TurretGirls is an enjoyable shooter made better or ruined by its protagonist’s breakable clothes

If the world was under threat from extra-terrestrial beings, would you want to leave its safety in the hands of a single girl? That’s the case in TurretGirls, an entertaining but somewhat lewd shooter developed by NANAIRO ENTERPRISE and published by DANGEN Entertainment, available now on PC. It’s that potential lewdness, in fact, that might turn you off the game completely.

A member of the Planetary Alien Neutralisation and Tactical Support Unit, or P.A.N.T.S.U. for short, TurretGirls casts you as a young woman simply known as Girl. She’s on the frontline, battling for Earth’s survival all on her own. Sat astride a giant turret, her goal is to defend a number of generators until they can create enough energy to fire a superweapon that can destroy the alien invaders for good. Though it’s not something that’s going to be achievable on your first attempt.

You could consider TurretGirls to be a roguelike in a way, with you needing to try, try and then try again to succeed, starting from the beginning again after every failure. Thanks to your accumulated knowledge and skills at dealing with the alien forces that lie ahead, you’ll have increased chances of success the more you play. Especially when you factor in that you’ll be unlocking new turret types as you go, and accumulating XP for them which increases various attributes such as firepower, the durability of your generators, and more.

Played from a third-person viewpoint (how else are you expected to ogle the protagonist’s backside?), you’ll face off against waves of alien invaders each day. Should all of your generators be destroyed or your Girl takes too much damage, however, your battle will be over. Thankfully, at the end of each day you do manage to survive, your generators recover some durability and you get handed a wad of cash which you can then use to purchase upgrades. You’re only ever offered three random upgrades at the end of each day, however, and you have to pay if you wish to reroll them, with the cost to do so ever-increasing.

Key to success here, then, is bolstering your turret with additional weapons and upgrading them where possible, while also making sure your generators remain healthy and adding to them if the opportunity arises. You might even be able to add some generators to your ensemble that further increase your combined firepower. Ultimately, the more generators you have, the more power you can create each day to power up the superweapon and bring your ordeal to an end.

TurretGirls is easy to get the hang of, then, with you mostly just needing to aim and shoot. You can also move your turret left and right, though, which is mainly important to avoid enemy projectiles. And you can strike out with Girl if an enemy manages to get within melee range. Chances are it will take you a while to complete the game’s first stage, though, and there are a further two to tackle after that. And if you want to see just how many days you can last, endless versions of each stage are also unlockable.

There’s one mechanic in TurretGirls, however, that might make you want to give it a wide berth whether you think you’d find it enjoyable or not. You see, while most enemies will simply aim to damage your generators, some will take aim at Girl herself. If they manage to inflict harm, Girl’s clothes will take damage, eventually leaving her naked aside from a number of icons you’ve selected in the game’s options, ranging from stars to flowers. It’s pure titillation and entirely unnecessary. Of course, some will enjoy it, but it would be nice if you could turn the mechanic off and simply have a standard health bar instead.

In any case, there are other issues with TurretGirls as well. It’s a bit disappointing that enemies simply disappear when time runs out at the end of a day, for example, rather than letting you finish off any stragglers. Many will also find the game becoming a tad repetitive. Only available on PC, it’s also mind-boggling how few settings there are to tweak. You can change the resolution, but that’s about it.

So, if you like the idea of defending Earth from alien attack with gameplay obviously inspired by the likes of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, you might want to check TurretGirls out. If you don’t mind the fact that its protagonist’s clothes occasionally get disintegrated by enemy fire, at least. It’s this mechanic that will no doubt prove to be a draw for some but a deterrent for many, and it’s understandable. But one thing’s for sure: it truly is fun shooting alien hordes with the hope of surviving until your superweapon is charged.

TurretGirls is available now on PC.