Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight Review Summary

Beautiful pixel art and music with tough bosses, but instant death traps, short length, and rare save points hinder.

Stunning pixel art visuals.: Players overwhelmingly praise the game's pixel art, describing it as beautiful, detailed, and alive. The art style is considered a standout feature that enhances the overall experience.

Excellent soundtrack and atmosphere.: The soundtrack is frequently highlighted as outstanding and perfectly fitting the game's atmosphere, with special mention of boss music. The atmospheric quality is seen as immersive and engaging.

Challenging and varied boss fights.: Boss fights are described as enjoyable, fair, and well-designed with distinctive patterns and unique mechanics. Players appreciate the variety and the challenge they offer.

Well-designed level and map.: The level design is praised as clever, interconnected, and well-thought-out, with useful shortcuts and good map design that encourages exploration without hand-holding.

Short but satisfying experience.: Many players describe the game as short but sweet, with a well-paced length that is neither too long nor too short. The concise experience is seen as a positive trait.

Instant death from traps: Spike traps and other environmental hazards cause instant death, which is considered unfair, especially given high health pools. This is a major frustration point for players.

Game is too short: Many players find the game very short, with completion times around 4-6 hours. This is a common complaint across multiple clusters.

Save points are sparse: Save points are few and far apart, leading to tedious backtracking and loss of progress upon death. This increases frustration.

Map lacks markers: The map does not allow placing markers to highlight locations, making navigation and tracking secrets difficult.

Death penalty resets progress: Dying resets progress to the last manual save point, causing loss of significant progress and requiring re-fighting bosses.

Classic Metroidvania Gameplay: The game is widely described as a classic retro-style Metroidvania with influences from Castlevania and Mega Man, featuring exploration, character upgrades, and non-linear progression.

Soulsvania Genre Blend: Many reviews highlight the fusion of Metroidvania exploration with Souls-like combat elements, creating a challenging 2D action game inspired by Dark Souls and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Mechanics: Leaf and Bow Combat: Combat primarily uses a leaf for melee attacks and a bow for ranged attacks, with the bow having chargeable levels and a three-hit melee combo.

Pixel Art Side-Scrolling: The game features 2D pixel art side-scrolling visuals, reminiscent of classic action-adventure titles and comparable to Hollow Knight.

Challenging Difficulty and Spikes: The game is noted for its challenging difficulty, with spike pits causing instant death and some No-hit boss challenges, even on easy mode.

Steam Deck works well: The game runs perfectly on Steam Deck according to two users. However, one user reported crashes when changing resolution.

Crashes on different systems: Several users report crashing after the second boss, on alt+tab or controller change, or generally. This indicates stability issues on certain configurations.

Steam Input adds lag: A user notes that Steam Input increases input lag, which can impact gameplay responsiveness.

Game launch fails: A user on a low-end notebook reports that the game fails to launch properly, with only audio playing.

No ultrawide support: The game lacks ultrawide monitor support, resulting in a black screen on such displays.

Great value for money: The game is frequently described as worth every penny, especially with its low price tag. Many players feel it offers good value even at full price, while others recommend grabbing it on sale for an even better deal.

Excellent for Metroidvania beginners: Multiple reviewers recommend this game as the perfect entry point for players new to the Metroidvania genre, praising its simplicity and accessibility.

Perfect for fans of Metroidvania: The game is repeatedly praised as a must-play for established Metroidvania enthusiasts, with some calling it a solid entry for those who enjoy the genre's exploration and progression mechanics.

Highly recommended overall: Many reviewers give a general strong recommendation to try the game, noting its overall quality and appeal across different player types.

Ideal for short sessions: With a playtime under 6 hours, reviewers highlight this as a great choice for players wanting a brief but impactful experience that can be finished quickly.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $9.99.

Game completion: 6.0h.

Story completion: 4.5h.

Endgame: 8.0h.

The game presents a challenging start with instant kills and a confusing map, but many players report that it becomes enjoyable after about 30-45 minutes as they adapt and acquire upgrades, with tight controls and addictive gameplay eventually shining through.

Reported time to anchor: 35m.

Friction: instant kill traps and pits; strict save system with progress loss on death; confusing map presentation; high damage from enemies even in tutorial; clunky or slow movement initially; repetitive combat for some.

Metroidvania Newcomer: Explores areas methodically, learns boss patterns at a forgiving pace, enjoys straightforward progression. Motivation: Accessible entry into the metroidvania genre. Stance: buy.

Difficulty Seeker: Aggressive but controlled play, uses dodge and ranged attacks, seeks optimal builds and secret items. Motivation: Rewarding challenge and mastery of game mechanics. Stance: buy.

Short Session Enjoyer: Plays in one or two sittings, explores secrets leisurely, appreciates art and music. Motivation: Enjoy a concise, aesthetically pleasing game with low time commitment. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: The game shows mixed Steam Deck performance. While some users report smooth native play, others face crashes causing save data loss and complain about unpolished controller and UI support. These issues require adjustments but the game remains playable.

Linux and Proton: Based on the single user review, the game runs on Linux without any reported problems. No negative feedback or workarounds are mentioned, indicating a very low friction level for Proton or native Linux support.

External guides: The primary user complaints focus on navigation inadequacy (missing map markers) and overall unfriendliness, forcing players to rely on external memory aids, maps, or Wikipedia to progress. A minor mention of using external sources confirms a dependency on third-party data, but the dominant barrier is spatial navigation rather than resource farming, inventory management, or complex mechanics.

Played on someone else's account: The player mentioned they played the game on their boyfriend's account. While this is not a direct critique of the game itself, it could imply the player is not the primary owner or may have limited access to their own experience.