Shiner

RPG· Puzzle· Exploration· Turn-Based Tactics

Released Mar 2023

Learn every attack that gets used against you in this turn-based strategy game. Meet (and battle) a colorful cast of fully voice-acted characters as you search for the bully who wronged you.

90% positive · 213 reviews

Done

All announced content has been released

High confidence

Done

All announced content has been released

High confidence

Where to get it

Free on Steam

Steam Free

Evaluation

Shiner is a free-to-play student project developed at DigiPen Institute of Technology, released on March 17, 2023 as a self-described "bite-sized experience" of 1–2 hours. The store description explicitly frames it as a complete, intentionally compact game with a defined scope: 4 zones, a fully voice-acted cast, and a clear beginning-to-end adventure. There is no DLC, no season pass, no roadmap, and no announced future content of any kind. Following launch, the developer shipped two small bug-fix patches (March 21 and April 17, 2023) to address specific crashes and collision issues. The last developer communication was on April 17, 2023, and there have been no posts since. Given the game's explicit positioning as a finished student project with a defined, limited scope, this silence is consistent with a completed product rather than an abandoned one. The game launched as a complete package and has remained so.

Evidence

Store description explicitly describes the game as a 'bite-sized experience' that is '1 or 2 hours long,' developed as a student project at DigiPen Institute of Technology for educational purposes. Defines a fixed scope of 4 zones and a fully voice-acted cast.

description · Mar 17, 2023 source development ending

high

Version 1.0.2 patch fixing a crash during a specific fight. Last developer communication on record.

news post · Apr 17, 2023 source development ongoing

low

Media

Details

Developer

Team Shiner

Publisher

DigiPen Institute of Technology

Achievements

Platform

Windows

Controller

—

Steam Deck

Playable

Players

Single-player

Exploration Turn-Based Tactics RPG Puzzle Strategy RPG Strategy Turn-Based Strategy 2.5D Cute Linear Cartoony Turn-Based Combat Colorful Family Friendly Adventure

About this game

Shiner is a turn-based strategy game where you learn all the attacks of the enemies you beat! Starting with only the knowledge of how to do a simple punch, can you snowball yourself into an avatar of (fuzzy) destruction?

Make friends with a cast of cute and colorful characters! Every character in the game has a unique personality and a unique set of attacks for you to learn if you can beat them. “Why would I fight my friends,” you ask? Look, relationships are complicated. Buds can horse around is all I’m saying.

Craft powerful builds! You’ll learn a ton of attacks, but you can only bring 4 of them into each fight. Can you find the right combination to beat an opponent who heals to full health every turn? What about someone who reflects all the damage you deal right back at you? Every battle is a puzzle and an opportunity for you to find a new way to break the game.

4 zones to battle your way through.
A fully voice-acted cast of characters.
"One-Punch Mode" if the battles get too tough.
A bite-sized experience! The game's only 1 or 2 hours long.
Ranch dressing elemental.

This game was developed as a student project at DigiPen Institute of Technology and was created for educational purposes only. Please check out our publisher page for more information.

Last evaluated Jun 21, 2026