2023 seems to be shaping up to be the year I step out of my comfort zone. Normally, Bullet Hell games aren’t my thing. I usually don’t have the reflexes to stay on top of avoiding the large number of attacks coming at me. Usually, games associated with the Touhou Project IP are out of my skill level. Touhou: New World turns the popular multi-media IP into a digestible Action RPG with Bullet Hell elements.

In Touhou: New World, you play as either Reimu or Marisa as they find themselves transported to the human world. After they return to Gensokyo, they discover a human from the Outside World named Sumireko, who is obsessed with Gensokyo. Mysterious things start happening, and it is up to Reimu (or Marisa) to get to the bottom of it in order to regain their strength and protect their home.

Touhou: New World is a fan-made game based on the Touhou Project IP. Unlike other big IP, the creators of Touhou Project encourage fanworks, and this game was made from pure fan passion. This shows in every aspect of the environment. While I’m not super experienced in Touhou content, it was interesting to see environments and easter eggs from other games sprinkled throughout Touhou: New World

The gameplay is relatively simple in concept. You explore various levels, completing objectives like finding keys or killing certain enemies. You can jump, use a variety of combat skills, and defend against specific attacks signaled by a blue wave from the enemy. If you defend at the right time, you can implement a “perfect guard” which is similar to Witch Time in Bayonetta. Time slows down allowing you to deal a large amount of damage before the enemy can react.

Each character learns various skills (with 4 mapped to buttons) including powerful ultimate skills. Using your basic skills will level them up over time, while the ultimate skills have to be strengthened through special side quests. Also, as you defeat enemies you level up and collect “strength stones,” which can be used to boost your stats after a certain point in the game.

At the end of each level, there is a boss, which is usually a familiar Touhou character. These are the more intensive Bullet Hell sections, but if you are leveled (and geared) correctly, these battles aren’t impossible. In fact, while I’ve died a few times on each boss, once I learned their attack patterns things got a bit easier. Maybe this was easier because I had just finished reviewing Blasphemous 2 before starting Touhou: New World too.

As you explore each level you can break boxes and other destructibles or open chests to find equipment items. Sometimes equipment will drop from enemies too, but it is more reliable to explore to find them. There are different rarities for items, but as you level up and progress, you’ll have to focus on stats rather than the rarities. You can also reforge items after a certain point in the game, which is helpful if you find a good piece of gear with a bad stat or two.

The translations for the text are surprisingly good. I haven’t seen any English mistakes or anything like that. There isn’t really any English voice acting, but most of your time will be spent exploring anyway even though there are story elements in between. The text is large and easy to read too, which is nice for accessibility’s sake.

As far as downsides go, Touhou: New World only really has two drawbacks. The first is that people unaware of Touhou Project content may not know who any of the characters are. The second drawback is that there are a few sections where the game lags a little. This usually only happens if there are a lot of enemies or particles on the screen, and it hasn’t caused me to die yet. If anything, it’s just a slight bit of slowdown, and may not even happen on the non-Switch versions.

If you’re a Touhou Project fan, I think Touhou: New World is an accessible fan-made experience. If anything, it might be especially accessible for people who aren’t fond of Bullet Hells or are just new to the genre. Each character has a slightly different story, so there is replay value. It is a pretty fun action RPG-style game too, so I’d encourage you to check it out.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Touhou: New World was provided by XSEED Games for this review.

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Touhou: New World

$24.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Casual Bullet Hell Gameplay
• Smooth Controls
• Colorful Environments
• Interesting Story

Cons

• Minor Framerate Issues
• A Few Camera Bugs