Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

This was my first momodora game and was pleasantly surprised, really great game, mechanics and of course, the pixel art. I would like it to be longer, but i wouldn't have liked low quality instead.

Momodora - Reverie under the Moonlight is an action game. The story follows a young priestess who is trying to stop a curse from destroying her village. There are few NPC. Some give keys, participate in battles, or just have 3 lines they repeat. The story is easy to follow, but not engaging. The character development consists of health upgrades, which are found, passive abilities (mostly for the bow), active spells, and traversal abilities. There are only two weapon types - the leaf (the melee weapon), which has 1 upgrade, and the bow, which has numerous passive abilities and the charged shot. The additional items provide spells and recharge upon reaching a checkpoint. The area design and traversal are mostly adequate. The issue is the combination of the checkpoint-based saving system (the progress saved only upon using it, there are no auto-saves) and instant-killing environmental hazards, such as spikes and water. But not all bodies of water are deadly - some lead to other areas, which is inconsistent. The map always shows area exits, which helps to locate hidden upgrades. Fast travel becomes available late, but it is still usable. Another downside is the difficulty curve - when a boss is defeated without taking damage, it drops a powerful accessory, thus the skilled player has an even easier experience than the one unfamiliar with the genre. The bosses themselves are diverse, though the only challenging aspect is defeating them without taking damage. Otherwise, the battles are trivial, but still visually appealing. Finally, there is contact damage - unless the foe is stunned, standing at the same spot hurts, stuns, and pushes back the protagonist. In combination with the above-mentioned environmental hazards, it might be quite irritating. The graphics and sound are minimalistic yet expressive and fitting. The keyboard controls are rebindable. Only one minor visual bug has been experienced during the playthrough (5 hours not including restarts).

The game is very pleasing to see, the graphism is good quality, and the animations are fluid and complete with no trace of clumsiness or heaviness. The story is straightforward and simple, wet the atmosphere of the different scenery and the personnality of the characters are well transmitted. The game has a fairly good potential for a second playthrought, as a pacifist, to uncover all the secrets and curious easter-egg or simply with a higher difficulty. The challenge is present (but please note that i am not used to platforme game), and the ulgrades are fun and useful to get and use. I get the game while it had a smaller price (for 5euros, i think), and mainly because i was curious. I beat the game in 7 hours, and it was a good surprise.

I guess the best way to classify this game is "diet metroidvania". You get some backtracking, but not much. You get some skill upgrades, but a toned down version. Yo get some story, but watered down. You get boss fights, but not huge bosses with a million patterns to learn. It's the perfect game for people that a) enjoy the idea of a metroidvania but can't be bothered with huge maps and stuff or b) just for those days when you don't feel like playing a big ass game. It would be a 5 IMO, but I'll go with 4 because of the lack of controller remapping and the fact that's in 4:3 aspect ratio.

It's a very competent Metroidvania with a Bloodborne-esque tone. Does have a few serious design flaws, but it still plays well enough and is well worth it for a few dollars if the price ever reaches that point. Would give it a 3.5 if I could, but would rather lean towards 4. One thing that really stands out is the soundtrack. Does a terrific job setting the mood for any given area. Weirdly, the overall art style is a bit at odds with the morbid tone and setting, but oh, well. It's done so well it's hard to care.