On a platform that birthed the adventure genre — and especially the point-and-click variant — Nairi: Tower of Shirin stood out. Part of the reason was because it arrived just as developers were returning to this style of adventure game after spending a good deal of time focusing on walking simulators and the Telltale style of adventure titles. Another reason was because it was an adventure game with adorable aesthetics and less reliance on text outside of dialogue. People liked the game, but most people didn't know that it was only the first entry in a series, so the cliffhanger ending was a source of shock and some disappointment. We now have the second game with Nairi: Rising Tide, and the game follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in terms of quality while also adding some improvements.

The story starts off with Shiro, who has just recovered from the great fall from the tower he suffered near the end of the first game. His wounds haven't fully healed, but he's healthy enough to attempt an escape from the Poor District along with his friend Mahir. He accomplishes this after narrowly escaping the gaze of the gang leader of the area. The focus shifts to Nairi, who has been working at a bakery with her friend Rex. The day has finally come where they've earned enough money to buy some fake passes to the Upper District so they can uncover the mystery behind Nairi's newfound powers.

The game wastes no time trying to progress the story, and while that's normally a good thing, it is a bit of a detriment. After all, it's been six years since the first game came out and roughly three years since this sequel was announced. That's plenty of time for people to have forgotten what's happened and who the characters are. The game provides a quick recap for players to catch up, but you get the sense that you need to have either played the first game recently or tackle it again before starting this title.

Just like the first game, Rising Tide is a point-and-click adventure title, but it borrows quite a bit from the visual novel subgenre. This is notable in the many conversations that have large illustrations for whomever is speaking with various poses and distinct facial expressions as each block of text appears. You also get a few instances where you'll get to choose a response, such as who is going to take over the conversation or whether you want to leave an area to advance in the story. There's a large chunk of the game spent on this, so be warned if you aren't a fan of this sort of thing.

When it comes to the point-and-click portion of the game, it's a mix of modern and classic mechanics. You're mostly moving your cursor around the playfield, waiting to see it change before you know you've stumbled upon something you can interact with. The game still doesn't feature a way to highlight all of the interactable objects on the screen, but the game does highlight the object you can mess with once your mouse cursor is over it. You have an inventory to stash items in and no limit to how many things you can carry. You also have a journal that records every important scene for you in case you need a refresher or a clue about what to do next. There's also a fast-travel system in case you don't feel like going through multiple screens multiple times to go from one destination to the next.

Just like in the first game, the puzzle difficulty is rather tame compared to many other adventure titles. Many of the puzzles have obvious solutions, with only a few sections where the solution feels slightly far-fetched. Players will appreciate how often the tool belt comes into play to provide more options to deal with puzzles beyond just using one item on another object. The only drawback is that it might take some time to understand how to use the toolbelt due to a lack of instructions when you receive the item. Unless you watch the game trailer in the Steam store beforehand, you may be able to figure out where to place the items you're putting together, but you won't know to place the tool in a specific section or know to hit a button to initiate the construction process.

There are a few elements that are unique to Rising Tide. The first is coins hidden throughout the environment. These are more than just collectibles, as you can use them to pay for hints for most of the game's puzzles. What makes the hint system interesting is that you won't get the solution spelled out. Instead, you'll get a wordless illustration drawn in your journal. Most of the hints are stuff you've already figured out, but they're still nice to obtain if you're a fan of the game's art style.

Another distinct feature is puzzle dungeons. Compared to most other parts of the game, what you're facing is a series of rooms spread out both horizontally and vertically that contain a myriad of interconnected puzzles. For example, you may need to construct a lever and then place it in a dial to open a locked door. That door leads to a puzzle piece you need to place in a previously visited room in order to get something to unlock a device to reach a new floor above or below you. The dungeons contain some real brain teasers and are the few instances when puzzle solutions seem rather obtuse. Each puzzle has you using all of the skills you've learned and are perfect foils for those who love this aspect of adventure games.

The dungeons are a big part of Rising Tide, even if there are only three dungeons. However, despite their importance, they aren't mandatory to solve. At any given point, you can call upon the Hint Chick to get you out of the dungeon and back into the adventure. It costs nothing, you don't miss anything of importance to the story, and you don't miss out on any Achievements. It is an interesting choice, since much fuss has been made over these dungeons, but it also ensures that those who don't love semi-obtuse puzzles can proceed through the rest of the game without resorting to online walkthroughs.

Unlike many point-and-click adventure games, there are a few things you can do after the credits start to roll. Every map shows how many hidden items are left in each scene, so you can return and collect all of the there. There are also hidden illustrations to find, and you can always get the wooden figurines in the shop to get descriptions of the major characters in the game. They don't change the trajectory of the narrative, but they are cute tasks for those who want to spend more time in the game world.

As with the first title, the presentation is excellent in Riding Tide since it hasn't changed at all. While the actual animation is limited to a few frames, the art style of the environments and characters is adorable and reminiscent of illustrations in children's books. The slightly larger-than-normal heads for the human characters and the plumpness of the animal characters make them as attractive as plushies, and their facial expressions are emotive. The music also adds to the charm, with whimsical tunes played in towns and mysterious melodies playing when things get serious. There are no voices present; this may be disappointing to some but a benefit for others, since they won't be disappointed by voices that don't fit the characters.

We mentioned in our review for the first game that the Switch was the perfect platform for the title, and the same holds true for this sequel and the Steam Deck. The game hits a resolution of 1280x720, so you're getting a 16:9 experience instead of the full screen ratio of the device with a 1280x800 resolution. The game is locked to 60fps at all times; hitting that hallmark isn't necessary in an adventure title. Control-wise, the device's touchscreen works well, but using the touchpads is more comfortable when you consider the device's weight. Only the right trackpad works by default, so you'll need to go into the device's control options to make the left trackpad work too. As for battery life, a full charge on the LCD version of the Steam Deck will yield roughly five-and-a-half hours of playtime, which is awesome to see when the average is usually lower.

Like the first game, Nairi: Rising Tide proves to be a point-and-click adventure game full of charm. The art style and humor do a good job of contrasting with the more serious parts of the story. The puzzles can be real brain teasers, and while the hint system is cute, the ability to skip the puzzle dungeons ensures that frustrating moments remain few and far between. It's a good adventure game overall, but here's hoping that the next entry in what's supposed to be a four-part game doesn't take another six years to develop.

Score: 8.0/10