NAIRI: Tower of Shirin announced for Steam and Nintendo Switch

Indie developer HomeBearStudio have announced that their first game, NAIRI: Tower of Shirin will be launching on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a blend of interactive novel, adventure, and point-and-click games. Per the press release, the game follows Nairi, a troubled upper class girl, and Rex, a gangster-turned-scholar, as they uncover a dark mystery involving the mysterious Tower of the oasis city of Shirin.

The hand-drawn art reminds me of a lot of the storybooks I owned as a child, as well as TV shows like 64 Zoo Lane. It’s nostalgic, dark and adorable in equal measure.

HomeBearStudio founder Joshua van Kuilenburg explains in the press release: “We were going for a unique setting and art style, inspired not just by Japanese anime but also the likes of Disney and Pixar. The game comes across as endearing, rather than ‘childishly cute’.”

No release window was given, but the game is currently playable on the floor of GDC.