This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.

The Shrouded Isle has a unique premise; a management sim game where you must weigh up the vices and sins of villagers to work out which should be sacrificed to your God, Chernobog. The Lovecraftian theme works brilliantly in this dark, yet engaging sim.

You take on the role of a High Priest, trying to appease the sleeping monster God with a sacrifice every season. The concept is really unique and the end product clearly has had a lot of passion and effort put into it, which shines through.

The main goal is to interrogate villagers, assigning one member of each of the five houses to do the good Lord’s work, whilst you secretly work out their true intentions and inevitably silence one of them per season. You’ll have to manage this with the opinions of both the houses and the wider villagers, however, ensuring that tasks are being carried out appropriately, so it’s a juggling act of choosing someone who is hated enough that their sacrifice won’t cause outrage, while also picking people who’ll get the jobs done. Choosing the same house twice in a row for the deadly deed will likely earn the anger of that particular family in the long term, so choose wisely.

The different personalities are randomly generated and a small amount of background is given, which adds depth. You’re also given the opportunity to nickname any of your chosen team for further attachment value. The sinners are fairly easy to root out with the use of your limited number of enquiries, while managing the other aspects of the town is generally more challenging. There are also several different endings, leading to some great replay value.

The Shrouded Isle opts for a green and black palette which, while definitely in line with its Lovecraftian influences, can be pretty grating to stare at for long periods of time, particularly on the Switch's screen. It’s a shame, too, as the addiction value is high, so a long playthrough could be on the cards. The visuals are nicely drawn, but limited to only a few still images and cutscenes. The splash of red blood amidst the green dirge is a really cool addition, too. The use of church bells and foreboding sound effects also make for a spot-on soundtrack.

In review, The Shrouded Isle is a great management sim that is let down purely by its choice of aesthetic. Somewhat akin to the ill-fated red and black visuals of the Virtual Boy, the palette is really nasty to stare at, but if you’re able to look past this, you’ll find a solid experience.