As of currently, I've finished at least one run of every character, and multiple runs for the final one. The game has not received a fan translation yet, so I cannot speak much on its story, but I can currently say that it's cast is wild and what it does with it's story, from what I can gather, is very interesting and atypical of Touhou's usual routine. This review will probably be spoiler tagged later down the line when I actually can replay it and experience the story, and go for 1CCs if possible.

This game is rough around the edges, for sure, not perfect at all. I had some problems, some minor and major annoyances, but despite that, this is some of the most fun I've had with a game all year. The soul and passion poured into this game is felt in every minute of play. The long, delayed, and memed upon wait was definitely worth it in my eyes.

Gameplay wise it's something the series has never seen before, a type of 2D action game with several playable characters, and a boss rush game to boot. There are no stages here, just multiple different bosses who's attack patterns can change based on who you're playing as & where you're fighting them. The bosses are all a joy to tackle, with each of the 6 playable characters having completely, and wildly different playstyles that make each one distinct. It also has one of the wildest character returns in the series, and puts them in a spot of prominence I absolutely never could've seen coming, which I think the game deserves huge props for.

It also has just straight up one of the best OSTs in a Touhou game to date, up there with 11, 12.3, and 14.5 for me.

I will expand on this review in the future, but for now, I'll leave it at this:

Touhou 17.5 is a flawed game, but one I love every bit of regardless.