Back in 2018, Dutch indie studio HomeBear — a two-person team made up of partners Joshua van Kuilenburg and You Miichi — released NAIRI: Tower Of Shirin, a point-and-click adventure game. Now, the duo is gearing up for the release of the sequel, Nairi: Rising Tide. We recently caught up with Joshua van Kuilenburg to find out more about the game.
In Tower of Shirin, Nairi finds herself estranged from her family and her home in the wealthy Rich District of Shirin. The events of the first game focus on Nairi’s growth as she explores the Poor District of Shirin and faces unexpected challenges.
Work on Rising Tide began after the Tower of Shirin was wrapped up, but encountered delays due to various difficulties. The team took feedback from Tower of Shirin to heart and made improvements for the sequel, including faster loading times, new maps, improved hint systems, and better character animations.
Rising Tide maintains the same art style as the first game but with upgraded visuals. The sequel takes place in a different district of Shirin, offering players more varied environments to explore. Despite the challenges faced during development, the team is confident in the quality of the game.
Rising Tide offers more content compared to Tower of Shirin, with additional dialogue, complex puzzle dungeons, and detailed hand-drawn backgrounds. The team made little to no concessions in developing the sequel, resulting in a more polished and confident game.
For players who missed Tower of Shirin, the team included an illustrated summary in Rising Tide to catch them up on the story. While new players can still enjoy the sequel, returning players will appreciate the callbacks and character arcs from the first game.
In a crowded market of cute and cosy games on the Switch eShop, the team is focused on making Rising Tide stand out with its unique blend of gameplay styles. They hope the game’s art style and gameplay will attract players looking for a fresh experience.
Looking ahead, the team is committed to giving NAIRI a satisfying ending with a total of four chapters planned for the series. They are already working on the third chapter to continue Nairi’s story. Joshua also shared that he enjoys playing survival-horror games with his wife and is currently playing Resident Evil 4 remake.
Nairi: Rising Tide is set to launch on Switch on 14th November with a pre-order discount available. Fans of the series can look forward to a more polished and content-rich sequel to continue Nairi’s adventure.
