This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.

GensokyoDefenders is a decidedly different direction for the long-standing shoot 'em up series, Touhou. A blend of both tower defence and shmup styles, it creates an addictive and rewarding experience. As expected, you’ll fight off hordes of enemies, allocating budgets of coins to create obstacles. You’ll also, however, take control of one of the playable characters to get stuck into the fight yourself, with a range of spells and different rates of fire available for each.

The obstacles at your disposal mainly take the shape of traps, with a good array of options available. You can also select the aforementioned spells, however, which can stun and halt enemies in their tracks, giving them more time to work their magic. Defeating enemies can also provide you with upgrades — strangely in the form of UFOs — which boost your magic meter.

The great thing is that coin doesn’t carry over between levels, which allows you to go nuts with your cash and get as many traps/spells going as possible without worrying about budgeting for later stages. There are a lot of ways to handle each level, which makes experimenting to find your favourite combinations all the more satisfying.

Fans of the series will no doubt find the use of the Touhou IP exciting, though its aesthetic doesn’t add much if you’re not familiar with that world. Luckily, all of the cutscenes are skippable, allowing you to get stuck into the great gameplay straight away. The graphics are a little basic, however, and the anime style presented in said cutscenes doesn’t wholly translate to the overworld very well.

Overall, though, the blend of genres works nicely and the sheer array of variables will provide you with a good time testing out what works best for you.