Marfusha: Sentinel Girls’ source code is messy, but it gets the job done 

It’s not every day that you get to see the original source code of a commercial game, so any piece of code shared publicly is bound to be passionately examined by fans, professionals and amateurs alike. Japanese solo indie developer Hinyari9 recently caused a whirlwind of impressed, critical and amused reactions from users when they shared a snippet of Marfusha: Sentinel Girls’ source code on their personal X (formerly Twitter) account on April 9. 

Marfusha: Sentinel Girls is a base defense shooting game that released in 2021 for the PC (Steam). Its attractive setting and engaging fast-paced gameplay earned it subsequent releases for the PS4/PS5, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game currently boasts a Very Positive status on Steam, out of 2,220 reviews. 

Sentinel Girls’ developer is currently working on a sequel titled Snezhinka: Sentinel Girls 2, which is planned to release sometime in 2024. Perhaps reminiscing about the first title’s development process, Hinyari9 decided to share a screenshot of some of Marfusha: Sentinel Girls’ source code with fans on X. The code appears to be related to the game’s Challenge Mode, in which the player attempts to survive for as many days as possible. 

Hinyari9’s post is humorous and self-deprecating in nature, as they follow up with a tweet saying, “I’m still terrible, but I’m surprised I was able to finish making a game at this level.” However, their grand reveal prompted a variety of reactions, with many users expressing dismay at the amount of seemingly unnecessary nesting going on. While “spaghetti code” is often used to describe disorganized code, users nicknamed Marfusha’s code “terraced rice field code” for its layered look.  

While many saw the code and said, “I want to refactor it so bad,” Hinyari9 has also earned a lot of praise for their straightforward and determined approach – with users commenting, “It’s not pretty but it works, its readable and foolproof,” “I can feel (the developer’s) strong will to just complete the game,” and “this is the joy of being a solo developer.” 

As an aside, earlier this year, the developers of the Like a Dragon series and Palworld also showed some of their source codes, pleasantly surprising users.

Marfusha: Sentinel Girls is available for the PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. Snezhinka: Sentinel Girls 2 is planned for release in 2024 for the PC (Steam).