Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
  1. RPG Fan
    Apr 18, 2017
    86
    What French developer Enigami has managed to achieve with Shiness is admirable considering its humble beginnings. It's clear that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making this adventure a reality. It's also clear that the developers fell victim to the same bogeymen that typically hinder most ambitious indie projects: time and money. Albeit flawed, Shiness is an indie gem that doesn't quite live up to its potential, yet still puts many big budget games to shame.
  2. games(TM)
    Jun 17, 2017
    80
    If you've been flirting with the idea of buying an action-RPG but fear the time commitment, The Lightning Kingdom might just be the compromise you're looking for. [Issue#187, p.82]
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  3. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Apr 18, 2017
    80
    I can certainly do without these bugs, but they’re not enough of a deterrent to keep me from finishing this fun-filled action adventure. I’m just glad that I discovered the game at all because Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom has managed to fly its virtual airship under the radar until now.
  5. PlayStation Universe
    Apr 18, 2017
    80
    An indie adventure with far Eastern inspirations that does a great job of masquerading as a big budget spectacular, Shiness will delight those looking for a fix of action RPG goodness with one eye on the classics of yore.
  6. Multiplayer.it
    Apr 26, 2017
    77
    Quotation forthcoming.
  7. Video Chums
    Apr 19, 2017
    76
    Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is a beautiful action RPG full of fantastic and varied gameplay. Although traditional fans of the genre may find its unconventional combat off-putting, there's definitely enough here to enjoy.
  8. Meristation
    Apr 17, 2017
    75
    Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom is a nice game. It's beautiful to watch and very fun to play. It has some technical issues and it's beginning is not the best and leaves players with more questions than answers, but overall it's an interesting experience with an amazing lore.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 33
  3. Negative: 9 out of 33
  1. SuperkenGaming
    Apr 18, 2017
    7
    Shiness: The Lighting Kingdom
    A game that grows on you.
    In shiness the lighting kingdom you play as chado trying to get to the source of the    Shiness: The Lighting Kingdom
    A game that grows on you.
    In shiness the lighting kingdom you play as chado trying to get to the source of the evil shi…
    And as you progress through the story you unlock companions that join in on your adventure...
    This game took a while for me to like…
    It’s a very awkward feeling game... and from the combat to the platforming its stiff…
    Even by the games end I still wasn’t in love… but I did come to ultimately enjoy this game…
    The worst part of this game is the puzzles…
    Each character has a unique ability that lets them solve pieces to puzzles that stop game progression…
    you never know when one will show up.. but thankfully even though you can only have 3 members in your party at a time, you can quickly swap characters in and out of your team when these puzzles do appear and you don’t have the right character with you…
    Thankfully these puzzles are easy, but still a bit annoying…
    Other than solving puzzles which are few and far between, you’ll be going to a point on the map in the various locations you visit and try to avoid or defeat every enemy in your way to level up…
    The combat system though much like the entire game takes some getting used to and definitely lacks a bit of polish…
    You can parry attacks, block them, roll, kick and punch… use disciplines you unlock from shops, chests and defeating enemies for in battle perks or unlocking magic attacks that use one of the 4 shi elements…
    It’s easy enough to spam ranged attacks, though some enemies are immune to certain magic and there is a certain amount of shi you can use before you go to a save point and restock..
    But each battle takes place in a dome that changes colors, and your character is able to concentrate to refill needed shi during battle and get a boost of regeneration if the elements match…
    And eventually you’ll be able to do a hyper moves which pauses the battle and lets you quickly put in the right button combination on screen and pull off a power move that usually take away about half of an enemies health…
    The problem with this though is that it gets a little old watching the scene playout each time…
    You are able to skip the animation, but I found doing so will sometimes cause the game to not read any damage done to your opponent, but still depletes your hyper meter…
    So in tough fights I advise not taking the chance by skipping
    And speaking of bugs and unpolish…
    You are able to able to switch between any of the 4 characters in your party anytime during battle as well as map commands such as heal with enemy and ally stipulations..
    But the switching isn’t the most responsive system in the world…
    I found myself mashing the swap button to make sure my character didn’t die…
    And occasionally you’ll kind of be forced to swap when your character gets stuck midair.. which was rare, but did happen a few times…
    I also ran into a bug after a certain boss about 10 hours into the game that after defeating them my character got stuck behind an invisible wall…
    Which are everywhere… in places that they shouldn’t be so that if it does happen players can hop back into the map instead of being stuck and having to quit the game, reload and fight the boss all over again like I did… and after defeating them the 2nd time.. My character was standing on air again... but thankfully I could jump forward to stop it from happening again…
    Shiness: The Lighting Kingdom is an enjoyable journey…
    I had fun…
    I enjoyed swapping the disciplines, learning new combos for my characters, swapping the gear in my party and I loved the fact that non active party members leveled up with the rest of my crew…
    But a lack of polish definitely hold this good game back from being great…
    I give Shiness: The Lighting Kingdom
    a 7.0/10    … Full Review »
  2. Nathan1423
    May 12, 2017
    8
    This game is a 7 but gets an extra point for the price/length ratio, $30/30 hours, impressive. Okay so there's a weird curve in the gameThis game is a 7 but gets an extra point for the price/length ratio, $30/30 hours, impressive. Okay so there's a weird curve in the game play, maybe 7-8 hours in is where it actually starts to get good, which is bizarre. Word of advice, don't give up on this game, it's worth it, do the stupid crypt quest, get past king Meos, and get into the open green area, that is when I truly started enjoying the game, and I almost quit entirely before I got there. The combat gets HARD for a while until you get used to it. Also don't be a hero you need health items, a lot, at all times, or you'll be grinding/dying/losing progress. Pretty neat art style too.… Full Review »
  3. VegetaQuinn
    May 20, 2022
    4
    Extremely buggy, forgettable characters. some of the controls were busted as well.
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