If there’s any video game genre that’s had as massive of an impact as the “soulslike” genre, it’s the roguelike genre. The gameplay loop of battling through procedurally generated dungeons, dying, and then starting over has such an engaging system that’s withstood the test of time. In 2024, there’s been plenty of fantastic roguelike games such as Hades 2, Balatro, and The Rogue Prince of Persia. But there’s one that stands out among the rest due to its relentless difficulty: Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island.
As far as technical terms go, popular games like Hades 2 are considered “roguelites” because players can retain some sort of progression after dying so that they start off a little bit stronger next time. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island doesn’t offer that same generosity. It’s a pure roguelike. If you die, you lose everything and start off at the bottom of Mount Jatou.
In a year full of tough games, Shiren may just be the hardest of 2024 — an impressive accolade considering it launched in the same year as Elden Ring’s notoriously challenging Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. That made for one of 2024’s most niche triumphs and one that pushed me to do something I hadn’t done since I was a pre-teen with a Gameshark: cheat.
Unforgiving
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island was actually the first game in the series that I played. As the sixth game in the Shiren the Wanderer series, I heard from fans that this year’s praised entry was worth trying out for roguelikes and dungeon crawlers. As a fan of both genres, the game was on my radar, but I quickly learned that my expectations were out of line.
Having played games like Slay the Spire and Dead Cells, I thought that Shiren would offer a similar experience. After the first few floors in a dungeon, that certainly seemed like the case. I didn’t find them very difficult as I made my way up Mount Jatou and made it to my first two rest stops, the Mountain Village after floor 4 and Small Harbor after floor 9.
After going through floors 10-15, the Underwater Passage, I wiped for the first time. When Shiren woke up at the bottom of Mount Jatou, I expected some sort of progression piece to unlock — a power-up, a skill, anything! But no, I had nothing, and I had to trek my way up the mountain again, gathering any weapons along the way. I managed to get as far as floor 20 by understanding the game’s mechanics better. For example, running away to recover HP or going straight for the stairs were better options than trying to take on enemies. Still, I kept dying and struggled to even get past floor 20.
Then in one of my runs, I got incredibly lucky early on and obtained a powerful shield with a +20 defense modifier that carried me for the entire time, as I was able to beef it up with upgrades as I went on. I didn’t want to risk losing my run, so I abused the Switch Online cloud save system to scum every time I died. I would just return to the point where I last saved like it was an RPG.
Sure, like that one Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice copypasta meme, I may have cheated myself and the game, but after dying countless times, I didn’t really care anymore. Along with finding an invincibility herb and saving it for the final boss, I finally managed to clear my first run on floor 31.
Going forward
After beating it once, that’s when the game unfolds even more. New dungeons appear, letting Shiren explore some new story content and experience some unique modifiers that mix up the usual gameplay. There are also some more shortcuts and hidden passages that open that let you go off the beaten path. The amount of postgame material is staggering and drastically increases the game’s lifespan.
In a sense, my first completed run was only just the tutorial. If Shiren the Wanderer were a roguelite instead of a roguelike, then these mechanics could’ve been dolled out as smaller upgrades throughout the game. If I’m being completely honest, after spending 30 hours on just a single run, I didn’t have the energy and patience to do any more.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is one of the hardest games in recent memory, and, because of that, I reckon it could become the most overlooked game of 2024. Many Western gamers focus on and value progression systems these days, which is something that Shiren the Wanderer doesn’t provide much of. Other Japanese games, like the Dark Souls series, are known for their intense difficulty, similar to Shiren the Wanderer.
However, Soulslike games still have progression in the form of skill points when leveling up, allowing players to permanently become stronger in the face of increasingly powerful threats. Even if you die in Dark Souls, your accumulated souls can still be gained back, whereas Shiren the Wanderer leaves you completely empty. That’s why some players love “roguelites” more, as the progression rewards they provide us, no matter how small, after death makes it feel like our end goal is still ever more attainable.
But what makes Shiren the Wanderer special is the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment without the need for the game to hold your hand. After completing my first run, I felt like I could conquer the world. Was the final boss in Shadow the Erdtree too easy for you? Make Shiren the Wanderer your next challenge.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is now available on Nintendo Switch and PC.