Though you may struggle in a fight, you can come out on top through smart play. This cheap quality is made even more apparent when you consider the difficult-but-fair combat system. But the trend persists, and as you subconsciously tally the number of times you died due to a minor platforming mistake, it ultimately feels like a cheap way to drum up difficulty, rather than clever or necessary bit of level design. At the start of the game these moments feel reasonable, almost as if they exist to teach you how to be a cautious and self-aware player. Too often, you find yourself in a position where one small misstep will result in an instant death.
This is a product of Reverie Under the Moonlight's overabundant spike pits. You will acquire new skills and increase your stats by scouring the map for items, but-save for a couple of encounters with oversized, slow bosses at the start-you rarely feel overpowered until late in the game.Įven then, however, you may find that you die on a regular basis. But no matter how adorable an enemy looks, it almost always packs a punch. The main character, enemies, and bosses are no doubt cute, balancing out the otherwise dark tone, and the juxtaposition of darling and somber is refreshing when so many games opt for one or the other.
The presentation, too, strikes a wonderful balance between simple and expressive, with great use of color and effective character sprites. Your movements and attacks feel great in practice. It's not the first Momodora game-it's the fourth-and the action feels appropriately refined compared to previous entries. And when you encounter NPCs that utter ambiguous lines alluding to a mysterious past or future event, building up your curiosity-and confusion-over the state of world and who, if any one person, is responsible for its blight.įor all of the familiar elements the game appears to ape, it never feels like a mere reflection of trends.
Healing, when you fail to precisely time your moves, comes from an item that you replenish by ringing bells placed around the map, which also serve as checkpoints. Dodging attacks and pummelling an enemy at the right moment is often the key to success. In many ways, Reverie Under the Moonlight's also bears similarities to Dark Souls. The only aspect that betrays its retro stylings is the orchestrated soundtrack, though it suits the foreboding atmosphere wonderfully. It's a charming 2D action-platformer with a Castlevania vibe there's a haunted town and castle, a sprawling map with secret passages hidden behind false walls, and a powerful curse that needs to be eradicated. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight belongs to the club of games designed to look and feel like console classics from the '90s, and it makes a great first impression.
0 kommentar(er)
