Touhou Chireiden: Subterranean Animism and games like it

The WhatsNext verdict

If mastering punishing bullet hell is your thing, this delivers demanding repeat runs, memorable boss encounters, and an evocative underworld soundtrack. Play it if you can accept limited room for error, since its late-game difficulty and harsh continues may exhaust newcomers.

What it does best

A soundtrack that makes the underworld unforgettable
A merciless test where deaths feel earned
Improvement you can see in every repeated run
Boss battles that become personal endurance tests

What might put you off

Exceptionally punishing difficulty
Harsh resource and continue design

The setup

What you are walking into

Touhou Chireiden: Subterranean Animism is the eleventh main game of the Touhou Project scrolling shooter series. Subterranean Animism features two playable characters, each with three weapon types representing a youkai assisting them from above ground. Like Mountain of Faith, collecting power items adds up to four "option" satellites around the character, which behave differently according to the character and weapon type, and can be sacrificed for a bomb effect. However, unlike Mountain of Faith, each bomb has a different behavior, and some cause special gameplay effects to occur.