One of the best roguelike hidden gems of 2024 is even better on Steam.

Although roguelikes have gained popularity over the past decade, Mystery Dungeon has never received the flowers it deserves. Of course, Pokemon helped bring the idea to Chunsoft for hardcore dungeon crawling. ร But it remains an uphill battle for visibility and recognition, and yet, niche support has kept the series alive and (for the most part) localized. Featuring Chunsoft original character Shiren the Wanderer across six main games, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island (Shiren 6) launched earlier this year exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, now available on PC. And that’s a great opportunity to ask RPG fans not to miss out on one of my favorite gems of 2024.

What does Shiren, or Mystery Dungeon as a whole, bring to the roguelike table? These games offer very specific interpretations of console roguelikes. It returns once again on the Super Famicom and sticks to those roots while iterating and innovating. The basics are turn-based movement and action. Unpredictable items and mysteries around every corner The charm of the toy-like visuals and friendly tone that massages the pain of failure wraps the package in a beautiful bow that makes these games oddly satisfying despite their unforgiving difficulty.

Shiren the Wanderer is a mix of difficulty and charm. The fictional Shiren is a quiet, ordinary adventurer, but Koppa, the talking ferret, is always at his side. These two friends love getting into trouble wherever they go. and have to meet strange characters All formats and high stakes situations Even though Shiren and friends There will be stupidity in him. But mysterious dungeons are no joke. Falling in battle or tripping over the wrong trap returns Shiren to the starting point. Not only did he lose his things and money. But you also lose all your equipment and experience. Unlike Pokemon or Chocobo Mystery Dungeon, Shiren sends you back to square one in almost every way.

Serpentcoil Island is especially hard-nosed in this regard. It got rid of a lot of the gameplay gimmicks and meta progression that cluttered the last two Shiren entries. It is possible to find a way to avoid a complete reset when lost. But those methods are hard to come by and far from bulletproof. This is a return to basic mystery dungeons that have more in common with the Super Famicom original than recent entries like Tower of Fortune and the well-received Dice of Fate (Shiren 5). But it’s not rigid about facing impossible challenges and overcoming obstacles.

The great thing about Serpentcoil Island is that it expects you to fail. And we want you to know that it’s no big deal. In fact, you won’t just be rewarded for completing the island’s 30-storey challenge in the end. You will be rewarded for achieving goals and discoveries. Failure often results in new systems being unlocked. Meet new characters Or find an alternative route or a different challenge. Some new characters can join you on your journey, and these friends keep their level up throughout the run. It gives you a little boost in the seemingly endless battle without trivializing your own efforts.

Another great piece of Shiren 6’s pie is the never-ending experience as you roll the credits. There are more dungeons. More and more characters And there’s even more story to discover in the epic postgame DLC pack, which came out months after the Switch version launched but was available when it launched on the PC version, adding even more. By not only introducing new dungeons But there are also other playable characters. You can also play as Koppa, which is the norm. There are many games to choose from and reasonable prices.

up to one point It seems that Shiren is in trouble. Especially since the last game had such a hard time finding a thriving home, the PlayStation Vita isn’t going to help Shiren find a new audience in the least. But it’s finally coming to Switch and PC via Steam, which helped make Serpentcoil Island possible. Launching exclusively on Switch isn’t as problematic as a PlayStation exclusive in 2024, but performance is still an issue. Switching from the previous game’s 2D format to 3D comes with the risk that the Switch version will suffer from performance and resolution issues. And unfortunately that’s what happened. It wasn’t a scary experience. But it’s vague and a little jittery.

Currently on Steam, Serpentcoil Island is firing on all cylinders. It looks great in crisp 1080p, making out all the little details that were previously difficult to understand, like the wear and tear and stickers on Shiren’s helmet. The framerate is smooth, too. It makes the moment-to-moment movement feel a lot better, even though Shiren is turn-based. But having everything tight and responsive makes things like aiming diagonal movement easier. and running around The center area felt much better. And because this isn’t a demanding game by any means. You won’t lose the portable charm of these types of games if you have a Steam Deck or other portable PC. In your collection, I love playing on the ROG Ally because the front-facing speakers make Serpentcoil Island’s awesome soundtrack shine with clarity.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island isn’t just another game in the series. There’s nothing quite like Mystery Dungeon, but this is one of the best. There’s a return to basics that makes Mystery Dungeon’s charm and challenge sing, and helps some of its additional systems stand out and be amazing. The toy-like image shines bright and clear on a powerful, high-resolution platform. The Switch version is still a totally solid option, though. If you love roguelikes but missed Shiren’s latest adventure earlier this year, don’t dismiss 2024 without hesitation.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is available now on Nintendo Switch and PC. The publisher provided a code for the PC version for the purposes of this article.