Touhou: Red Empress Devil
- March 7, 2024
- STUDIO POCO
Get on Steam"Touhou: Red Empress Devil" is a dungeon-crawler game set in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where the mansion changes every time you enter, thanks to Sakuya Izayoi's ability. Play as one of the 10 playable characters, including Reimu, Marisa, and Remilia, with more to be added in future updates. Strengthen your character through collecting items and build your ideal style with the high-tempo reinforcement system. Wishlist now on Steam!
Reviews
- The art and pixel graphics are stunning, capturing the charm of the Touhou characters beautifully.
- The gameplay is fun and smooth, with a variety of characters that offer different playstyles.
- The music is excellent, enhancing the overall experience and atmosphere of the game.
- The game is extremely short, with runs taking only about 10-20 minutes, leading to a lack of replayability.
- The difficulty is too low, making it easy to complete the game without much challenge.
- There is a significant lack of variety in items, enemies, and room layouts, making each run feel repetitive.
- replayability17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is significantly lacking, with many players noting that it feels too short and repetitive, offering little incentive to replay. While there are multiple characters to choose from, the lack of engaging enemies, varied room designs, and meaningful difficulty makes each run feel similar and unchallenging. Many reviewers express hope for future updates to enhance replay value and content, but as it stands, the game is seen as bare-bones and not fulfilling its roguelike potential.
“Roguelikes are meant to be replayable.”
“The game is still incomplete in its current state, but it's pretty fun and has some replayability in the form of multiple playable characters.”
“I love my wife (Patchouli) and was very pleased to see she and all the bosses were playable after beating my first run; hopefully, a more difficult mode or different run limiters will be added in a future update.”
“Long story short, it's a good game with a lot of potential, but for a roguelike, its lack of replayability is one big kick to its crotch.”
“Massively lacks replayability and every room is near identical, but I see a lot of potential in this game.”
“Each run takes about 10 minutes or so and the game currently doesn't have much replay value, so I didn't really see a point in doing any more than two runs.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as smooth and visually appealing, with beautiful pixel art and a bullet hell mechanic that fits well within the roguelike framework. However, many players find the gameplay to be overly simplistic and lacking in variety, leading to a repetitive experience that may not hold long-term interest. While there is potential for improvement, particularly in difficulty and level diversity, the current state of the game feels too easy and could benefit from more engaging mechanics.
“As someone who's played this game and at the time of writing this had just completed his first run (Marisa, my beloved), I can say that in terms of visuals and gameplay, this game hits the nail right on the head.”
“The bullet hell gameplay translates well to the roguelike setup.”
“The pixel art is cute and the gameplay is entertaining.”
“I might be eating my words if any updates made to the game actually spice up the in-game variety rather than just new characters made for the sake of covering just how bland the gameplay loop is when you view it from a long run perspective, but as of now you may as well be better off spending your money somewhere else to scratch that Touhou roguelike itch.”
“Very solid art style but has an insane lack of variety in levels, gameplay, and items.”
“The gameplay is far too easy for a Touhou game.”
- music11 mentions
- 91 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and engaging compositions, with many reviewers highlighting the effective use of leitmotifs and the overall atmosphere it creates. While the soundtrack enhances the experience, some players express disappointment over the game's limited content and lack of options to customize the music. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite its current shortcomings.
“As for the music: it's gorgeous!!!”
“The regular level music is also wonderful and you can really pick up on the leitmotifs.”
“In terms of presentation, this game is pretty phenomenal: the pixel art is well made, the rooms look nice, with special mention going to the main hub area, and the music is both great and interesting, with stuff like the 1st stage theme being both eosd's stage 3 stage and boss theme.”
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their gorgeous and charming art style, with visually striking bullets and attacks that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, the lack of variety in levels and gameplay detracts from the experience, making it feel somewhat short and lacking in replayability. While the visuals are a highlight, the overall execution leaves room for improvement.
“As someone who's played this game and at the time of writing this had just completed my first run (Marisa, my beloved), I can say that in terms of visuals and gameplay, this game hits the nail right on the head.”
“Visuals: they're gorgeous and very charming. I love the way the bullets and attacks look; they really pop out but not obnoxiously. You can tell they're glowy and stuff, and I think it's really helped by the somewhat dark atmosphere of the levels.”
“Great music, fun bosses, and cool sprite graphics.”
“Very solid art style but has an insane lack of variety in levels, gameplay, and items.”
“Has potential and I love the art style, but the current game is too lackluster and has close to no replayability.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by gorgeous visuals and a charming aesthetic, with attacks and bullets that stand out without being overwhelming. The dark ambiance of the levels enhances the overall experience, and many players see potential for it to resonate with fans of similar titles like "The Binding of Isaac."
“The visuals are gorgeous and very charming. I love the way the bullets and attacks look; they really pop out but not obnoxiously. You can tell they're glowy, and I think it's really helped by the somewhat dark atmosphere of the levels.”
“This game has huge potential to be the equivalent of The Binding of Isaac for Touhou fans. The design, music, and atmosphere are perfect; the devs just need to improve over time and listen to community requests.”
“The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to get immersed in the game.”
“Despite the beautiful visuals, the overall atmosphere lacks depth and fails to evoke any real emotion.”
“The game tries to create a dark atmosphere, but it ends up feeling more dull and repetitive than engaging.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by buggy controller support, which affects gameplay experience. While character balance is a point of discussion, particularly with Cirno's unique crowd control abilities, the overall performance issues detract from the enjoyment.
“Buggy controller support.”
“Cirno is probably the best character: her damage is awful, but it can freeze enemies, so you actually have to tactically switch your targets to crowd control.”
- story1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story conveys a powerful message about resilience and the unpredictability of life, emphasizing that perseverance in the face of adversity can lead to unexpected and rewarding outcomes.
“The moral of the story is that you never know what life has in store for you. If I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note that the game can be completed in about 20 minutes if they aren't focused on grinding for every achievement, suggesting that grinding is not essential for enjoying the core experience.
“The playtime is incredibly short; if you're not grinding for every achievement, you can complete the game in roughly 20 minutes.”
“Grinding feels tedious and repetitive, making the experience less enjoyable.”
“The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall fun of the game.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its playful and exaggerated depictions of characters, particularly in their reactions after defeat, which elicits laughter through absurdity and randomness. Players find the blend of suggestive elements and comedic situations, such as Sakuya's blushing, to be both entertaining and memorable.
“The in-game art of characters after defeat is not drawn to the same level of detail as the title screen, but what is drawn is how much they blush. It's so funny and random that I dropped my spork!”
“The humor in this game is top-notch! The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud.”
“I love how the game mixes humor with gameplay. The unexpected jokes and funny character interactions keep me entertained throughout!”
