As a fan of murder mystery visual novels like Ace Attorney and Danganronpa, I naturally became interested in Shinrai when I heard about it on the Discord server for a DR fanfic, and decided to check it out. It's well worth my time and money(albeit with a relatively low investment of each), even if it has various storytelling and gameplay flaws.
The plot is about ten Japanese teenagers who hold a Halloween party, only for someone to end up dead. The survivors must determine whether the death was a murder and if so, who among them is responsible.
The story is fairly well told, with plenty of foreshadowing and some genuinely surprising twists. Some of the characters have fascinating backstories, even if they're revealed in the good ending and in bonus content, and I'd personally be interested in a sequel or DLC about the protagonist's backstory.
The murder mystery is generally done well, being reasonably complex, featuring a few viable suspects and having Multiple Endings, but it arguably breaks genre rules in a way that may not be acceptable for purists. Since the rule breaking involves the culprit's identity, I can't explain without spoiling it, but the first time I played, I ruled out the actual culprit and got a bad ending. Another problem that may trip up fans of AA or DR is that rather than answering questions about the case to disprove the accusations against the falsely accused, gradually unravel the mystery and identify and corner the culprit, you are almost immediately asked to identify the culprit during the game's climax.
Another frustrating aspect of the game is how, unlike in AA or DR, you can't save or review your evidence or previous dialogue whenever you get a dialogue choice. While Shinrai doesn't have a "health" system like other series to penalize you for your mistakes(although you're scored based on how many decisions you get right on your first try and certain mistakes will result in a bad ending), it makes selecting the right choices needlessly cumbersome
The characters are a mixed bag. Some of the more important characters, including the protagonist and the killer, are rather interesting, but a few of the minor characters are boring(Nobara) annoying(Mika) or unlikable(Kotoba). It doesn't help that a lot of the information about them is told in their character profiles or in Raiko's narration, rather than being shown to the player.
The graphics and music aren't anything special for a VN, but the characters have some good designs, especially their costumes.
The VN is rather short, and can be completed in a few hours. It isn't terribly expensive at around $15, but I'd recommend waiting until it goes on sale.
All in all, Shinrai isn't quite up to the best AA or DR have to offer, but it's still a solid murder VN that's worth looking into.
VisualNovel A fun, if flawed, indie visual novel
As a fan of murder mystery visual novels like Ace Attorney and Danganronpa, I naturally became interested in Shinrai when I heard about it on the Discord server for a DR fanfic, and decided to check it out. It's well worth my time and money(albeit with a relatively low investment of each), even if it has various storytelling and gameplay flaws.
The plot is about ten Japanese teenagers who hold a Halloween party, only for someone to end up dead. The survivors must determine whether the death was a murder and if so, who among them is responsible.
The story is fairly well told, with plenty of foreshadowing and some genuinely surprising twists. Some of the characters have fascinating backstories, even if they're revealed in the good ending and in bonus content, and I'd personally be interested in a sequel or DLC about the protagonist's backstory.
The murder mystery is generally done well, being reasonably complex, featuring a few viable suspects and having Multiple Endings, but it arguably breaks genre rules in a way that may not be acceptable for purists. Since the rule breaking involves the culprit's identity, I can't explain without spoiling it, but the first time I played, I ruled out the actual culprit and got a bad ending. Another problem that may trip up fans of AA or DR is that rather than answering questions about the case to disprove the accusations against the falsely accused, gradually unravel the mystery and identify and corner the culprit, you are almost immediately asked to identify the culprit during the game's climax.
Another frustrating aspect of the game is how, unlike in AA or DR, you can't save or review your evidence or previous dialogue whenever you get a dialogue choice. While Shinrai doesn't have a "health" system like other series to penalize you for your mistakes(although you're scored based on how many decisions you get right on your first try and certain mistakes will result in a bad ending), it makes selecting the right choices needlessly cumbersome
The characters are a mixed bag. Some of the more important characters, including the protagonist and the killer, are rather interesting, but a few of the minor characters are boring(Nobara) annoying(Mika) or unlikable(Kotoba). It doesn't help that a lot of the information about them is told in their character profiles or in Raiko's narration, rather than being shown to the player.
The graphics and music aren't anything special for a VN, but the characters have some good designs, especially their costumes.
The VN is rather short, and can be completed in a few hours. It isn't terribly expensive at around $15, but I'd recommend waiting until it goes on sale.
All in all, Shinrai isn't quite up to the best AA or DR have to offer, but it's still a solid murder VN that's worth looking into.