Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 5 out of 20
  1. RPGamer
    Nov 2, 2016
    40
    In the end, there doesn't seem to be much reason to think of Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity as more than a left-field oddity. Newcomers to the established universe will be nonplussed by its cast of characters who lack all introduction and its fly-by-night story. Repeat visitors to Gensokyo will still be hard-pressed to locate any challenge or semblance of fun within its dreary gameplay and level design.
  2. High-Def Digest
    Oct 5, 2016
    40
    For a series that only has a niche following in the West, Touhou really needs to put its best foot forward to win over a bigger audience. Unfortunately, this fan-game spinoff of the doujin series is not it. While not particularly terrible,Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity is about as middle of the road as you can get with an action RPG, and as such does not leave a good impression as one of the few English representations of the 'Touhou' series.
  3. GameGrin
    Aug 14, 2017
    35
    Everything in Touhou just feels pointless; the story is drab, the combat is flat and and the action elements are uninspired. I understand it's a fan made game but I really struggle to find anything to compliment here. I can even imagine fans of the series struggling to like it, which is pretty much the nail in the coffin. Honest opinion: Avoid this like the plague.
  5. We Got This Covered
    Sep 28, 2016
    30
    Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity attempts to blend the action-RPG and bullet hell genres, sadly doing justice to neither in the process.
  6. Destructoid
    Oct 20, 2016
    25
    The level design is dull, the platforming is simplistic, the graphics look a few generations old, the RPG elements are basic, the music is forgettable, the enemies are pushovers, the difficulty is turned all the way to easy – I'm honestly at a loss for words.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 4 out of 21
  1. minneyar
    Oct 8, 2016
    8
    The fastest way to describe Scarlet Curiosity is as a budget Ys: Oath in Felghana clone with Touhou characters, with all the good and badThe fastest way to describe Scarlet Curiosity is as a budget Ys: Oath in Felghana clone with Touhou characters, with all the good and bad things that entails.

    The gameplay is fast-paced and mowing down waves of enemies is satisfying, but the small variety of enemies gets a bit boring after a while. There's a wide variety of different environments and areas, but the randomly-generated loot means there's not much to *do* in those areas other than just run to the end; there's no point to exploration. The soundtrack is great, but there are voices and the sound effects and sound design are otherwise nothing special.

    In a nutshell, it's a good game, but not a great one. You'll get 10-15 hours of play time out of it, and it's fun while it lasts, but you'll be ready to move on by the end. That's reasonable for the budget price, though. I'd recommend this to Touhou or Ys fans -- although if you haven't played the Ys games, you're better off playing them first.    … Full Review »
  2. Phuz
    Nov 21, 2020
    10
    As others said, very much like top down Ys games. Lovely graphics, amazing soundtrack, great fun, very easy to pick up and play, no Jedi handAs others said, very much like top down Ys games. Lovely graphics, amazing soundtrack, great fun, very easy to pick up and play, no Jedi hand muscle memory needed, just good old hack and slash. Included in 700 games on PS Now at £9 a month, so if you finish in 3 days it has cost less than a quid effectively.

    Great game if it is your type of game. Think top down Zelda but scrap puzzles and add more baddy mashing,

    I love the Touhou soundtracks, really underated.    … Full Review »
  3. streetkrc
    Sep 21, 2020
    6
    The game is good only up to chapter 12, interesting, colorful and varied levels, then comes the boring monotony. And most importantly, theseThe game is good only up to chapter 12, interesting, colorful and varied levels, then comes the boring monotony. And most importantly, these lazy developers made the same levels and rivals for Remilia and for Sakuya, why did you have to do this? it just killed any sense of playing for the second character. The game is definitely not worth the time spent on this incompletion.… Full Review »
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