Special attacks, such as a chainsaw throw and a spinning shield, are worth tracking down.
As metroidvania games become more intricate, there’s something refreshing about going back to basics. And Touhou Luna Nights – a spinoff from longrunning cult series Touhou Project – certainly strips the genre down to its fundamentals.
Compact and breezy, your journey here progresses without the burden of excess baggage. Just don’t let that lack of frills fool you into thinking it’s going to be an easy ride.
If you’re not familiar with the many Touhou Project games (there are 19 mainline ones, plus spinoffs), don’t worry – Luna Nights is selfsufficient. Sure, the characters here are series regulars, but it barely matters who they are and the plot is no less back-to-basics than the rest of the game. To summarise, protagonist Sakuya, a human maid who works in a demon mansion, is placed inside a kind of simulated world by her mistress Remilia in between mopping floors and making cups of tea. She now has to escape this game within a game world, and other characters cameo as bosses along the way.