Moon Presence
HIGH Satisfying combat and addictive metroidvania mechanics.
LOW Short runtime and lack of truly fresh ideas.
WTF The fairy queen’s sprite is basically Dark Souls’ Gwynevere…
As the fifth installment in a series I’ve never tried before, Momodora: Moonlit Farewell was revealed to be a competent 2D metroidvania set in a dark fantasy world brimming with themes like sacrifice and maternity, all presented via a captivating art style.
As a priestess of the order in charge of protecting a village from evil forces lurking both below and above, Momo Reinol is one of the few beings capable of stopping the approaching darkness in its tracks.
Armed with a magical leaf whose reach and damage potential extend at the final stage of its three-hit combo, she embarks on a journey across several biomes to collect items and parlay with deity-like beings to secure mankind’s (or at least, the village’s) survival. Moonlit Farewell’s art direction fits the setting with a carefully chosen color palette and memorable enemy designs. It all fits together beautifully.
Another of Moonlit Farewell’s most notable strong points is how approachable it is, especially for genre newcomers.
While most metroidvanias are keen on keeping the player stuck until that “a-ha!” moment finally presents itself and allows us to unlock the rest of the content, here the map clearly tells us which parts we have yet to explore and exactly which areas still hide a secret. Thus, as we slowly navigate through combat and platforming challenges, we can quickly consult with the map to ensure we haven’t missed anything along the way. The breadcrumb trail of power-ups evolves organically and logically, arming the player with just enough power to never let Momo’s fighting prowess come up short.
So, as is the case with most metrodivanias, gameplay consists of three segments — combat challenges against enemies with deadly melee attacks, molotov cocktail-throwing smarties, and disturbing entities that explode on death, platforming sections where we’ll have to manage our stamina bar, the longevity of our jumps, and the use of other abilities later unlocked, and screen-filling boss encounters, which round up the campaign’s “acts” and often bestow Momo with a new power upon defeat.
Aside from those core elements, Moonlit Farewell is brimming with hidden power-ups that, if successfully unearthed, will expand Momo’s health and mana pools, as well as the stamina recovery which allows her to sprint and dodge.
Despite all the power-ups and items to find, difficulty isn’t the point of Momodora: Moonlit Farewell — there aren’t any wild spikes or overpowered bosses hell-bent on punishing even the slightest mistake. Instead, the power-ups seem more about granting benefits that synergize with each other, and selecting the right array for a given challenge.
For instance, by donning an ability that granted a barrier upon healing myself, I was able to more confidently charge in by synergizing with powers that boost melee damage. In another instance, I combined the “exploding arrows” ability with one that allows Momo to fire three projectiles at once, and suddenly turned into Legolas, feeling pretty good about myself!
Of course, the most powerful abilities are hidden behind demanding obstacles, but hunting for them isn’t necessary to roll credits. Everything Moonlit Farewell throws at the player is well-balanced and solvable simply by using observation, rationale, and the abilities one will naturally come across on the critical path.
As such, the only real complaint I want to raise is Moonlit Farewell’s lack of innovation. While it offers a nicely curated experience, it never tries to challenge or alter established genre boundaries in any way — there are no big surprises, nor any or game-changing abilities that might’ve enticed other developers to copy from Momodora: Moonlit Farewell in the future.
Ultimately, Moonlit Farewell is a game that excels at what it sets out to do, though it doesn’t try to achieve anything too surprising or outside the norm. Even so, it kept me glued to my console from start to finish, and no fan of this genre will find much fault with it.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Buy Momodora: Moonlit Farewell – PC – PS – XB – SW
Disclosures: This game was developed by Bombservice and published by Playism. It is currently available on Switch, PS5, XBX/S, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch Lite. Approximately 18 hours of play were devoted to the game, and it was completed 100%. This is a single-player-only title.
Parents: This game has received a “T” (“Teen”) rating by ESRB and contains Blood, Fantasy Violence, and Suggestive Themes. The official rating summary reads: This is a platformer game in which players assume the role of a priestess embarking on a divine mission. From a side-scrolling perspective, players traverse environments, interact with characters, and battle human bandits and demons. Players use magic and arrows to defeat enemies in melee-style combat. Battles are highlighted by impact sounds, colorful light effects, and small blood-splatter effects. Some environments contain bloodstains on the ground/walls. One female fantasy creature is designed with exposed breasts, though with no discernible details (i.e., no nipples); another character is depicted in a revealing outfit (e.g., deep cleavage).
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue in this game is shown via textboxes, so they’re easy to keep track of at all times. Text cannot be altered or resized. All enemy attacks are clearly telegraphed on-screen with enemies signaling when they will strike next and in which general direction. No audio cues are needed for play. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: This game offers a controller diagram and players can freely remap any action to any button.
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