Momodora - Reverie Under the Moonlight: An aspiring cult classic

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Hello everybody! How are the giant robots combats going with Vanguard Bandits, the Tactic JRPG I talked about in last entry? Good? In this new entry I’m going to talk about a game that, despite having been released pretty recently, it could have been released easily at the same time that Vanguard Bandits almost 20 years ago now. It’s a game which existence I completely ignore up until now and that I discovered just by pure coincidence while I was checking around Steam, and oh boy it was love on first sight. Actually, I´m pretty surprised I never heard anything about this game before, for I’m one of those that checks the new and reviews on a daily basis, but I guess this is just one more proof of how much (and fast) the game industry keeps growing, making it more and more difficult to keep up with all the titles that are released month after month (and even more difficult to have time to play them all!), specially when most of the media seems to focus mainly in the titans of the industry. The discovery of Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, which is the title of the game I’m going to talk about, has taken me back directly to the times where there was no internet or smartphones to allowed you to stay up to date with the latest news anywhere and anytime (yes, yes… I’m that old…), making me feel again the magic of the times when my dad use to take me to the local game store where you could discover all the new releases, and where I use to spend hours and hours checking the back side of the boxes, trying to figure out what the game would be like by looking at the couple of screenshots displayed in the box (yup, no HD trailers neither, just your imagination…) Good old times… But those were other times, and now is time for Momodora, so let’s see what this new jewel of the videogame indie scene has to offer, for it seems it has the potential to become a cult classic.

Developed by an indie Brazilian team called Bombservice, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is 2D action-adventure game that belongs to the ever popular Metroidvania genre, and seasoned with a little bit of Dark Souls. Yup, yup, you read that right, and if you keep reading, you will understand why. In fact, Reverie Under the Moonlight is not the first entry in the series, but the fourth one, though it is the first entry to adopt the Metroidvania formula, as the first three entries in the series were classic style 2D platform games (that you should also check out if you like that genre). The story of Momodora puts us in the role of Kaho, a young priestess that sets on a journey to fight a curse that is spreading across the land before it is completely engulfed by the darkness. Despite being a simple story, what makes the story of Momodora interesting is the way in which is told, for just like we could see in Dark Souls, the story is told in a very subtle manner, without barely any conversations, and leaving the narration of the story to other elements such as the game´s world, the items description and the music, all which will help to transmit the feelings of the beautiful yet gloomy world of Momodora.

Regarding the gameplay, as I was saying at the beginning, Momodora is essentially a Metroidvania game just like other titles I have talked about in this blog before such as Mystik Belle, Fortune Summoners, Bunny Must Die or Valdis Story, although it is important to note that Momodora tilts more towards the combat side rather than to the exploration side. We will be able to explore freely the world of Momodora right from the start of the adventure, although as it also happened in the original classics Castlevania Symphony of the Night or Super Metroid, there will be areas we won’t be able to access till we don’t have the necessary skill/item to do so, forcing us to backtrack if we want to unlock the whole map. The game also includes small and simple puzzles such as switches that we will have to activate in order to be able to open certain locked doors, o secret rooms that will allow us to obtain all kind of items that will improve Koha’s (active and passive) skills. However, Momodora does not include an equipment (or level up) system, which means Koha will always use the same weapons (sword and bow) during a whole adventure. Momodora also includes some plataforming sections, and although these won’t be abundant or particularly difficult, one single mistake, such as falling over the classic spikes, will result in an instant death, forcing us to start again for the latest save point, which will be also rather scarce. Finally we have the combat system, which despite being simple, will be demanding, and perhaps that mix is precisely what makes it so addictive. Momodora makes use of a four buttons layout, with one button for the sword attacks, another one for the bow attacks, one more to jump (or double jump) and one final button to roll in order to avoid the enemies. As I said, although at a simple glance it can seem quite simple (especially since we always carry the same weapons), the combats will be demanding, forcing us to give the very best of us with every stroke of our sword or shot of our bow right from the start of the adventure, which results in really exciting and thrilling combats that will force us to study well the attack patterns of the enemies, especially when facing the game’s bosses, for a couple of attacks could be enough in some cases to finish off Koha, reminding of the combat style used by From Software for their awesome Dark Souls, punishing the players for every single mistake, for despite its “sugar coating” presentation, Momodora encloses a hard and challenging adventure that will require of skill and patience in order to be able to complete it.

Regarding the graphics of the game, we will find a game that reminds strongly of the 16-bit era classics, delivering a true pixel feast for the lovers of the pixel art. All the characters have been designed with a great care for detail, and this is especially true in the case of the protagonist and the bosses. However, what is really impressive and makes the game come to live are the animations of the characters, all of them really fluid and detailed, but all these would be useless if the stages where the action takes place wouldn´t be up to the level, which luckily for all of us, in the case of Momodora it is, with the game displaying all kind of beautiful, albeit rather dark backgrounds full of details that help to bring them to live, helping us to immerse ourselves in the beautiful yet gloomy world of Momodora, a world that will make you fall in love with it right from the beginning, especially in you have a thing for pixels (like I do).


Momodora follows the tendency of other recent indie games such as Odallus The Dark Call and Oniken, using the classics as an inspiration to deliver a true classic style experience, and despite their luck of resources, the result that the guys from Bombservice have obtained with Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is truly commendable, delivering another gaming jewel that has arrived without making much noise (although those who played the game speak highly of it) despite deserving all the attention it can get from the industry, for Momodora is just another good example that loving what you do can help you to overcome any obstacles. It will be interesting to see what the guys from Bombservice will be able to deliver in the future, for Momodora has clearly proved that if there is something that in not scarce among the guys from Bombservice, that is talent. I personally hope there will be many other entries in the series in the years to come. The game is available for PC via Steam at a really affordable price, and there are rumors the title might hit other platforms in the future. Anyway, if you are looking for a classic style adventure, you definitely need to give a shot to Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, for I´m sure it´s addictive and challenging combat and charming world will capture your heart right from the first screen. Only time will tell if Momodora becomes a cult classic, but regardless of that, the industry definitely needs more games like Momodora. Enjoy!


GAMEPLAY VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ27zhl5y0M

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