Momodora: RUtM (Reverie Under the Moonlight) is a game about a small priestess named Kaho who comes across the lands to a foreign kingdom where a dark magic has been slowly encroaching into hers. Kaho is no ordinary priestess though; she wields a small maple leaf that doubles as a sword/fan/thing? She also wields a bow, of which she is seemingly a master at. Her travels bring her to Karst City, the home of the kingdoms queen and hopefully an answer to where the curse is coming from.

Don't Ask me to explain. It's magic, there is none.

The games art style is obviously pixelized, but it makes the game look very charming. Combined with the music it can be very atmospheric at times. Mechanically the game works very well, combos feel satisfying to land, multiple times in a row with a few shots from the bow for good measure. But the thing to tie it all together is the dodge mechanic. A short and simple roll in one direction is by no means exciting on its own, but with a quick paced combo'em up style combat system it makes everything feel tighter. Granted your i-frames won't always save you. The game also packs a few upgrades/items that make things a little bit spicier. As well as the staple healing item in the form of 'Bellflowers' that work on a charge system (reminds me of orange juice for some reason).

Its obvious that Momodora: RUtM pulls inspiration from several sources, being a metroidvania, but packs quite a unique feel that sets it apart. It is however fairly short, and is possible to finish in one sitting (including all item collection, if you really wanted to). But has an NG+ system along with several hard to get achievements for those completionists out there. If you're experienced with metroidvania styled games you'll find this one easy enough to progress through, with just enough challenge to keep you trying again and again. If its too easy you can ramp up the difficulty all the way to hard, you masochist.

Beware amazing chest, in short try attack.

In my opinion the game was a blast; a short little gem packed with action and some good ole-timey exploration. However I feel like it could have been so much more. More enemies, more bosses, more challenge, more areas, more more more! But having played the previous iterations of the series I can say for damn sure that this is by far the best, in every way.

The story however for me is the most lacking aspect. Characters in the game operate similarly to those in Dark Souls where you'll encounter them at certain points of the game if you aid/interact with them. Dialogue is sometimes weird in English (likely a byproduct of translation), and the story arcs are a little confusing sometimes, but it's a minor gripe.

Whatever you say, Sans.

Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is now available in the Steam Store for 8.99 Euro, 9.99 USD. A reasonable price when you consider its replayability.

Recommended? Yes, definitely for those who enjoy the metroidvania genre. And for some if their looking for a game to pass a couple hours with and not have to get completely stuck in.

A solid 7/10. Hopefully enough incentive for another one to be made.

http://www.bombservice.com/momo4.html - Dev's Website.

First off let's recap the lore of the game: Samus is a bounty hunter well known for her heroic exploits against a massive group of interstellar terrorists known as Space Pirates who in turn were most well known for using an alien species known as Metroids as both a bio-weapon and organic energy source. After her climactic battle with them and Mother Brain on the planet Zebes, she became the one the Galactic Federation turned to when things started to become too difficult to control; Think along the lines of a one man SWAT team. After a botched recon mission to the planet SR388 in order to collect a living Metroid sample, the federation concluded that the Metroids were too dangerous to be left alive and called for Samus to commit mass genocide against the entire species. Not overly complicated and just interesting enough to keep your attention.

Now the gameplay is easy to pick up, but difficult to master. You have your usual move, jump and shoot actions plus Samus's unique ability to curl into a ball, but in this entry you have three new abilities that alter the feel of the game quite significantly: free aiming in full 360 degrees, a melee counter-attack, and the brand new Aeion abilities. Aeion let Samus perform special skills like revealing breakable blocks or slowing down time. All of these new abilities are just what the series needed to evolve the gameplay of the 2D entries further. Plus once you get the hang of the melee counter, you feel like a real bad-ass, especially against the larger enemies.

As for everything else in this game, it hits all of the marks I was hoping for a remake of game that did not age well. The music is fantastic and captures the atmosphere of the world extremely well, the gameplay and exploration is top notch and incredibly responsive and I love how many classic abilities make a return with brand new functions like the Spider-Spark and Grapple Lasso, and as for the ultimate goal in the game, it is exactly the same as what it was in the original; slay every metroid on the planet. This can range from relatively easy to quite a hefty challenge, but if you're having trouble you can scan a compatible amiibo to give you reserve tanks or the location of the metroid nearest to you.

Overall, I was initially skeptical about Mercury Steam developing a game in one of my favorite game series, especially after the lukewarm reception that Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate got from the fans. But my fears were eased when I played the game to 100% completion as this was probably one of the best 2D Metroid games I've played since I first experienced Super Metroid. Nintendo has successfully revived a series I long thought might be forever dormant and I can't wait for more in the coming years. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Score