When Neito and Too Kyo Games’ Shuten Order was first announced, I didn’t know what to expect, as I had just finished up The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, another title from the mind of Kazutaka Kodaka. However, I was certain that Shuten Order would be a special game as soon as I heard Kodaka and other key staff were involved. Shuten Order is described as a multi-genre adventure game, and after playing it, I can safely say it lives up to that description while being one of the most intriguing games in the visual novel space.
Written by Kodaka, Takumi Nakazawa, and Takekuni Kitayama, Shuten Order is a story centered around a protagonist who undergoes some great trials bestowed by God in a small nation-state called “Shuten.” Right after the protagonist awakens in Shuten, Shuten Order treats the player to the familiar and recognizable tunes that composer Masafumi Takada is known for, along with artwork and characters by illustrator simadoriru. At its core, Shuten Order is a visual novel backed up by a strong story and the incredible CGs that are expected, but there’s so much more to the game after just a few short hours.
Spoiler warning: this review will contain spoilers for the Shuten Order’s prologue leading into the start of the separate routes.
Shuten Order Begins with a Harrowing Revelation
The story of Shuten Order really begins with a strange intro that shows someone’s body parts descending from the sky as a mysterious figure sits on a bench and smirks. Moments later, the protagonist wakes up with amnesia in a strange hotel room. While trying to get their bearings, the protagonist’s hotel room door gets knocked on by two angels, Himeru and Mikotoru, who are assigned to guide the protagonist on “God’s trial.” The self-proclaimed angels reveal that the protagonist was resurrected in a “temporary body” after she was wrongfully murdered.
The protagonist, who is given the temporary name “Rei Shimobe,” is given a second chance at life by God, hence the trial she’s been given. Rei is tasked with finding the murderer within just four days due to the short shelf life of her body, and the angels suggest that the murderer is likely one of Shuten’s five Ministers. It so happens that the five Ministers are convening to discuss the murder of the Shuten Order’s Founder, as they all suspect one another of being the culprit. When Rei and the angels infiltrate their meeting place, Rei learns that she was the Founder after all. Meanwhile, the world is approaching its end, with only 168 days remaining.
Shuten Order’s story starts off very strong and reveals so much in its first few hours. In fact, the story I covered here has already been discussed by publisher Spike Chunsoft various times in the weeks leading up to launch. Watching it unfold is something else entirely, as the nation of Shuten is incredibly interesting and bleak at the same time. Shuten is an oxymoron of sorts, as its citizens are living and enjoying everyday lives while praying and wishing for their own deaths. When paired with the game’s eye-popping artstyle and varying game systems, Shuten Order brings a setting unlike any other game I’ve experienced before.
The Many Faces of Shuten Order
After learning about the Shuten Order, Himeru and Mikotoru reveal an incredible power that Rei can use to help find the truth behind her death. I won’t discuss too much about this particular power, but it does lead Rei toward her main investigation and the game’s five routes. The angels urge Rei to use the power and investigate one of the five Ministers: Minister of Justice, Kishiru Inugami; Minister of Health, Yugen Ushitora; Minister of Science, Teko Ion; Minister of Education, Honoka Kokushikan; Minister of Security, Manji Fushicho.
I appreciate that Shuten Order is set up in a way where choosing any of the five routes first is completely valid, and each route is tied to a specific genre. Inugami’s route is a mystery adventure game, Fushicho’s route is a stealth action horror game, Ion’s route is a visual novel with multiple perspectives, Kokushikan’s route is a romance adventure game, and Ushitora’s route is an escape room game. Each of these five routes carries elements of a visual novel at its core, but there are varying gameplay elements and features that make them really stand out from one another. For example, you can use a “Snapping” feature in Inugami’s route to question suspects or glean into objects to get more insight into your investigation, or build affection in Kokushikan’s route to build connections with three heroines and complete romance events.
Each route pieces together the truth of what exactly happened to Rei, and I thoroughly enjoy that the game takes twists and turns in completely different directions while still advancing the main plot. I also enjoy how Shuten Order experiments with these different genres to break up the linearity I come to expect from most visual novels. Your enjoyment may vary due to the changes in gameplay from one route to another, but for the most part, Shuten Order makes these different routes fit into a seamless narrative with engaging gameplay. Though about 60% of the game is still mostly a visual novel, and it will take you about 40 to 50 hours or so to finish it completely.
Shuten Order Shines on Switch
For this review, I played the Nintendo Switch version of Shuten Order on Switch 2, and it was a flawless experience, outside of occasional typos in the script. The art style of Shuten Order really pops in handheld and docked mode with a color palette reminiscent of comic books and The World Ends With You. I was hooked from the start due in part to the art style, and I’m happy to report that the Switch version is working exactly as intended via backwards compatibility.
Shuten Order doesn’t have an English dub, but I was quite pleased with the Japanese voiceovers, with renowned voice actors like Daisuke Ono and Ayumu Murase among the talent on the cast. Each VA gets their chance to shine thanks to the various routes, which makes them all feel like protagonists in various instances.
Overall, Shuten Order is a polished game in most aspects. My only gripe with the game involves character navigation in certain scenes. There will be instances where you’ll be controlling Rei from a third-person perspective, and the backdrop sort of blends in with the ground at times. This is a minor nitpick, but it definitely made interacting with certain points in a scene feel off since the environment warps inward.
Another Great Game Led by Kazutaka Kodaka
2025 seems to be the year of Kodaka so far, as Shuten Order is yet another game that I personally enjoyed. Shuten Order is captivating from the very start, which is vital for a visual novel. What’s more, the game’s various routes add another layer of intrigue while incorporating distinct and interesting gameplay elements. While Shuten Order isn’t doing anything spectacular or genre-defining, the game experiments with ideas and offers something refreshing. I definitely hope more visual novels take cues from Shuten Order and incorporate more gameplay sequences that feel right at home in their respective settings.
Shuten Order launches September 5 for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
Disclaimer: Spike Chunsoft provided a Nintendo Switch copy of Shuten Order for review purposes
