Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight Reviews
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight combines the best elements of Castlevania, Dark Souls, and even Shantae to create something great. What it lacks in scale it more than makes up for in attention to detail and care.
RUtM is a pixelated portrayal punctuated by perils and parasitic personalities posed to prey upon its powerless populace.
Although it's short, Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is solid. It hits the beats of a standard Metroidvania game perfectly, and while it doesn't add anything groundbreaking or new to the genre, it gives the player a great combat system to work with. Except for the lack of music in spots and some enemy blending due to the color palette, the presentation is solid, especially for fans of pixels. The level of difficulty on display can be hit-and-miss depending on your expectations, but otherwise, fans of side-scrolling adventure games will want to check out Momodora.
In a sea of retro-inspired titles, much like Shovel Knight before it, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight stands out amongst the fray and becomes the perfect game for fans of the Castlevania or Mega Man series' of old. And I hope it doesn't get passed up by fans and critics alike. But beyond its quality retro surface offerings, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight manages to inject a few new ideas into the mix too, creating a formula that's both nostalgic yet fresh and most of all fun. And whilst its length may be a problem for gamers seeking a far more meaty retro experience, it truly doesn't outstay its welcome and offers replay value for gamers who choose to unlock all of its hidden caveats.
Momodoria is an excellent Metroidvania, and an adventure with a lot of charm that’s definitely worth owning on the Switch. Each area is just long enough to not overstay its welcome, and I was absolutely hooked throughout my four hour adventure as I grew motivated to 100% this game, and that was all just on one playthrough!
All in all, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight was worth the wait. It’s a wonderful experience on Switch that I’d recommend to all fans of Metroidvanias. While it’s true that it is very short, there is a bit of replay value. First, there are two endings to get. Secondly, there are different difficulty settings you can try, if you crave a bit more challenge. There’s also a hidden boss fight and New Game + with added difficulty. Sadly the achievements found in other versions aren’t present here, which is a missed opportunity. While I do wish there was more to do, I can’t deny I had a good time playing it. $14.99 may sound a bit pricey for a short adventure, but I feel it’s worth it. Worst case scenario, you can always pick it up on Switch when the game goes on sale. If you want a short and sweet game to play, you can’t go wrong here.
The art direction in general, from the backgrounds to enemy and boss design is quite good.
Multiple difficulties and optional areas to explore give Momodora a bit of additional replay value after you complete the five to six hour long campaign.
It is hard not to recommend Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight to anyone craving that Castlevania vibe. I just wish it had more to it. The lack of upgrades and short lifespan make it feel half-baked at times. However, with a hardcore mode to unlock and neat hidden upgrades scattered throughout, it more than justifies its price tag.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight borrows a lot of its elements from other game series, but does so in a manner that is still fun, effective, and sometimes quite beautiful.
All things considered, Momodora is a solid Metroidvania that certainly has visual flair and a solid core gameplay experience. The sensibilities with its challenge are both modern and super old school, putting the pressure on the player to “git gud” to accept and work through some ordeals to find success. While I like a good challenge I’d argue that Momodora’s weakness is a tendency towards cheapness a bit too often, which diminishes the fun a bit in the process. However, if you’re down for pushing yourself to get through this gauntlet of strange enemies and some frustration it’s worth checking out.
The combat and gameplay are the stars that shine brightest in Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight. Its twisting map will take you to a whole host of vibrant and mucky locations throughout the city of Karst, and within those places you'll encounter a number of engaging boss battles and a ton of enemy variety. Its art style can go one of two ways depending on your tastes, but the lack of upgrades is hard to overlook within a genre that holds this concept as one of its core mechanics. Metroidvania fans will find lots to enjoy here, but the wider audience will be turned off by the throwaway story and visual style that may no longer be appealing.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is an alright bite-sized gothic metroidvania title about a girl that can turn into a cat and fights with a leaf.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a fine example of the Metroidvania sub-genre. Depth-wise, it does not quite reach the heights of Guacamelee or Strider, but it far surpasses the likes of Xeodrifter. Momodora's strengths lie in the action and its charm. This is a fairly bite-sized affair when compared to the competition, but it is a bite worth trying. With all the basics set in place for such a polished and well-crafted entry, hopefully Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight will get a successor that expands on such a strong foundation.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a fine example of the metroidvania sub-genre. Depth-wise, it does not quite reach the heights of Hollow Knight, but it far surpasses the likes of Xeodrifter. It's strengths lie in the action, and its charm. This is a fairly bite-sized affair, when compared to the competition, but it is a bite worth trying. With all the basics set in place for such a polished and well crafted entry, hopefully this will get a successor that expands on such a strong foundation.
The act of moving around through the Kingdom of Karst is so well-tuned that I had a lot of fun running through hallways smacking monsters with a leaf. Unfortunately, at the end of the day Karst just wasn't a very interesting place in which to spend time, and I felt myself wishing for a bit more substance. There is undoubtedly something special going on in Momodora, but sadly I never felt like I was playing anything more than an introduction to a larger game that doesn't actually exist.
Momodora Reverie Under the Moonlight is a retro adventure with charm, but it runs out of steam a bit too soon.
Momodora is quite a nice Metroidvania, offering a good challenge and nice retro graphics. It's just a bit short and lacks some originality to stand out.
Review in French | Read full review
For hardcore gamers looking for a solid metroidvania fix, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is quite possibly worth the asking price despite its issues.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight isn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I can’t wrap my head around why it’s considered superior to Minoria. The absence of a leveling system and rarity of mandatory enemy encounters make this a faster game to complete, and the smaller player character makes it feel like you have more room during boss fights, but I continually found myself missing Minoria‘s interesting movement techs and stun-based combat.