Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend

About

In "Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend," players navigate a mysterious labyrinth in the style of a bullet hell shooter, battling a variety of characters from the Touhou Project universe. With a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, players must uncover the secrets of the labyrinth and its connection to the Touhou world. The game offers multiple difficulty options and a range of unlockable characters and abilities.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend screenshot

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 774 reviews

gameplay76 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game features a unique colored mana system that adds depth to deck building and strategy, making it feel fresh compared to other roguelikes.
The artwork and animations are stunning, with each card and enemy action having its own unique visual effects, enhancing the overall experience.
The soundtrack is excellent, featuring remixes of Touhou music that fans will appreciate, and it contributes to the game's immersive atmosphere.

The game can feel unbalanced at times, with certain enemies and bosses being overly difficult, especially on higher difficulties.
There is a lack of variety in enemy encounters, leading to repetitive gameplay during runs.
As an early access title, some features and characters are still missing, which may leave players wanting more content.

gameplay
276 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
71%
1%
The gameplay of "Touhou: Lost Branch of Legend" is heavily inspired by "Slay the Spire," incorporating a unique colored mana system reminiscent of "Magic: The Gathering," which adds depth and variety to deck-building strategies. Players can enjoy diverse character mechanics, with each character offering two distinct starting play styles and the ability to mix abilities mid-run, resulting in a highly replayable experience. While some mechanics may feel familiar, the game successfully innovates with new features and engaging gameplay that appeals to both fans of the genre and newcomers alike.
- “This game strikes a beautiful balance of taking inspiration from games like Slay the Spire while also innovating & adding new, unique mechanics.”
- “The main thing that makes me like the game the most is the sheer variety of possible builds, on top of having 4 playable characters with a 5th on the way, and each character having 2 different starter builds with a unique spell card/ultimate ability.”
- “The mechanics are very unique and give you dozens of options for how you make your build, it's really cool and a lot of fun already and it's not even finished yet.”
- “It feels like a waste of this game's potential to limit build variety like that and I really hope the devs consider swapping that mechanic out for one that doesn't invalidate exhibit-based builds and a large part of the player's build decisions.”
- “I have played Slay the Spire for 400 hours and this game doesn’t bring too much new to the table gameplay-wise.”
- “The game's core mechanics and design are almost entirely lifted from Slay the Spire, true, but the gameplay is radically different.”
music
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
39%
2%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, particularly for its high-quality remixes of Touhou tracks, which enhance the overall experience and are enjoyable even outside of gameplay. Many players find the soundtrack to be a standout feature, often describing it as beautiful, catchy, and integral to the game's atmosphere, although some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the combination of excellent music, stunning visuals, and engaging gameplay creates a compelling package that resonates well with both Touhou fans and newcomers alike.
- “The music is excellent, as it should be for a Touhou game, and the art style and animations are extremely pretty.”
- “The soundtrack is beautiful, easily one of my favorites in my Steam library.”
- “Add the excellent music you'd expect from a Touhou game, and you have a winner on your hands.”
- “Music was repetitive and/or on a pretty short loop.”
- “But considering how there's only 15 music tracks in a fangame for a series known for its god-tier works, that's definitely worth the effort I feel.”
- “Also, while I still really like STS to this day, at least for me the music and art weren't winning any awards... but in this game, I really like the art and the soundtrack really slaps.”
graphics
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
62%
2%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and artistic quality, often compared favorably to "Slay the Spire" with many reviewers noting the superior animation and character designs. The anime-inspired art style, combined with a vibrant color palette and detailed card artwork, enhances the overall gameplay experience, although some inconsistencies in card art were mentioned. Additionally, the soundtrack complements the visuals, creating an immersive atmosphere that resonates well with fans of the Touhou series.
- “The visuals are excellent, particularly the animation, which mimics the bullet hell style attacks this series is known for.”
- “Fantastic music, stellar visuals, and a rather mechanically and strategically deep card game system which feels incredibly fun and satisfying to learn and master.”
- “Great visuals, amazing soundtrack, like an upgrade to Slay the Spire with the new energy system, spells system (like an ultimate), and each character having two different decks to choose from.”
- “Card artwork is less consistent.”
- “Some artwork is really solid, but others look out of place or incomplete, and contrast with the high polish in other areas.”
- “I don't know what in its graphics options is causing gigantic frame rate drops, but not having the option to figure it out kinda sucks.”
story
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
82%
7%
The game's story is currently underdeveloped, as it is still in early access, with a promised story mode yet to be implemented. Players find the existing narrative simple and somewhat lacking, with incomplete dialogue and limited lore, but appreciate the engaging artwork and character design. While the story can be skipped, many reviewers express a desire for more depth and refinement in the narrative elements before further content is added.
- “It's a very simple story - Kaguya of the bamboo cutter's myth is hosting an exposition to show off all of her amazing things as 'exhibits', and someone has stolen the most valuable one - the titular lost branch.”
- “Some of the story and lore bits can be tough to follow for a westerner but are quick to learn.”
- “I can't wait until they introduce the full story mode and dialogue.”
- “The story mode dialogue is not complete.”
- “The game is still missing its final character at the time of this review, lots of cards lack flavor text (if it's intended to exist for all of them), story mode hasn't launched, and free mode has elements that feel unrefined (such as the true final boss requirement).”
- “Waiting for full story on release.”
replayability
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
8%
The game boasts high replayability, attributed to its diverse character loadouts, complex mechanics, and emergent deck-building strategies, ensuring that no two runs feel the same. Players appreciate the potential for future content, including additional characters and modifiers, which could further enhance replay value. Despite being in early access, the current offerings and regular updates provide a solid foundation for ongoing enjoyment.
- “Fun mechanics and pretty art and tons of replayability as no two runs are likely going to be the same unless you set a seed!”
- “This game has tons of replay value, with harder difficulties and modifiers.”
- “To conclude, I find that this all creates a lot of interesting deckbuilding possibilities and emergent decision-making, and, combined with the base of 2 specs (+overlap) per character, a ton of replayability as you explore the different kinds of combinations you can make (with more yet to come!).”
- “Only real criticism of this game I have is the lack of content, because I would play this every day if it had mod support and more replayability.”
- “The game is still in early access, and only three of the five characters are playable right now, so I'm optimistic for the remaining 2/5ths of the content.”
- “Not to mention this game is still early access and is missing 2 more playable characters and more green mana support, which is a bit lackluster right now.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as lighthearted and clever, avoiding overused memes while incorporating amusing pop culture references and unique artwork. Players appreciate the blend of artistic craftsmanship and humor, particularly in card designs, which range from genuinely funny to creatively violent. Overall, the game successfully balances humor with its canon elements, making it enjoyable without feeling stale.
- “The humor is more lighthearted but still much closer to canon than the usual meme-filled crud, so there's no dreading the old overused garbage.”
- “The artwork is golden, ranging from some truly amazing stuff like you see in the gap, to some funny pieces that you'll see on some of the cards.”
- “There's also some funny pop culture references in the game that I won't spoil, and I actually found a couple of exhibits that are straight-up Dota 2 references, which was cool.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its vibrant and immersive representation of Gensokyo, effectively capturing the essence of the Touhou universe. Players commend the combination of beautiful visuals and captivating music, which together create a lively and inspired environment.
- “The Gensokyo world in this game feels very alive, with a beautiful, creative, and inspired atmosphere.”
- “Good music, great visuals, and absolutely nails the Touhou atmosphere that permeates Gensokyo.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is enjoyable but suffers from significant performance issues that detract from the overall experience, leading some players to question its value compared to similar titles like "Slay the Spire."
- “It's a fun game, but a) I'm not sure it's worth the cost as compared to Slay the Spire, which this resembles a bit too closely, and b) the performance is terrible.”
- “That kind of poor performance isn't excusable.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the game's emotional depth, noting the heartfelt attention to detail that evokes warmth and connection, which is often missing in contemporary titles. This subtle, caring approach resonates strongly with audiences, enhancing their overall experience.
- “I appreciate the subtle, heartwarming care the developers have put into this game, in nooks and crannies that many games today lack.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that the character design and card art are visually appealing and contribute significantly to the overall aesthetic of the game. However, there is little mention of depth in character development, suggesting that while the visuals are strong, the narrative and growth of the characters may be lacking.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Despite being in early access, the game demonstrates impressive stability, with users reporting a bug-free experience. Overall, it does not exhibit the typical issues associated with early access titles.
- “Quick note, the game is obviously in early access, but it doesn't feel like it in terms of stability; the game is bug-free as far as I can tell.”