Gensokyo Odyssey
- April 16, 2024
- Kronington
Get on Steam"Gensokyo Odyssey" is a humorous single-player sport game, based on the Touhou Project, where you must navigate a strange land and use an air hockey paddle as your weapon to join Reimu and Marisa in saving the world. The game features live-action elements, air hockey-based fighting, and multiple endings. With a good plot and music, players can also enjoy talking to various characters and engaging in laugh-out-loud shenanigans.
Reviews
- The game features hilarious writing and a unique blend of air hockey and bullet hell mechanics, providing a fun and engaging experience.
- The soundtrack is exceptional, with a variety of catchy and well-composed tracks that enhance the overall enjoyment of the game.
- It's a love letter to the Touhou community, filled with references and humor that resonate well with fans, making it a delightful experience.
- The game suffers from frustrating gameplay mechanics, particularly with the air hockey controls and lack of quality-of-life features like a save system.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt the experience, including soft locks during boss fights and issues with hit detection.
- The humor may not appeal to everyone, as it heavily relies on internet culture and memes, which could alienate players unfamiliar with the references.
- humor48 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The humor in this game is widely praised for its clever writing, absurdity, and self-referential jokes, often drawing from meme culture and Touhou fandom. Players report laughing out loud at the dialogue and character interactions, with many finding the humor both zany and emotionally resonant. While some jokes may not resonate with everyone, the overall comedic execution is considered a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience.
“This absolute shitpost of a visual novel brings you in with self-referential humor and very well-designed casual bullet hell, and ends with the most cinematic call to the human spirit I've ever seen.”
“The writing is legitimately funny, to the point of me almost vomiting from laughing at multiple points.”
“The game is very silly in general, with most options either being for dialogue or funny game overs (not to mention the FMVs).”
“The few screenshots I'd seen floating around made the game look like typical, unfunny, irony-poisoned slop. The only reason I ended up giving it a chance at all was my love for air hockey.”
- music36 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its originality and quality, with many players describing it as "incredible" and a "banger" that they enjoy even outside of gameplay. The soundtrack, which features over three hours of diverse tracks blending aggressive jazz and meme-inspired themes, complements the game's quirky style and enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the catchy tunes and the skillful composition, often highlighting specific tracks that resonate well with the game's atmosphere.
“The first thing I immediately noticed is that the music is incredible.”
“Throughout playing the game, I had to keep pausing to just appreciate the music, which is pretty rare for me.”
“The game never fails to bring out an even better song than the last, and I have a lot of respect for that.”
“Charming music and art, but the writing is the meat of the game and it is extremely grating.”
“It doesn't highlight the banger soundtrack that you get with it.”
“Only thing I wish the developer did was make a version of the credit song that had more singing.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay combines air hockey with bullet hell mechanics, creating a unique and engaging experience that is both fun and challenging. Players appreciate the variety of attacks and the introduction of special minigames, which enhance the overall gameplay loop. While some users noted minor issues with implementation and mechanics, the overall sentiment is that the gameplay is entertaining and encourages exploration of other titles in the genre.
“The gameplay of air hockey combined with danmaku is really fun.”
“The air hockey gameplay was surprisingly very fun, and as the game goes on, you're introduced to attacks that are more challenging to dodge while still being fair. It's a learning experience, and there's a trick or pattern to most of them, just like regular Touhou games.”
“The fights themselves are varied, and as you progress, you gain more tools to use during these to spice up the gameplay.”
“Gameplay made me want to kill myself.”
“When I first saw the trailer, it did an amazing job at making me have absolutely no idea what the content of the game or its gameplay was or was going to be.”
“I really love the gameplay tweaks in the air hockey section, but the implementation is terrible, so I used Cheat Engine a few times to cheat my HP.”
- story18 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is light-hearted and engaging, effectively balancing humor with moments of depth, making it enjoyable without feeling overly complex. Players appreciate the well-written dialogue and character development, which contribute to a compelling narrative that unfolds at a satisfying pace. Overall, while the story may not be deeply intricate, it successfully captivates players with its charm and humor.
“The gripping story and deep character development in this game brought me to tears!”
“The jokes are well written and when the story gets serious, it focuses on it.”
“I'm struggling to keep this review spoiler free, because honestly, anyone that wants to play this game or has any point of interest in it at all deserves to have everything completely thrown at them to their surprise and smile as the events continue to unfold and you are left laughing out loud, as well as feeling for the characters as the plot moves at a perfect pace, in both its short and long term sense.”
“The best way to put it is that Gensokyo Odyssey is unhinged: the characters act much like you'd expect from the fanon side of things, Touhou references and memes are everywhere and the story is generally light-hearted.”
“The story itself is easy to follow: your main character ends up in Gensokyo and their only way to deal with attackers is through air hockey.”
“Its a truly beautiful thing to behold, as your favorite characters that were lucky enough to make it in make their appearances, you can only begin to wonder how they might speak or interact with the player, or how they advance the story.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a diverse array of character art styles, ranging from MMD to real-life footage, which adds a humorous and charming quality to the overall experience. This eclectic mix not only enhances the game's playful tone but also aligns well with its meta-narrative, making each sprite, particularly Youmu's, stand out. Overall, the varied art styles contribute positively to the game's unique identity.
“From MMD to real-life footage, to its visual novel content, to its gameplay, and various art styles displayed that perfectly charm the player, this game breaks its own grounds and levels of meta within not just as the media it is, but in line with its own story, which is something that could be an essay in itself.”
“Different art styles work well with a fun project like this, and every last sprite is great (especially Youmu's).”
“Character art styles are all over the place, which, in my opinion, adds to the game because it doesn't take itself seriously to begin with.”
“I find that every character is in a different art style, which I find very humorous.”
- stability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, players report that the game has a number of bugs and glitches, which can affect gameplay, particularly with some bosses feeling overly difficult. However, frequent patches have been released, suggesting that the developers are actively working to improve stability.
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or bugs.”
“I haven't encountered any stability issues during my gameplay.”
“The performance is consistent, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
“A lot of stuff seems generally buggy.”
“However, I would like to point out some glitches and nitpick some things.”
“As the creator themselves points out in the game, it's still kind of buggy.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game strikes a balance between humor and emotional depth, providing moments that can be surprisingly impactful despite its lighthearted tone. However, some players feel that it lacks a coherent emotional narrative, leaving them confused rather than moved. Overall, it offers a fun experience with emotional undertones, but its effectiveness in evoking strong feelings varies among players.
“Funny as hell yet also very emotional.”
“A lot of fun and surprisingly emotional, can only hope this developer releases more games in the future.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the inclusion of a farming minigame but find the need to repeatedly engage in fights and skip dialogue for different endings to be somewhat tedious. Overall, while the grinding aspect is seen as necessary for progression, it can detract from the overall experience.
“Having to skip dialogue (with the new button, X, which I appreciate) and repeat fights to get another ending is a bit tedious.”
“10/10 needs a farming minigame.”
“Can't wait for the sequel we'll totally get, and it's just a farming sim.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a compelling narrative complemented by profound character development, evoking strong emotional responses from players.
“The gripping story and deep character development in this game brought me to tears!”
“The characters evolve in such a meaningful way, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
“I love how the game allows you to shape the characters' personalities through your choices, making each playthrough unique.”
