Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

Momodora Reverie Under the Moonlight is a retro adventure with charm, but it runs out of steam a bit too soon.

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.

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.

The only minor criticism comes from the soundtrack which, while not bad, isn’t memorable and doesn’t always match the fantastic art. Overall, however, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a stunningly well-presented platformer with some of the most intuitive controls in the genre. A superb game and a credit to the indie scene.

This beautiful pixelated Metroidvania makes the graceful jump to the Nintendo Switch.

From beginning to end, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight remained a masterful example of a small project with big inspiration.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is the ideal mix of old and new.

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.