Gensokyo Night Festival

About

"Gensokyo Night Festival" is a danmaku shooting game set in the Touhou Project universe. Players control Seiga Kaku, a shrine maiden, as she battles against a variety of foes in a night festival. The game features fast-paced bullet hell action and requires quick reflexes and strategic planning to dodge incoming projectiles and defeat enemies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 397 reviews

gameplay37 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game features stunning pixel art and a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
The combat system is fun and engaging, allowing for flashy combos and unique abilities that make gameplay enjoyable.
The game has a lot of potential and is highly recommended for fans of the Touhou series, despite being in early access.

The game is currently very short, with only a few hours of content available, leading to a feeling of incompleteness.
There has been a significant lack of updates and communication from the developers, raising concerns about the game's future development.
The controls can be clunky and difficult to master, especially for players using a keyboard instead of a controller.

gameplay
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
51%
4%
The gameplay is generally praised for its fluid mechanics, engaging combat, and beautiful visuals, offering a mix of fast-paced action and strategic boss fights. However, many reviewers note that the current content is limited, with playtime averaging around 30 to 60 minutes, and some mechanics still feeling unpolished or lacking in depth. Overall, while the game shows potential and is enjoyable, it is still in early access and requires further development to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “The gameplay is fluid.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are perfectly balanced in a way that gives you lots of impressive and fun moves to do in a way that isn't overwhelmingly complicated or mindlessly simple, and the art, sound, animation, etc. are as satisfying as it gets.”
- “The game is fast-paced, visually stunning, with complex mechanics to explore, and most importantly fun; however, it is currently very short as it is early access.”
- “This game has lots of flaws. First off, it lacks any optimization options. The only settings available are lowering the bloom and activating fullscreen. There's no option that actually helps optimize the game for a better experience. I experienced various FPS drops, especially during Marisa's and Rumia's boss fights. Not only does it drop FPS, but it also slows down the gameplay, which I find annoying and ugly to look at.”
- “You have about 30 minutes of gameplay, and that's about it. If it gets fixed in the final release, maybe the game will be worth buying, but until this bug is fixed, you're paying $10 for 30 minutes of introductory gameplay, and that's if you're lucky.”
- “At its current state, I wouldn't recommend it because it only offers about 30 minutes of gameplay for now.”
graphics
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
24%
4%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising the beautiful pixel art, vibrant colors, and charming animations. Players find the visuals to be stunning and a significant highlight of the game, often describing them as "eye candy" and comparable to high-quality titles in the genre. However, some users noted performance issues and awkward movement controls, suggesting that while the graphics are impressive, the gameplay experience may need further refinement.
- “Extremely beautiful pixel graphics; the movement control is a bit awkward and takes some getting used to.”
- “The graphics and art style are pure eye candy.”
- “The visuals are also breathtakingly gorgeous, one of the best examples of the 'pixel art with modern shading and effects' look.”
- “Toasty graphics.”
- “Even while running, it moves at about 1/3 of the intended speed, and I can run Crossout on full graphical settings better than I can this garbage.”
- “A performance warning for low-powered PC users: this game requires a deceptively powerful PC to run, despite its 2D pixel-art graphics.”
music
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
32%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its catchy and beautifully arranged remixes of Touhou themes, which enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Many players highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, praising its ability to harmonize with the game's art and evoke a sense of nostalgia. Overall, the combination of engaging music and stunning pixel art contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “I also really liked the soundtrack, with remixes that harmonize with the decor and make you want to discover more, even if the courses are short.”
- “The music feels mesmerizing, the combination of 8-bit and touhou vibe really mixed well, I love that.”
- “Every song is a certified banger and slaps hard while the game proves itself to be one of the prettiest I've ever seen.”
- “The music feels mesmerizing; the combination of 8-bit and Touhou vibes really mixed well, I love that.”
- “The soundtrack backing the game is absolutely mint too, though it seems to enjoy demystifying feast a little too much.”
- “I wouldn't be surprised if this game is dead by now, which sucks since I and many others saw potential from the art, music, and the boss fights.”
story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
52%
14%
The game's story is well-received for its charming and whimsical nature, fitting the Touhou vibe, though it may be confusing for those unfamiliar with the franchise. While the narrative is currently short and somewhat unfinished, players appreciate its humor and character-driven plot, particularly the lighthearted premise of supernatural beings enjoying a festival. Overall, the story has potential for further development as the game progresses through early access.
- “The game has a nice story up to the point of writing this, which I think fits the Touhou vibe perfectly, and the design is so amazing for this kind of game.”
- “I like it even more because it's based on Touhou; its story and characters so far are cute and ingenious. There is no super deadly scheme to destroy the world or anything, just a bunch of supernatural beings trying to throw a festival and fighting for fun.”
- “Overall, this game is visually stunning, humorous, and has the potential of being really story-rich.”
- “There's only '3-ish' bosses and the story is kinda short and unfinished, but the gameplay is pretty solid and the level design is pretty.”
- “Though where the story goes in this game is shaky, gensokyo night festival is much more gameplay oriented.”
- “-story/dialog won't make much sense unless you're a touhou fan”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting a lack of options to improve performance, leading to significant FPS drops and sluggish gameplay during key moments. While some users experienced smooth performance and appreciated the game's design, others highlighted that it requires a surprisingly powerful PC to run effectively, especially given its 2D pixel-art style. As the game is still in early access, there are hopes for improvements in optimization and bug fixes in future updates.
- “The game design is fluid and is well optimized; I didn't notice a single performance issue in my playthrough. The visuals are stunning, possessing vibrant colors and flashy combos that are satisfying to look at and execute.”
- “Do note that this isn't the lightest game to run, and being in early access means that the developers haven't had the opportunity to optimize the performance just yet.”
- “A performance warning for low-powered PC users: this game requires a deceptively powerful PC to run, despite its 2D pixel-art graphics.”
- “This game has lots of flaws. First off, it lacks any optimization options. I mean, it only lets you lower the bloom and activate fullscreen. There's no option that actually helps optimize the game for a better experience. Not even zooming in can save it. I had various FPS drops, especially in Marisa's and Rumia's boss fights. Not only does it drop FPS, but it also slows down the gameplay. I find it annoying and ugly to look at.”
- “I played heavier games on my computer, and they weren't laggy like some parts of this game. It lacks optimization, but since it's early access, I hope this will be fixed.”
- “And I know it's still early access, but the developers really need to do something about bugs and optimizing the performance.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is mixed, with some players reporting minimal bugs and a generally enjoyable experience, while others experience significant issues such as crashes and freezing, particularly on lower-end systems. As it is still in early access, users hope for future patches to address these stability concerns. Overall, the game shows potential but may require a high-end machine for optimal performance.
- “It's a beautiful and fun game, but totally unplayable on my system (Windows 10). The game crashes, freezes up, and the character you play as freezes.”
- “The game is fun too, a bit buggy at times and only really works on high-end machines.”
- “There might be a few bugs and glitches, and maybe there's some controller input delay too, but I do hope it gets fixed/patched out in the near future.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its quirky characters, such as a funny Japanese goblin and a comical drunkard oni, which adds a lighthearted touch to the experience. Players appreciate the overpowered character dynamics, contributing to the overall comedic tone, while also noting the game's visual appeal and potential for a rich narrative.
- “The player character is overpowered, which is hilarious.”
- “Overall, this game is visually stunning, humorous, and has the potential of being really story-rich.”
- “I want more of the funny drunkard lolita little girl oni.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome and touching elements, which are enhanced by engaging mechanics such as air and ground combos, ranged attacks, and a unique density/sparseness mechanic that adds depth to the gameplay experience.
- “Wholesome”
- “Touching on the mechanics, there are air and ground combos, ranged bullets, dodging, grazing, and a density/sparseness mechanic that affects them all.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by charming sprite art and engaging music, contributing to an overall delightful experience, even within the menu.
- “The music, the adorable sprite art, and the overall atmosphere create an enchanting experience.”
- “The menu has a charming atmosphere that enhances the overall enjoyment.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players feel that the removal of secret areas and collectibles has led to a monotonous grinding experience, as the focus shifts to mindlessly defeating enemies without the incentive to explore or discover new content.
- “All the secret areas are gone and there are no more collectibles other than two or three hidden characters for you to greet. This means that all you end up doing is mindlessly grinding through enemies until the next boss, as there is no real reason to look around for anything anymore.”
- “The grinding feels endless and repetitive, with little reward for the time invested. It often feels like a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”
- “I find myself stuck in a loop of grinding for resources, which takes away from the overall enjoyment of the game. It feels like a time sink with minimal payoff.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The character development is praised for its vibrant and appealing designs, contributing to a visually engaging experience.
- “The character designs are incredibly vibrant and imaginative.”
- “The depth of character development truly enhances the overall experience.”
- “Each character evolves in a meaningful way, making their journeys compelling and relatable.”