Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight Reviews
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.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a masterfully crafted Castlevania clone that manages to stand out among the rest on its aesthetic.
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is the fourth installment in the unknown Momodora saga. And to be honest, despite its modest production values, it wastes quality, good design, and good work. With an interesting artistic section, a narrative that progresses as we explore the world around us, a sound section with some almost bucolic themes, and the highlight, a challenging, fun and at times demanding combat, thanks to the fluidity of the animations already how satisfactory your control is. The duration and certain peaks of difficulty are its handicaps, but it is still a highly recommended game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
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!
I’d personally recommend giving the lower difficulty a good try, but if you’re finding things a bit too easy within the first hour, it would be best to restart on the higher difficulty. The game’s Hard Mode does not pull punches, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you are looking for a more straightforward Metroidvania experience, Momodora achieves what it sets out to do very well. Despite a good half of its boss fights involving cute girls, they’re all varied and require different approaches. While it doesn’t break the mold with any of its abilities, battles, or narrative, it is a solid and enjoyable title that is well-worth a look.
This beautiful pixelated Metroidvania makes the graceful jump to the Nintendo Switch.
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.
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.
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.
Regardless of my handful of complaints, the fact is that Momodora grabbed me and never let go. From start to finish, I was in love with the world, the combat, the easter eggs, and nearly everything in between.
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.
I enjoyed my time with the game as I wrote this Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, and I found myself playing more and more even after I had finished drafting it. Sure, there’s other things I haven’t mentioned about the game, but that’s only because I don’t want to spoil it for you! There’s something very addictive about the gameplay, setting, music and graphics for the game that kept me coming back for more, so I hope it has the same effect on you. I look forward to seeing what Bombservice does next on PlayStation!
Momodora Reverie Under the Moonlight is a retro adventure with charm, but it runs out of steam a bit too soon.
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a surprising metroidvania: a game characterized by a wonderful art design and a challenging gameplay.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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
But for those who just want to see what that cute girl with horns is doing like I did, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a brief, but highly enjoyable time. It can be over before it overstays its welcome and cracks start to show, but even then those flaws aren't enough to belittle the experience.
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.
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.