You’re Missing Shiren the Wanderer — the Hidden 2024 Roguelike Every Switch 2 Owner Needs

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is Spike Chunsoft’s 2024 entry in the long-running Mystery Dungeon series. It’s a roguelike that uses a step-based turn system, permadeath-style runs, item fusion and storage, and an online SOS rescue system. The game is available on Nintendo Switch (including Switch 2) and PC, and it launched at a $39.99 price point on those platforms.

- 1. Overview

2. Gameplay basics
3. Items and progression
4. Rescue system
5. Modes and replayability
6. Platforms and price

Overview

Shiren the Wanderer mixes a feudal Japan setting with fantasy elements and follows a wandering ronin accompanied by a small animal companion. The 2024 release is the most recent mainline Shiren title and, by sales reported around launch, became the series’ best-selling entry to date while remaining under 500,000 copies sold.

Gameplay basics

The game uses a grid-based, step-based turn system: *nothing in the dungeon takes a turn until you take one*. Each run starts with the protagonist at level one and no gear, and dungeons are procedurally generated. As you move, enemies also take one action per step, which makes positioning and timing central to survival.

Enemies include a range of abilities that can affect runs, such as forcing item drops or inflicting multi-turn status effects. There are also dense, trap-filled monster rooms that spawn many foes and often contain valuable items.

Items and progression

Items play a major role. Many consumables and tools have unusual or context-dependent effects: for example, some items must be thrown to affect enemies while reading or using them on yourself can cause adverse results. The game intentionally leaves some items as “unknown” until they’re used or identified.

Item systems include:

Fusion of weapons and shields to combine properties.
Ability to store items outside dungeons after a successful run, so you can bring them to future attempts.
Consumables that teleport you, swap positions with enemies, break walls, or otherwise change the dungeon layout or combat state.

Rescue system

Shiren supports an online SOS rescue feature. When a run ends, players can post an SOS request that other players can answer. Rescuers can earn points that are spendable on their own rescue attempts, and a rescued run can be continued if another player reaches the same depth and clears the relevant area.

Modes and replayability

The 2024 game includes multiple special dungeon types and temporary conditions that change how runs play out. Some dungeons allow you to keep equipped items, while others force you to start with nothing. There are boss rush modes, dungeons with frequent shops, and options to bring AI allies or play solo. The game also cycles random floor objectives and timed events to create varied short-term goals.

Platforms and price

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island released on Nintendo Switch and PC in 2024. The listed price at launch was $39.99 on both Switch and PC. The PC version is available on Steam, where it has appeared on sale periodically.