Gensokyo Defenders Review – Waifu Simulator 9000

What can I say about Gensokyo Defenders on the Nintendo Switch? The same thing I say when my nieces and nephews show me something or tell me a story?

Not much.

I can’t really tell what the story is or where it’s going but they both look pretty cute trying to tell me.

Gensokyo Defenders Review

Gensokyo Defenders is a shooter/tower defence game. You control a fairy (I think )who I’m pretty sure is playing a game with other fairies from school.

The aim of the game is to protect your base with traps, spells and by shooting lasers out of a wand.

I think.

Gensokyo Defenders is quite a simple tower defence. Gameplay takes place on a single straight lane of various lengths with enemies spawning at one end while your base rests at the other.

There was little variety in the enemies aside from their speed or how much damage they did if they hit your fairy. The game added more traps for you to dabble with as the levels progress.

Waifu is Laifu

The action is kind of frantic; dazzling lights and walls of fire splash across the screen as the action unfolds. It’s not messy frantic, just kind of button-mashy and it can sometimes be difficult to work out who is who.

That being said I found Gensokyo Defenders surprisingly fun. It was simple to understand the game mechanics and once I gave up on whatever the story was I was able to enjoy the puzzle strategy game for what it is.

As you progress through the levels, recoloured enemies denote a greater challenge with increased health and damage. The levels shift from cutesy forest villages to a lava-filled hell-scape, which I assume was a succubus lair or something.

As I said, I couldn’t grasp the story very well.

Story, Schmory

Gensokyo Defenders appears to have a decent amount of replayability, with three fairies to begin with and many more to unlocks.

There are 23 levels with a customisable difficulty level. It is sure to keep fans of the Touhou franchise or tower defence enthusiasts entertained for hours.

The graphics are quite neat if not simple, and the sound design is what you’d expect of a teen girl fairy battle game. Lots of high pitched voices and sparkles. That being said it’s not bad, I’m probably just not the target market for Gensokyo Defenders.

But then again I’m not sure who is. It’s far too complex and challenging for kids, and I received lots of weird looks playing it on the bus without headphones in.

I haven’t played a tower defence game in a while, but Gensokyo Defenders really surprised me and reignited my interest in the genre. It had enough action as a stick-shooter that I wasn’t just setting traps and hoping that was enough.

That being said I think that it fails to really utilise the Switch’s potential and feels more like a mobile game than a console title. 

Gensokyo Defenders was reviewed on Switch using a digital code provided by the publisher.

PowerUp! Reviews

Game Title: Gensokyo Defenders

• 5/10
  Visuals - 5/10
• 4/10
  Audio - 4/10
• 5.5/10
  Gameplay - 5.5/10
• 10/10
  Waifus - 10/10

6.1/10

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