Developed by: Bombservice
Published by: Playism
Following the release of Samus Returns, I’ve found myself in a Metroidvania mood. Due to this, I flipped my way through my Humble Bundle archive and found this little gem. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight was most certainly a great game for me to scratch that Metroidvania itch. Reverie Under the Moonlight is developed by Bombservice and is the fourth entry in the Momodora series. Be that as it may, you don’t need to play the rest of the games in the series to understand this installment, because it takes place centuries in the future.
On starting the game, you’re placed in the role of a priestess from a neighboring village. Her village has been cursed, so she’s seeking an audience with the queen. Although, it’s never that easy. You need to fight your way through the cursed kingdom’s lands to make your way to the queen and ask for her help to lift the curse.
Momodora is a short game, but that plays to the advantage of its aesthetically pleasing visuals. The scenery, enemies, and characters are always refreshing to look at when you’re playing, and have a lot of variety. The areas are small, but there are new enemies in each area, so there’s never a dull moment.
Too much water.
Although, like all Metroidvania games, the combat is where this game really shines. The priestess has a maple leaf as a melee weapon. Yeah, a maple leaf. Jokes aside, it’s a pretty practical weapon in this game and the only melee weapon you get, so get used to it. Heck, I might even move to Canada to take up the art of the maple leaf. In addition to her leaf, the priestess has a bow that can be used for shoot single shots or be charged up for triple arrow shots. The bow is immensely useful, so it’s a good idea to charge it up ahead of time to get the jump on enemies. Outside of that, the priestess has a dodge roll that allows you to avoid enemy moves Dark Souls-style.
The bow does a fantastic job at getting rid of annoying enemies.
Throughout the game, you’ll encounter a wide variety of items. These items are divided into two categories, active and passive. Like you’d expect, active items are usable items that you put in one of your item slots and can activate on command when needed. Passive items act as equipment, and you get two slots for them. Some of my favorite passive items include the ones that give you poison arrows and give your attacks fire damage.
The most memorable moments of this game are had in the boss fights. In some way or another, you will most likely find some sort of challenge with each boss, which makes it all the more rewarding when you defeat them. In the event you lose a boss fight, there’s always a save point right before a boss, so you always have the opportunity to try new strategies and get better. Additionally, boss fights are always met with a great 8-bit track to jam to while you’re pummeling their faces in or vice-versa.
The trick is to slap her “breasticles” until she dies.
Overall, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is an amazing Metroidvania game with magnificent gameplay and pixel art. Through the iterations of the series, the mechanics have become extremely well-polished to the point that I was shocked I hadn’t heard of this series until I fished it out of my Humble Bundle library. The art and music tracks don’t fall far behind either, which goes to show that the team at Bombservice made a product of their passion. My only complaint is that it’s short (roughly 6-7 hours), but that works to its advantage in that it never for a moment skips a beat.
Final Verdict: Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a Metroidvania title you can’t pass up for the measly asking price of $10. You will beat it in roughly 6-7 hours, but you’ll enjoy every minute of it, and maybe come back for insane difficulty.