GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon Reviews
Less a reboot of a forgotten NES game and more a sub-par clone of Dead Cells, where the gorgeous visuals cannot hide the mediocre gameplay.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is a gorgeous game with solid side-scrolling combat, but its genre shift to the roguelike form hasn't paid off. The progression system is slow and the upgrades you obtain are pretty deal, leading to a roguelike experience that doesn't do enough to incentivise sticking with it for very long.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is not up to the level of the exponents from which it is inspired, but it remains a decent diversion for those who want yet another action roguelite.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Finally, hell is not such a bad place. We browse and explore with pleasure the places full of Ukiyo-e style colors that GetsuFumaDen offers us.
Review in French | Read full review
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is an intense follow up with an addictive gaming loop, although once you’ve beaten the game there is little to warrant a return. Yes, there are additional difficulty settings to unlock and one extra secret, but other than that there isn't anything groundbreaking to urge players back after that first run through. Hopefully, Konami can add some extra DLC in the form of levels or extra bosses.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon reinvents itself through the inclusion of rogue-lite elements. However, the weight of numerous collectibles, basic combat and odd design decisions mean that the game struggles to compete with contemporaries. Although there is still plenty to enjoy for fans of the original and newcomers, it fails to cut through the competition.
The premises were there, the artistic direction is probably one of the most impactful and evocative seen in the 2D field in recent years, but GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is lost in the execution.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Many of the avoidable snags found in GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon were solved by genre predecessors long before this game was announced. There is no doubt that in a few patches time this could be a fantastic game - but that's if Konami, which hasn't been in many gamer's good books for a long time, actually grants the development team the time and the funding to work on it. As it stands the game could end up being something special, the trouble is other similar Switch titles already are.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is a classic roguelike game with a stellar art design and some issues in terms of balancing, that forces the player to grind a lot to be more competitive.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I desperately want Undying Moon to be a linear, level-based adventure where I can see all the levels and fight all the bosses without enduring the tedious rigmarole that roguelites require. Keep the randomized level layouts! Keep the randomized paths and boss encounters if you have to, but just let me play your beautiful game without all these roadblocks. Eventually, I just got sick of Undying Moon. It was more frustrating than compelling, in part because it does so much right, but its wings are clipped right out the gate by its grind-heavy, roguelite trappings. There are better roguelites out there (Binding of Isaac and Dead Cells, for example), but I'm sorry to say none of them look nearly as amazing as Undying Moon.
If you're so tired of Hades and Dead Cells, there might be a different alternative.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Challenging, rewarding, gorgeous and culturally authentic, GetsuFumaDen is one of the most enjoyable roguelikes I’ve played. Mechanically it doesn’t do much to challenge or reinvent the formula, but it streamlines it beautifully. Meanwhile, it offers a vivid and detailed, classical take on Japanese art styles and the Hyakki Yagyō storytelling tradition. As a starting point for learning more about both these things, you couldn’t ask for something more inspired.
I didn't expect to love GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon as much as I did. As a revival of an old game that not many folks are aware of, it does an excellent job of offering a modern and challenging roguelike experience. I hope to see many more games like this.
Well, I’m happy to say the developers have accomplished making a kickass action game that I definitely see myself falling in love with on my Steam Deck, and while I am disappointed in myself for not getting this covered during the EA period, it definitely is in an outstanding spot right now, and with future tweaks here and there, this action game is only going to get better, and I am proud to say that Konami did it, they made an original, new game that’s super enjoyable and worth your time.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is a slow-paced rogue-like that sees a samurai fighting through limbo and defeating hordes of monstrosities that live in the depths of hell. Using sharp blades, spears and multiple other armaments you will be slaying, upgrading your arsenal and fighting huge bosses while navigating through a maze searching for a away out. If you die, however, your soul is reincarnated into a new body, losing everything you’ve gathered. You’ll need to start afresh and fight your way back to the top again. A typical formula for any good rogue-like, this is no exception.
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon doesn’t feel like it adds anything new to the side-scrolling roguelike genre; for some, that’s just fine. Not everything needs to be high-octane-melt-your-brain gameplay, right? GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon instead feels like playing a beautifully painted Japanese wall scroll come to life, its colors slowly meandering across the screen as they melt into one graceful bloodpit at the bottom. If you prefer form over function or are just curious about this Eastern franchise finally coming West, GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is ready to slash up a good time.
The protagonist, Fuma, is a skilled warrior with very plastic movements. With all this fascinating ambience of the ancient Japan, not only thanks to the visual but also the soundtrack, seeing all the plasticity of a good hit with a sword is an important part of the game for immersion. To help visualization, movement is slow. However, this is still an action game, and having the gameplay suffer with slow movements isn't exactly ideal. This example sums what GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is: an action game with beautiful visuals. However, its visual refinement sometimes goes beyond what can be functional. It's a title that tries to incorporate features from successful modern roguelikes. However, what inspired it didn't serve to give it prominence and personality sometimes. It's a game with potential to be extraordinary but loses itself in the mundane.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Quite an explosive cocktail not suitable for all audiences but capable of leaving you with a great taste in your mouth if you are one of those who do not cringe in the face of adversity.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is the continuation of a Konami classic from 1987 that comes to us maintaining a 2D gameplay but with a development based on roguelite mechanics. Audiovisually it is very powerful and playable very dynamic, but the economy of the game does not seem well adjusted and progressing will cost us much more than desired, which can be a hindrance. With some adjustments we would be facing a remarkable game, hopefully GuruGuru and Konami take note.
Review in Spanish | Read full review