Touhou Project creator ZUN will release a new game at the milestone-reaching Comic Market 100. The game will be titled Touhou 18.5: 100th Black Market. Both its storyline and gameplay system will take inspiration from ZUN’s previous game, Touhou 18: Unconnected Marketeers.
The story of 100th Black Market will take place shortly after the events of Unconnected Marketeers. A black market that greatly increases the value of Ability Cards outside of the creator’s control has appeared in Gensokyo. While the prequel had four playable characters, this game will solely focus on Marisa Kirisame as she investigates the black market while trying to collect the cards for herself.
100th Black Market will focus on the card collection aspect. In a similar fashion to Unconnected Marketeers, players will be able to purchase and equip Ability Cards that give various buffs to Marisa, which range from passive buffs to additional attacks. Players will aim to complete the card collection while trying out different combinations. A market stage in Touhou 18.5 will consist of several short waves generated randomly.
Touhou 18.5: 100th Black Market will be available for PCs. ZUN’s Team Shanghai Alice will sell physical copies of the game at Comiket 100 in Tokyo Big Sight on August 14, 2022. The developer has also confirmed plans to bring the new game to digital platforms, including Steam.