch quests that can become tedious. While initially fun and accessible, the gameplay lacks challenge for adults and feels artificially prolonged, with some design and feedback issues detracting from the experience. Overall, it offers lighthearted, clever puzzle-solving but is marred by pacing and narrative interruptions.
- “The puzzles were mostly fun too, with a nice variety of tasks so the gameplay didn’t feel repetitive.”
- “The gameplay is akin to what you'd expect from a point-and-click adventure game; explore various locations, discover problems and roadblocks, and search for items to overcome said problems and roadblocks.”
- “The puzzles presented in the game are innovative and very well mixed with new mechanics that are tied to the interesting and unpredictable story.”
- “The gameplay, while manageable and even sometimes fun at first, becomes unbearably tedious in the latter half as the map becomes somewhat bloated, with tons of clicking between screens and not much happening in a series of fetch quests for random NPCs that distracts from the actual plot; it's about 30% filler overall, and it really shows.”
- “Sadly, much of the gameplay is tedious back and forth on absurd fetch quests.”
- “In terms of gameplay, it was a fine point-and-click adventure, even with some nice puzzling dungeons, but it suffered from a lot of backtracking due to having so many small screens to go through.”
grinding
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game initially offers balanced and engaging puzzles, but its latter portion becomes notably tedious due to excessive backtracking, lengthy fetch quests, and obtuse puzzles that may require external help. While early gameplay remains intuitive and enjoyable, the slow navigation and filler content in the second half detract from the overall experience.
- “The gameplay, while manageable and even sometimes fun at first, becomes unbearably tedious in the latter half as the map becomes bloated, with tons of clicking between screens and not much happening in a series of fetch quests for random NPCs that distract from the actual plot; it's about 30% filler overall and it really shows.”
- “Sadly much of the gameplay is tedious back and forth on absurd fetch quests.”
- “The second half also gets pretty tedious with fetch questing that slows everything down for a while.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is widely appreciated, featuring funny dialogues, humorous characters, and occasional adult jokes that often elicit genuine laughter. While the tone balances charming, cute moments with some darker scenes, the humor effectively enhances the story and character interactions. However, some feel the humor is mixed with filler content that detracts from the overall experience.
- “Charming little adventure game with a diverse cast of fun, cute, and interesting characters that make for quite an interesting story. Some scenes are surprisingly sad, while others are outright hilarious.”
- “The writing was fantastic, the characters are lovable, the dialogue is funny, the art is beautiful, the puzzles are logical, and the music always sets the mood perfectly.”
- “There's a lot to like about this game: the art, the characters, the puzzles, and the overall story. There were certain moments that had me laughing so hard.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its heartwarming, wholesome, and easy-to-follow story filled with lovable characters that evoke strong emotional connections. While the narrative is still incomplete, players appreciate its gentle, charming tone and emotional moments, making it especially appealing for those seeking a comforting and heartfelt experience.
- “Every character is lovable and friendly in some way, giving a heartwarming feeling when you are talking to them.”
- “It's sudden and unexpected and made me want to cry.”
- “If you're looking for a heartwarming, chilled and innocent story, I'd heartily recommend playing this game.”
character development
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The character development is praised for its adorable, charming, and unique designs that quickly foster player attachment. The mix of humor, dark moments, and surprising twists adds depth and keeps the narrative engaging despite a limited time to fully explore each character. Overall, the characters are well-crafted and contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The character designs are adorable and full of personality, and I got attached to the cast way faster than I expected.”
- “Character design is super cute, there's lots of funny moments and some surprisingly dark moments too.”
- “The character designs are superb, each character is more likable than the previous one and that's important when you don't have a whole lot of time to get to know them.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its fantastic character interactions, engaging dialogue, and unique moments, with comedy adding to the overall enjoyable experience.
- “Fantastic atmosphere, characters, and dialogue!”
- “The comedy, good atmosphere, and some unique moments made it worth playing.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is enjoyable initially but offers limited replay value, making it less appealing for repeated playthroughs.
- “Replayability: not really”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrated excellent stability, running smoothly without any bugs or glitches. Users experienced a seamless and trouble-free gameplay performance.

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 12 critic reviews

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6h Median play time

6h Average play time

6-6h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a casual puzzle game with fantasy, drama, mystery, comedy and others themes.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin is available on Nintendo Switch, PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Nairi: Tower of Shirin.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin was released on November 29, 2018.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin was developed by HomeBearStudio.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked Nairi: Tower of Shirin for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin is a single player game.

Similar games include The Little Acre, Broken Age, Jenny LeClue: Detectivu, The Dream Machine, Unforeseen Incidents and others.

Nairi: Tower of Shirin

Platforms

story

graphics

music

gameplay

grinding

humor

emotional

character development

atmosphere

replayability

stability

One tower to rule them all --- Nairi: Tower of Shirin review