Following our interview with Holoearth and hololive Alternative Producer Yuuki Oooka, I was able to dive into the world of Holoearth in a new way—the new 2D pixel action game FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ from Phoenixx and PEPOSOFT. This new RPG took me by surprise in its opening segments, proving to be a challenging game that still adopts a fun pick-up-and-play approach.
As the title suggests, FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ lets players control hololive VTuber and protagonist Shirakami Fubuki. Fubuki sets out on an adventure to restore order in Yamato, defeat the Ayakashi in her path, and resolve strange anomalies occurring in Holoearth. Along the way, Fubuki will come face-to-face with other popular VTubers, including Houshou Marine and Usada Pekora to name a few from the demo.
FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ is a Fun Pick-Up-and-Play Action Game
The FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ demo offers roughly 10 minutes or so of content with two levels, including the game’s prologue and the Underworld Casino stage. However, that can certainly be extended to 30 minutes with the Underworld Casino stage since it’s much more challenging. Before getting to the stage, the prologue briefly introduces to story from Fubuki’s perspective, and the player is thrusted into the game’s first level in Mt. Shirakami.
FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ certainly feels great to play and the control scheme is rather straightforward. With Fubuki and her Murasamemaru in hand, players can hack and slash their way through enemies in a 2D side-scrolling environment with secrets and items to uncover, if you have a good eye. There are also leaves that Fubuki can pick up, which are useful for purchasing extra lives, consumables, and even helpful tips that you can re-read from the inventory menu. These items can be purchased at the shop in Fubuki’s home before entering a stage.
Fubuki has access to companions and sub-weapons that can help declutter the screen of projectiles and enemies. By calling a companion into battle, they will unleash attacks or act on their own to protect and help Fubuki in battle. There’s a handful of them to discover and use in the demo. Certain hololive members are corrupted by “Kegare,” and its up to Fubuki to defeat them and restore their sanity. Defeating them will not only bring them to their senses, but Fubuki will earn a new sub-weapon. For instance, defeating Marine unlocks “Captain Marine’s Gun,” which is quite useful at sniping enemies.
A Decent Amount of Challenge
The Marine fight can be a little difficult for gamers who aren’t too familiar with 2D side-scrolling action games, but practicing and learning her attack patterns will certainly help in the Underworld Casino stage. This stage is full of enemies that will unleash waves of projectiles to dodge and destroy, adding some bullet hell elements into the mix. I died quite a lot in this stage, but the game is certainly fair, and the stage has multiple checkpoints.
The Underworld Casino stage introduces some verticality as well, since you will be climbing up and jumping onto platforms and defeating enemies at the same time. At the end is Pekora, and she’s essentially a tank. She has so much health and tends to charge at Fubuki while dropping small rabbits onto the stage, so the fight was really hectic. As I briefly mentioned, this stage turns up the bullet hell elements, but it was very much enjoyable.
FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ is Shaping Up to be a Great Time
The FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ demo was a bite-sized experience, but I’m very much eager to play more in the full game and see how gameplay evolves and changes throughout the playthrough. I think the sub-weapons were great at making Fubuki feel more like a dynamic threat toward her enemies especially.
Undoubtedly, I recommend FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ since it’s short and replayable, but you will absolutely need a controller to play. It’s wise to play with an Xbox controller, a DualSense, or any third-party controller that’s detectable as an Xbox controller to get the best experience.
That being said, I would certainly like to see FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ become a supported title on Steam Deck, as I think this game would be excellent to play in a portable form factor. In fact, I’d like to see it on Nintendo Switch as well, but only time will tell if that’s in the cards.
FUBUKI ～zero in on Holoearth～ is coming soon to PC via Steam.
