The recent explosive success of Touhou Luna Nights has proven one thing – that there is a sizeable market for Touhou-based Metroidvanias, especially on PC.
It’s a sentiment shared with Playism, and one that the publisher hopes to capitalize on with the announcement of a new Touhou-based Metroidvania. Called Gensokyo Night Festival, this Touhou Project title is also a Metroidvania like Touhou Luna Nights, but instead of a parallel universe you get to play in actual Gensokyo. An announcement trailer was also released, which you can check out below.
The gameplay looks absolutely stunning, coupled with some timeless sprite work and exhilarating animations. What sold me the most though was the ludicrous powers Suika has access to, which can cover up the entire screen. This is not reserved for her either, as some of the bosses featured in the trailer can also shoot out these unholy beams of light that decimate everything in their path.
Gensokyo Night Festival is first and foremost a spinoff of the Touhou Project, which in general refers to the series of bullet hell titles from Japan developed by the single-person Team Shanghai Alice. The game is set during the Hakurei Shrine Festival, and will let players kick off a storm with Suika Ibuki, an oni with the immense power of controlling ‘density’ and ‘sparseness.’
The game is based on combos, shooting, and counter attacks, with power-based action taking center stage. Suika can utilize her powers of ‘density’ to move at supersonic speeds, and even fire a shot that can warp her to where it lands; this allows for quick roaming around the open landscapes with relative ease. She can charge these attacks as well, which can culminate in screen-wide blasts that annihilate everything in sight, as shown in the trailer.
Gensokyo Night Festival will release on Early Access this summer on Steam, and two characters for its initial build have already been announced – Suika, and the youkai Rumia, who has a power which allows her to control ‘darkness.’
If you are a very big fan of Touhou Luna Nights, then consider checking out Gensokyo Night Festival on its Steam page here. There’s a lot to love with games like these, and they’re quite easy to get into while still providing a decent challenge.
