Gensokyo Night Festival Scenes

[Reitisen]

Alright, to start off, I'm going to be talking about GNF (Gensokyo Night Festival), which has been a game that I've been following for pretty much the start of development ~around 2019.

Lots of people talked about it and even shared some screen shots of some of the more cooler scenes (Marisa's being the more dramatic one).

I'm pretty interested in this project, even though, as of now, it seems like the creator hasn't posted since 2022 on their most recent account (they regularly do art), and it has been 7 months without an update to the current development, though half-year waits for development have happened before. 

Nonetheless, I wanted to share the current scenes with some GIFs until hopefully the next update comes out and it has more content. 
Spoilers (Includes some bosses from the beta branch and some secret areas)

Spoiler

Back Shrine

Not-So-Secret-Hotspring

Ka-Boom

Genbu-Ravine

Somewhat-Secret-Spring

Iku-The-Great-Pain-Fish

Tenshi-REAL-Pain

[kymoh]

Wow! The graphics are really pretty and nice! I especially love the secret spring. Nonetheless all of the other locations also have so much detail with the foreground, background, particles, etc. I'm really impressed that one person can make all this. I think I might take a look and give it a try.

Speaking of which, could you please tell more about GNF? More specifically, what you do in the gameplay, how big/long is the game, how much of it is complete, that sort of thing. I'm hoping a short explanation about it will help me and other readers to decide to play the game or not.

Anyways, thanks for sharing! It looks beautiful!

[Reitisen]

11 hours ago, kymoh said:

Wow! The graphics are really pretty and nice! I especially love the secret spring. Nonetheless all of the other locations also have so much detail with the foreground, background, particles, etc. I'm really impressed that one person can make all this. I think I might take a look and give it a try.

Speaking of which, could you please tell more about GNF? More specifically, what you do in the gameplay, how big/long is the game, how much of it is complete, that sort of thing. I'm hoping a short explanation about it will help me and other readers to decide to play the game or not.

Anyways, thanks for sharing! It looks beautiful!

Controls: GNF is mostly a platforming game geared towards controller players, though keyboard controls still work just as fine. Z is your melee, X is shoot, and C is to lock onto enemies for shooting. You also have gauges that can be filled with density or sparsity.

Gameplay & Design: 
Gameplay is a little bit empty as most of it focuses on bosses rather than regular enemies, which are scattered and far between. You can rush through enemies to advance, and there is no reason to defeat them yet, but there is a currency system in the works.

Level design is also a little bit iffy at the start, though it gets better later with stage themes.

The gameplay is a bit too fast depending on your frame rate; unfortunately, there is no option to control most of the game's settings, which might be hard for potato PCs with the graphics and those with faster hardware to have some stable speed as the game doesn't allow you to choose an optimal frame rate in the game, which might make boss fights way too fast to enjoy.

Combat also needs a rework, as most attacks require you to risk pausing to deal good damage, which will always punish the player with the boss performing an attack within that time frame.

Boss fights and visuals are pretty much the only thing that's going on in this game until new content is released.

I would say this game is in a very early beta stage, given the content not being fully flushed out and it feeling empty. It has all the systems in place, but not a lot of content to explore and experience.
This game started development around ~2019 to 2024 with the help of PLAYISM and WSS Playground for advertising and general management. Overall, the development of the game at the start was pretty strong, with monthly updates on the current development of the game, but there were hiccups from time to time and even longer than 6-month hiatuses for updates to then about 3-4 month updates to the present last update in October 2023. All of which seem to be happening again with the stage 3 hiatus.

Generally, I don't recommend getting this game now due to these facts and the development hell it is in. Wait until this game is fully released for more reviews, though it is probably going to take more than a year or two (maybe three or more) given that the history of development is not favorable.

Here is the general statement on Steam,  which is the original statement from the launch in 2019.

Quote

Why Early Access?

“We want to communicate with users and receive lots of feedback in order to polish up the final product. We had an early access for Touhou Luna Nights, which was very successful, so we would like to try the same process this time as well.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“This title is a completely solo project, from the graphics and music to the programming, so there is currently no exact timeline for when the game will be completed. However the developer is aiming to have it completed within 1~2 years.
It may take some time, but the goal is to bring you a polished title with a beautifully realized Gensokyo, all of your favorite Touhou characters and truly entertaining features.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The full release will have all the boss stages. The level design has also been adjusted and has been designed taking the whole game into account. The early access version was designed to allow quick access to battles and exploration.

We are planning for there to be 6 stages in total. Release will be after we have developed the final stage and boss and the game can be cleared normally.

Based on user feedback we are planning the following updates:

・Additional playable characters.
・Around 10 additional close combat skills.
・Adjustments to ranged attacks.
・A new EXP. system allowing players to choose which stats to increase.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“While the full game will have 6 stages, the current early access version is just the first stage. The other 5 stages will have new game mechanics, enemies and a complete cast of bosses.

Currently the only playable character is the main character Suika. We are planning to add other characters to the roster so players can choose their favorite to play with. There are also plans to add new moves to use in combat and an experience point system that can be used to raise a character’s stats.

The early access version gives access to a lot of skills from the start in order for users to have an idea on what kind of skills are available. In the full release skills will be unlocked and upgraded gradually as you progress through the game.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Taking into account the volume of additional content compared to the early access version, the price is likely to be set at 1.5~2 times the current price.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Using the community hub, we are sounding out what the general opinion is on Steam. Periodically we will collect user comments and requests in English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese and send them as feedback to the developer.”

Not very good, as it seems the developer has introduced too many promises while being a solo developer, which is unfortunate.

[Ken Hisuag]

I bought this demo (can't really call it a game for now) very early on, fresh off of experiencing Luna Nights, enamored by its excellent artstyle, creative gameplay, and the promise of a metroidvania that was guaranteed to have those two things going for it at the very least. I enjoyed it, and part of me does resent the likelihood that it will never get finished. But I can't say I regret buying it, because the artstyle and gameplay gimmick are still available there. It's not worth $13, which is what it's currently priced at, but I'm still glad it exists.