Weekend gaming tip – Momodora: Moonlit Farewell

What’s this black cat doing in a forest teeming with monsters? And what happened to her covered eye? Momo, high priestess of the village of Koho and my in-game character, wonders the same thing. In response to this loudly formulated question, the cat turns into a woman and attacks me. An intense battle ensues. The first that actually challenges me after more than one (out of ten) hours of playtime.

The battle is over just as quickly as it began. The mysterious lady leaves without answering my questions. What could possibly be going on? At least I’m given the double jump ability after the fight, allowing me to take a second leap in mid-air.

The proven Metroidvania formula

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is a Metroidvania through and through. Over time, Momo learns new skills, allowing me to explore previously inaccessible areas in the big open world. I unlock map tile after map tile and discover its secrets. Speaking of secrets: in contrast to other Metroidvanias, the game tells me where to find items, indicated by a question mark on the map. Exploring is fun, and even if the game doesn’t tell me exactly where to go, I never get frustrated. Exploring 111 per cent of the map has its own special appeal.

The different areas in Moonlit Farewell all come in beautiful and sometimes grotesque pixel splendour. In terms of presentation, the game keeps up with any other Metroidvania. What’s different to Blasphemous 2 or Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is thatthe map is small. But that doesn’t bother me, I like shorter games.

The boss design is successful on the whole. Only one big enemy disappointed me in terms of its design. The enemy variety isn’t huge, but due to the brevity of the game I don’t feel like I’m constantly encountering the same antagonists.

Victory comes down to my level of skill

As is typical of the genre, dodging is just as important as attacking. You can even gain an advantage with perfect dodges. Momo performs melee attacks with her Magic Leaf. By repeatedly pressing the attack button, she performs a combo at the end of which she throws the blade, striking from further away. Momo uses a bow for ranged attacks. You can improve it and the Magic Leaf with so-called Sigils. One Sigil lets you shoot arrows faster, another summons magical swords that aid my melee attacks. You can swap Sigils at any time. At the beginning you can only activate two, but as the game progresses you unlock more slots for Sigils.

The combat system isn’t particularly complex, but it’s still fun. Above all, your skills decide whether you come out victorious. However, I do have one criticism regarding gameplay. The game is too easy up to the halfway point – on the highest difficulty level at that. I beat the first four or five bosses on my first go. Normal enemies offer little challenge, except in the occasional battle arenas. There, I encounter somewhat stronger versions of normal enemies.

The Momodora series

Moonlit Farewell is the fifth instalment in the indie game series from studio Bombservice. Even if you haven’t played previous titles, you can still enjoy the latest instalment. If required, you can read the backstory in the menu. This’ll also help you better understand the role of supporting characters. But you can follow the plot even without this knowledge. If you’re interested in the evolution of the series, I recommend the following video by Aaron Wigwam.

The latest part takes place five years after game three. Momo sets out to save her village from demons. They were summoned by the ringing of a mysterious bell. And that’s all I’ll say on the story. It offers up a few twists and surprises, but overall it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Still, I enjoyed it and the endings are satisfying.

Verdict: perfect title for a rainy weekend

Like Metroidvanias and want to play another shorter genre entry after Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown? Then I can highly recommend Momodora: Moonlit Farewell.

The new release offers good gameplay and beautiful 2D retro graphics. For less than 20 francs/euros on Steam, you get six to ten hours of gameplay, depending on the difficulty level and your level of skill. They’re definitely worth it to find out what the black cat’s all about.

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell has been available on Steam since 11 January 11 2024. I bought the game myself for this review.