Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

I quite enjoyed my short time with Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, even if it is quite short and simplistic.

Reverie Under the Moonlight is a highly polished Metroidvania with wonderful aesthetics, and introduces a number of interesting gameplay and combat mechanics. The non-linear exploration, progressive unlocking of new areas, and backtracking are generally enjoyable, and what lore and story exist are competent. Unfortunately, the developers don't make good use of its great combat mechanics due to poor encounter design and an excessive number of easily missable combat abilities. In addition, rewards for exploration tend to be bland and the short length leaves the world and story underdeveloped. The short and sweet Metroidvania experience Reverie Under the Moonlight offers is definitely worthwhile and will satisfy fans of the genre, but the aforementioned design shortcomings keep it from standing out from the pack.

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.

Even though I may have sounded a bit overly critical of Momodora:RUM over the course of this review, there is still a perfectly serviceable game here that will certainly find its audience. If you're the type of person who skips cutscenes and plays games at a decibel only a pigeon could appreciate, then I just might have the game for you. While the actual act of playing the game is a pleasure, it's kind of like building a sandcastle in the middle of a construction site; there's fun to be had, but the circumstances you find yourself in are less than ideal.

For most of its tenure, Reverie Under the Moonlight is a satisfying game. It sounds unlikely, but the inviting presentation melds wonderfully with its uninviting atmosphere. The initial search and discovery process recalls the familiar comfort of games like Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, with fun and challenging combat sprinkled throughout. But short of not finishing the game, there's no way to avoid the less-impressive closing hours when it runs out of new ideas, and at worse, halts your progress with increasing instant deaths and obtuse progress requirements.