Shine

Hello and welcome to... Shine!
No, this isn't a game based around the pianist of the 1996 movie with the same name, but an original visual novel by Neshiro.
Yes, it's a visual novel and not a real "game" because it's totally linear and with few optional interactions and explorations that are quite limited (also some characters appear to have no possible interaction like the rest of the environment), and are more useful to save the game before proceeding to the next part of the story.

Well... "game" ... there is not real game here, you've been warned!
I also warn you that the game is divided into TWO parts, but if you press the download here you will just get the first part of Shine.


Don't worry, this isn't Squid Game!

The first part sees a group of students noticing that outside the school everything seems to be frozen in time! At first they believe this is a joke or some sort of flashmob. Anyway no, it seems that something serious is happening, and a voice explain them they should compete in some trials like "Rock Paper Scissors" games in order to leave the class. Rhe first part of Shine focus on the protagonist Carter and his rival Tristan as they play the games, win, leave the class and find themselves involved in more games, also learning why they are there and what is Shine. I admit that in the beginning I expecting something violent and dark like As the Gods Will (神さまの言うとおり, Kami-sama no Iu Tōri) the 2014 supernatural horror film by Takashi Miike, but I was wrong. The story is more a sort of futuristic thriller, basically a series of "duels of wits" among various characters that tries to outsmart each other and also a story about trust and betrayals.

The first episode can be divided into two parts, and the last one ends with a sort of flash-forward that will rise a lot of questions. Anyway there is part 2.
This second episode is longer and also features new characters, like Robin and Sid, two other characters that belong to a separate group that is subejected to the same experiment like Carter and Tristan, and can be seen as their counterparts. The only difference is that they aren't trapped in a classroom because the group of ten people in this case was kidnapped, so they do not know each other. For the rest they live a similar situation, playing the same games with the same rules. The story of Robin is intercut with scenes of what is happening now to Carter and Tristan, that returns in an adventure that is a direct sequel of the first episode, but sees them in a totally different environment... will they get the answers they are looking for?


Yeah, I agree. Snakes are pretty cool!

Ok, I won't go into the details (even if right after the first half of the first episode a lot will be explained, for example what is Shine and why the protagonists are trapped) since this game is like a movie: you have to watch it, and I mean that, watch, not play! Anyway I must admit that the writing and pacing is pretty good, the story is captivating, and every time I saved (and left, to resume the adventure of Carter later), I was wondering what was going to happen next. Ok some things are a bit predictable:
, stll for a game and story with little to no action it was surprisingly interesting. I did not expect that.
Anyway it's true that I liked manga/anime like Death Note, that are all about mysteries and no action, but they see duels of wits between the protagonists (that, as mentioned before, try to outsmart each other to prevail), and treat themes like trust, betrayal, secrets and power.

Graphically the game isn't anything special: all I saw were Rtps, maps are simple but coherent and well made with all the necessary details to make them presentable and believable, anyway there is almost no interaction possible with the environment, except those that the developer allowed (and indicated with some blinking spots, anyway these are still not mandatory to progress the story). Said that, there isn't a great variety of locations, since the game is a sort of science fiction thriller scenario and not an epic fantasy game, and the focus is mainly on the characters' dialogues and relationships.

Sounds are Rtps too, while music probably is not. I heard many tracks I did not recognize, and I ended liking them since they are atmospheric and fits the genre and game pretty well. All good from this aspect, they really add to the suspense.


They just found the final part of the review! Let's read the...

Final Verdict
I guess there is not much to say about this game: it's a thriller/mystery visual novel and a journey into the psyche of human nature. It's totally linear and very cinematic (I mean there are cuts, fast-forwar scenes, flashbacks and so son), there is no gameplay and no original graphics, but also no real flaws or errors, except maybe for the untranslated save menu (that still shows japanese). The games and trials are simple and well explained, it's a pity there is no possibility to interact, anyway this is a really intriguing story that never bored me also thanks to many twists that will surprise the player.
Well done, really, it's a pity for the lack of interaction or gameplay that I al sure will discourage some players, making this a game that is not for everyone, still this is how you use Rpgmaker to tell a cool story!
In the end the rating in this case is probably more subjective than usual: I'm not fond of linear visual novels, especially when they use Rtps only (that I've seen one thousand times already), still it was captivating and kept me interested from the beginning to the end. So feel free to add 0.5 or even 1 point to the total if the lack of gameplay, classic graphics and linearity isn't a problem for you.