Shuten Order Review

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This year has been huge for Kazutaka Kodaka and his studio, Too Kyo Games. I still consider *The Hundred Line* my favorite game of the year, and I’m still working my way through all of its different endings. So, I was really surprised and excited to learn that Too Kyo Games teamed up with DMM Games to create another unique adventure, *Shuten Order*. Knowing Kodaka contributed to the writing, I was eager to see what they’d come up with while also working on the massive *Hundred Line*. While *Shuten Order* doesn’t quite reach the same heights, I always enjoy games that aren’t afraid to play with established genres.

Rei Shimobe wakes up in a hotel room with no memory of who she is, finding herself in a city controlled by a dangerous cult called the Shuten Order. She’s shocked to learn from two Angels that she was actually the cult’s founder, and was recently murdered. Her body is now divided among the cult’s five leaders, and the Angels have given her a mission: God’s Trial. She must discover which of the five ministers killed her, and why, in order to reclaim her soul and be brought back to life.

Shuten Order features a unique investigation where each route focuses on a different minister and plays like a mini-game. Over three in-game days, you’ll experience various gameplay styles: a mystery adventure with the Minister of Justice, an escape game with the Minister of Health, a visual novel with multiple characters for the Minister of Science, a dating sim with the Minister of Education, and a 3D horror game with the Minister of Security.

Each of the included mini-games takes roughly 5 to 10 hours to complete, and I spent around 40 hours playing through them all. The game delivers on its promise of offering five distinct adventures in one package. While it’s fundamentally a visual novel adventure game, each storyline has unique gameplay elements. It’s similar to those multi-game consoles-I had a SpongeBob one as a kid-offering a variety of experiences. This game has a lot more polish, but it feels more like a collection of different adventure game styles rather than one cohesive game.

Mystery Adventure is one of the best point-and-click style games available, especially if you enjoy that type of gameplay. You play as Kishiru Inugami, investigating a contested will on a remote island. When people start turning up dead, you must collect clues and solve the mystery. The game features a unique ‘Snapping’ mechanic to highlight inconsistencies, though I sometimes found it difficult to understand *what* qualified as a snap-worthy moment – it didn’t always feel logical. While the central mystery takes some unexpected turns, it ultimately becomes quite engaging, especially as you get closer to the ending.

Okay, so after finishing one route, I jumped into the Stealth Action Horror one – it was supposed to be the most different experience in the game. Basically, a serial killer called Nephilim is targeting members of the Shuten Order, and I ended up teaming up with Manji to figure out what’s going on. It plays out over three days, and it’s a top-down 3D horror game, kind of like the old Clock Tower games. The catch? You can’t fight back! Nephilim is always hunting you, and one hit is all it takes. Each level is about solving puzzles while desperately trying to stay out of his sight. Honestly, I found the puzzles pretty straightforward, but it was still a blast even though it wasn’t super challenging. This route doesn’t really focus on building relationships with a big cast of characters; it’s mostly just me and Manji. Luckily, she’s my favorite, so I didn’t mind spending all that time with her!

I got into this type of game through *Zero Escape*, so I decided to try the Ministry of Health route. I was happy to see it turn into a first-person dungeon crawler, but it quickly became repetitive. You’re trapped in a facility with twenty others, forced to play a deadly game that mostly involves walking down identical hallways and solving the same few puzzles. What really stands out is the story and the characters – the gameplay feels secondary. This route has some of the most emotionally impactful moments of the entire game, and the side characters are especially well-developed. I wish there had been more emphasis on clever escape room challenges instead of just walking through corridors, but the story reveals made it worthwhile.

I then chose the Ministry of Education path, as a romantic storyline didn’t feel right given the serious situation. The story involves Rei being poisoned by Minister Honoka Kokushikan and having to identify her amongst three Kokushikan sisters while disguised as a student. You explore a school map, and each day you participate in romantic events to get closer to one of the sisters. However, after the first day, you also have to manage the jealousy of the other sisters – a mechanic inspired by the *Tokimeki Memorial* series, where neglecting them causes problems. Your main objective is simply to survive the poison, which ironically highlights how superficial some dating sims can be for players focused on completing everything. While I enjoyed the characters and the ending, this route suffered from being a small-scale game, lacking a real challenge in time management. It’s one of the weaker gameplay experiences in Shuten Order.

Okay, so I just finished the Ministry of Science route, and honestly, it felt like the ultimate Shuten experience – hitting all the highs and lows. You play as Rei, stuck in this underground facility, and you’re working with Minister Teko Ion to protect a huge secret. What’s really cool is you switch between a bunch of different characters, and the story is a massive flowchart of branching paths that all connect. It was way longer than any of the other routes – easily twice as long – but it really dove deep into how the city actually *works*. I learned so much about the history that I missed in the other stories. That said, it was kinda bloated. There was a ton of exposition and a lot of stuff was over-explained. Shuten has this habit of flashing back to scenes that literally just happened, and it happens *so* much here – it takes up a huge chunk of the script just reminding you of things you already know. I don’t mind a little reminder now and then, but this was over the top. Even with those issues, I’m glad I picked this route last because everything finally started clicking into place and making sense. All the different story threads finally came together.

While each path can feel a bit lengthy, they all contribute to a bigger, compelling story. The payoff at the end of each one is a significant reveal that reframes the entire world, almost making the slower parts worthwhile. The gameplay isn’t always the most enjoyable, but it’s at least diverse and keeps things interesting. It would have been great to see more experimentation with the gameplay itself, as it doesn’t quite live up to the creativity of the story. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – it could be a good entry point for players new to the genre. Ultimately, these paths work, but their strong endings are what truly make them shine.

The biggest problem with this game is the poor quality of its English text. While I can’t comment on the translation itself, it’s clear the writing wasn’t handled well. The language feels unnatural and stiff, but the issues become more noticeable as you play. There are tons of typos and punctuation errors, and text frequently overflows its designated boxes, sometimes even appearing off-screen. I also noticed words running together and repetitive lines of dialogue.

The game occasionally has a strange issue with pronouns, where characters refer to each other using inconsistent language. Sometimes this is intentional, as part of the mystery surrounding Rei’s gender and the Founder’s identity – characters are *supposed* to be unsure. But other times, it’s clearly a mistake made during translation or localization. Within a single scene, the pronouns used to refer to a character can change randomly, and it doesn’t feel deliberate. These errors aren’t limited to gendered pronouns either. For example, in one route, a character incorrectly says “My body was discovered” when referring to the Founder’s remains. Similarly, Rei says something out of character – claiming she’s fine after seeing “the corpse of my ex-boyfriend” when talking about another character. This line simply doesn’t fit her personality and is likely an error.

I managed to get through Shuten Order and follow the story, but honestly, the awkward English writing really pulled me out of the experience. There were a lot of times I was just confused by what characters were trying to say, or their dialogue felt totally out of place – like they were reading lines from a different script. The weird text formatting made me wonder if anyone even playtested it properly. It seriously felt like the game needed another round of editing before release. I’m hoping they’ll fix it in a patch someday, but I’m not holding my breath.

I wasn’t expecting much from the finale of Shuten Order, given its limited number of interesting paths and weak translation. However, I was completely blown away by how well everything came together. The story expertly weaves together all its different elements, supported by a rich and compelling backstory. While the pacing occasionally drags, the ending left me emotionally drained in a good way – I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed it, and it’s made me look back on the entire game with a much more positive perspective. The themes are deep and moving, the story is truly heartbreaking, and I was left with a lot to think about after finishing it. Importantly, it avoids the typical, predictable endings found in many games today. It’s so good, in fact, that it even made me appreciate the first 30 hours of the game, which I hadn’t been very impressed with before.

The game is visually stunning, with beautiful character art featuring bold outlines and vibrant colors. The story is told through a dynamic comic-book style, with unique artwork for each scene. The developers created a wealth of detailed backgrounds, making the game consistently pleasing to look at. However, the character sprites don’t scale well when played undocked on the Switch 2. Complementing the striking visuals is a fantastic soundtrack by Masafumi Takada, reminiscent of his recent work but with a distinct and memorable sound.

Shuten Order is a flawed but ultimately worthwhile game. While the developers at Too Kyo Games had grand ideas, the execution often fell short of its potential, with each storyline feeling somewhat hindered. Despite these issues, the game leaves a strong impression and is worth playing, though your enjoyment will depend on your experience with visual novels – some may find the plot predictable. It isn’t a perfectly polished experience, but it makes up for its lack of consistency with a lot of heart. If you’re willing to overlook its flaws, Shuten Order offers a unique experience that some players will truly appreciate.

7

Versions tested: Nintendo Switch. Shuten Order is also available for PC.

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2025-09-16 06:58