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.