Azure Reflections

In all these years of talking about shoot 'em ups, I'm honestly a little surprised the Touhou Project hasn't come up more. To say that this series has been prolific is an understatement, as we've seen a staggering 27 official Touhou games in only 22 years, and that's not even including the countless fan-made projects that transplant the iconic characters into a bunch of different genres. Azure Reflections is one of the most recent bullet hell shoot 'em up to be inspired by this long-running franchise, and the result is an action-packed new Switch game filled with anime girls and bullets. Lots and lots of bullets.

This is the story of a world that was once completely covered in a deep red mist, until one day a pair of young girls who can shoot laser beams brought peace and love back to the land. Unfortunately, it didn't stick and the evil red mist is back with a vengeance. Thankfully, the same girls that saved the day the first time around quickly noticed the return of the nightmare and teamed up with a fairy living in the Misty Lake to thwart a vampire named Remilia Scarlet.

Long story short, Azure Reflections is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up starring a trio of anime girls and a whole lot of bullets. And I mean that. The cutesy look is deceptive, because this game is designed to kick your ass. The emphasis here is on the challenging boss fights, each of which has multiple parts with all kinds of crazy patterns to dodge. It's a fun but often insane obstacle course that can simultaneously be overwhelming and incredibly satisfying.

The good news is that the developers have given us a few tools in order to navigate our way through the thousands and thousands of bullets. For one thing, we're able to slow down the three girls by pulling the shoulder button, which helps to weave through all the enemy fire without being hit. This also shows us the hit box, which appears as a tiny heart in the middle of each girl's body. It's also nice that we're not immediately killed when we get hit by a bullet. Getting hit will stun the heroes for a brief moment, opening them up to a kill shot if they don't recover in time.

One thing I like is how the girls can stun enemies and use a lunging attack to inflict massive damage and defeat the various bosses. There are also spell cards, which are different per character and give you a massive advantage in a hectic fight. These limited attacks are a real lifesaver, especially when going up against the bosses. And that's not the only thing that is differentiates these characters. The three girls differ in speed and types of attacks, giving you an incentive to play through the game with each of them in order to see which you like best.

I also like how much stuff there is to unlock and buy with the in-game currency. We start out with only one playable character, but as you beat the game, you'll open up more heroes, more modes, a higher difficulty and even an extra bonus stage. You can also use the money you collect to buy new accessories (like glasses, tails and hats) in the item shop. I'm a big fan of the customization and wish the developers would have leaned into it a little more.

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Unfortunately, there are a few things I don't like about Azure Reflections. We should probably start with the level designs, which are barely there. It often feels like you spend a tiny amount of time in a stage before the boss shows up, so it can sometimes feel like you're doing little more than rushing from one boss to the next. I wanted to see these levels fleshed out a bit more, since they tend to be a nice reprieve from the usual bullet hell madness. You barely get a chance to see the backgrounds.

And that brings me to my other problem with the level designs -- they're boring. There are eight stages total, and half of them are set in this weird alternate dimension filled with clouds and floating objects. It's cool the first time you see it, but it looks exactly the same the next three times it pops up. So in reality, we're only playing through a few different looking stages, and you really start to feel the lack of variety in the repeat playthroughs.

I would also add that the graphics aren't especially good. Maybe it's because I just came off of reviewing Shikhondo: Soul Eater, but the visuals here look dated. The bosses are small and aren't very interesting looking, and the various backgrounds are simple and not especially memorable. You also run into the same few enemies throughout the course of the game, which just adds to the repetition. Some of the bullet patterns are gorgeous, but I wish I could say the same about the rest of the game.

Whether you're a long-time fan of Touhou or just hearing about the series now, Azure Reflections is a fun bullet hell shooter with a goofy sense of humor and punishingly difficult bosses. Unfortunately, the lackluster level designs and dated graphics mar an otherwise entertaining experience. I wouldn't choose this over many of the official releases, but fans of Touhou will enjoy a lot of what this game does. As for me, I'm mixed.