First published to western audiences by Playism on PC in 2016, Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is a Metroidvania game by Bombservice. Reverie is actually the fourth game in the Momodora series, but it's the first to get mainstream attention, being released on PS4 (with also a physical edition by Limited Run Games), Xbox One, and a week or so ago on Switch.
Reverie isn't a particularly long game, my first run took around six hours with all of the health collectibles, half of the ivory bugs, and from what I gather all of the map visited. There's a NG+ in which you start with everything you've collected (with the exception of a few progression-related items) and I've also discovered that defeating bosses without getting hit nets you exclusive items.
Reverie's controls are tight and perfectly tuned. Your character, Kaho, has a short-range attack that can string three-hit combos and brings you forward with each swing. Kaho also has a bow which can be charged for a more powerful shot, a dodge, and a double jump. Holding down the jump button will propel Kaho slightly higher into the air, and probably this is my only gripe with the controls: a lot of pitfalls need a "full strenght" jump, and I would have preferred a shorter press for them. Well, there's a second gripe in which you can't fully reassign controls, only choose between two predefined schemes.
Also, not exactly a gripe, but I don't really know what the "graphical quality" entry in the menu affects, the game looks exactly the same with whatever setting.
Anyway, the combat feels good, the platforming feels good, the dodging feels good; Reverie's controls are spot on.
There's a very limited inventory of three consummable items and two pieces of equipment, with consummables replenished upon death or when you reach a savepoint.
The game layout isn't particularly labirintine and the world not particularly vast, but there's a good number of different settings, each with its own peculiar graphics, enemies, traps, and music. The style used arkens back to 8-bit titles and has a distinct charm to it, and I'd love to see it with more details.
I've played it on Switch and the graphics are on the dark side on the console's screen, a brightness slider would have been great (and even better if there were two, one for handheld and one for docked modes).
The music is nothing special, but undernotes perfectly the various locations and boss fights. Sound effects are on the "meh" side but they do their job.
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is little nice game that won't keep you tied down for long but it's a joy to play.
Reverie isn't a particularly long game, my first run took around six hours with all of the health collectibles, half of the ivory bugs, and from what I gather all of the map visited. There's a NG+ in which you start with everything you've collected (with the exception of a few progression-related items) and I've also discovered that defeating bosses without getting hit nets you exclusive items.
Reverie's controls are tight and perfectly tuned. Your character, Kaho, has a short-range attack that can string three-hit combos and brings you forward with each swing. Kaho also has a bow which can be charged for a more powerful shot, a dodge, and a double jump. Holding down the jump button will propel Kaho slightly higher into the air, and probably this is my only gripe with the controls: a lot of pitfalls need a "full strenght" jump, and I would have preferred a shorter press for them. Well, there's a second gripe in which you can't fully reassign controls, only choose between two predefined schemes.
Also, not exactly a gripe, but I don't really know what the "graphical quality" entry in the menu affects, the game looks exactly the same with whatever setting.
Anyway, the combat feels good, the platforming feels good, the dodging feels good; Reverie's controls are spot on.
There's a very limited inventory of three consummable items and two pieces of equipment, with consummables replenished upon death or when you reach a savepoint.
The game layout isn't particularly labirintine and the world not particularly vast, but there's a good number of different settings, each with its own peculiar graphics, enemies, traps, and music. The style used arkens back to 8-bit titles and has a distinct charm to it, and I'd love to see it with more details.
I've played it on Switch and the graphics are on the dark side on the console's screen, a brightness slider would have been great (and even better if there were two, one for handheld and one for docked modes).
The music is nothing special, but undernotes perfectly the various locations and boss fights. Sound effects are on the "meh" side but they do their job.
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight is little nice game that won't keep you tied down for long but it's a joy to play.
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