Shining Plume

Shining Plume is the kind of game name that suggests style before substance, and that can mean anything from a visual novel to a small indie adventure. By our assessment, it probably lives or dies on tone, art direction, and how much personality it can squeeze into a simple setup. The risk is that a delicate title like this can end up feeling thinner than its name if the mechanics are too light or the loop too familiar. In play, that usually means a slower, more atmosphere-driven experience than a busy systems game. It sits in the broad territory where presentation does a lot of work, which is good when the presentation is strong and less so when it is carrying too much on its own. Shining Plume reads as something for players who care more about mood and finish than about complexity, and that usually tells you almost everything about what kind of evening it wants.