The latest installment of the Touhou series of bullet hell shooters has been announced. The 18th project will be called Unconnected Marketeers.
The Touhou Project is a series of games produced solely by developer ZUN since 1997. The series takes place in the magical realm of Gensokyo where humans are threatened by man-eating youkai and other disasters.
The series has become a constant source of “doujin soft” fan games and fanmade manga (doujinshi). Though the game is titled as the 18th, the game is actually the 30th game in the series when accounting for canonical spinoffs.
The new game was announced on developer ZUN’s Twitter page along with a link to a blogpost covering Unconnected Marketeers.
記事を書きましたー。東方Project 第18弾 の情報です。https://t.co/cQWCNic3zB
— 博麗神主 (@korindo) February 27, 2021
The new game will feature Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, the two constant protagonists of the series; alongside Sakuya Izayoi and Sanae Kochiya who were bosses in previous games and have been playable in the past.
A summary of the plot provided in the blog post can be found below.
“A mysterious card was circulating in the streets. It seemed that the card contained the secrets of many humans and youkai. Why, how … out in the survey.”
Translation: Google Translate
The game will also feature a new mechanic that speculatively affects the shooting and or bombs available to the playable characters. Three slots on the side of the screen exist for cards that may affect the way each character behaves.
A demo for Unconnected Marketeers will be available beginning March 21st during the yearly Reitaisei convention dedicated to Touhou Project and its fanworks.
The full game is expected to release in May.
