SHINRAI - Broken Beyond Despair

kamen >

I am not going to lie. At first I didn't have high hopes for this game, but man... I was completely wrong. This game is a fantastic bite sized mystery. I see people complaining about the intro and while it dragged on a bit, I feel it was a solid length and was needed to set up all the main characters. Also this is one of the few games where you can properly accuse the wrong person and ride your wrong train of thought all the way to the end, and I admit I was wrong multiple times in this thing. This game did a great job of making several characters likely suspects in a way that felt natural. Though you can still logic your way through the case, especially if you pay attention and keep notes. The murder case makes complete logical sense when you put it together, but its all on you to figure it out without the game holding your hand. Also Raiko is a very enjoyable protag. Grumpy daughter

A fun spooky murder mystery

epic

Short and sweet. Looking for a dark mystery that isn't going to consume countless hours like Umineko, and without the massive scale of the Zero Escape series? Something more intimate and grounded? Shinrai (meaning "trust" in Japanese) is for you. The VN is quite short, with an intro which serves to introduce all of the characters but doesn't outstay its welcome, and then begins the wild ride that is its main plot. You are treated with the feeling that is the hallmark of a fantastic mystery story - overwhelmed, but with enough breadcrumbs to construct some idea of what is going on, only to have your assumptions challenged again and again. Eventually, you will have to construct the full truth, and while the game does poke you in the right direction, you're required to make a lot of the deductions for yourself. The mystery itself is logical and doesn't require any absurd or unreasonable leaps of faith - it is very well crafted with lots of little details that will reward the perceptive reader. There are no Deus Ex Machinae and for those seeking an intricate and challenging but very satisfying mystery, I will happily recommend this game. It's not without its issues - a couple of the characters feel like somewhat absurd caricatures - and I find it annoying how you cannot review your evidence once you're forced to make a decision (so if one is suddenly sprung at you, hope your memory is good!) - but overall, I'd say it's a very satisfying VN. Also, there are lots of references to other games which adds to the fun factor - if you're able to read Japanese, you'll find some things very amusing too.

Reminds me of detective conan - you can solve the first few mysteries easily until you get more clues and realised you have no idea who is the real culprit until the game leads you so that you would understand how each clue piece together. Like the rest of the reviews the beginning does take quite a while to build up but it's reasonable in the sense that it's building the premise and introducing the characters. it would be safe to skim through the story till you reach the hotel(resort?) but the mystery after that would build up faster so it's quite worth the wait. Relatively easy and fast to get all the achievements since the game skipping speed is super fast. some characters are a bit plain and surface though in the sense that they would mostly do that action so it's quite predicable how they would act(annoying too) and don't really serve much purpose but entertainment i guess. despite so it is an enjoyable experience indeed for it's price as well it's quite worth when you get it on sale

If you're searching for a good mystery game to test your deductive skills, SHINRAI is definitely the game for you! The game's quite short but also elaborated enough to let you immerse first of all in the setting of the game and then, most importantly, to let you really understand its cast: a group of teens that only want to enjoy a cool and fun Halloween party. SHINRAI not only has a very good mystery to uncover, but also lays its foundations on the cast's relationships with one another and the multitude of facets that a middle schooler could develop during those years of their life; how they often "don't know any better", and how some behaviors can affect the people around them in more ways than they hope or imagine. I'm writing this because I also think that the game's story and murder couldn't work as well as they do if the cast was composed by adults. Aside from this, the writing can appear as somewhat "cringe" in some parts, something that I found a bit too much only in regards to the adults of the cast (which are very few and peripheral). The game's art is good and the music did its work in setting up the mood of every scene, I also quite appreciated that there are a lot of different CGs here and there throughout the story! Having played GENBA no Kizuna too, I retroactively enjoyed its SHINRAI cameos even more, while others left me shocked [spoiler] (I finally saw Kikai's son! But I also understood the aftermath of Hiro's misunderstanding of Runa and the lenght of his egomaniac kid shenanigans...). [/spoiler] I think SHINRAI's ending left me a more bittersweet taste compared to GENBA, which I think is a win considering the topics presented during the game. In conclusion, I highly recommend SHINRAI for its well-crafted and interesting mystery... but also for its cast. Don't let the cringe bits fool you, that bunch of middle schoolers can really learn more than one lesson while facing something far more serious than what their daily live up to that point had presented them with.

Danganronpa at home. But sometimes home cooking is pretty ok.

Henjin <3<3

This game isn't perfect. There's a lot of flaws, and a lot. But despite all of them, it's still an enjoyable little murder mystery. The cast isn't great and the majority are insufferable, or are attached by the hip to the protagonist; not letting them breathe on their own merits, and suffocating them over 90% of the runtime. The leash she puts on the protagonist sometimes feels more like a plot device than a friendship. As negative as that sounds, if you can get over the hurdle and enjoy the atmosphere and mystery then it's a good game. Recommended if there's a sale.