izigame.me

C+ Beautiful game visually and musically but a step back to Reverie under the Moonlight (RutM) in terms of writing, level design, and gameplay.
Graphics : The strongest part of this game for me. I already loved the pixel art aesthetic of RutM and this game takes it to another level with much more fluid animation and detailed backgrounds. The characters all look amazing and the areas, while few, are varied and scenic. Bosses feature some lovely pixel art as well and are a definite upgrade.
Sound: The music is probably the second part of this game that I unequivocally enjoyed having several tracks that stood out for me and most of the other background osts feeling just right. The hit effects are a little lackluster (though to be fair technically the main weapon *is* just a leaf) but the rest of the present sound effects were satisfactory to me.
Plot: I enjoyed the general overt nature of the plot and progression in solving the mystery of the demon resurgence. However, I do think that it could have been better overall. I'll refrain from much criticism though due to the fact that this is my entry point into the mainline Momodora continuity (this game being the conclusion of the 4 game story to boot). The plot is simply written so that it's not a Herculean task to understand the basic of the story. But I definitely felt like I was missing some world building and story telling to help the writing solidify itself, though again it is highly possible that the legwork was accomplished in past 3 entries. My only point of reference here is via RuTM which served as a prequel to the series. At the end of that game the writing, while not masterful, displayed a competent level in drawing you into a world on the brink of ruin where most inhabitants have perished and those that remained on the brink of despair. At the end of the day I won't hold it against Momodora since I chose an entry point at the final hour but I certainly wasn't swayed by any of the developments that happened in this short adventure. It *is* a shame though that the loss of worldbuilding makes many of the bosses forgettable by the end of the game. While beautifully crafted, most end up being random characters slotted into the world because there needed to be boss fights. One of them is even just a giant blob, or another just a giant spider with basic designs on both. There isn't really any lore behind them so they end up being just another face in the crowd as opposed to RuTM where you end up fighting characters that mean something to the story like a Dark Souls for example.
Gameplay: The gameplay is adequate if somewhat stiff. The moveset is incredibly basic which to be fair is satisfactory given the short length of this adventure. Mainly just one string for the melee attack, bow and arrow, and a dodge. Later powerups include just the double jump and wall jump but ultimately you're trying to master the basic skillset to conquer bosses. I generally don't hold game accountable for a simple control scheme but in this case I feel it is a step back in their previous entry. My two main complaints are 1) RuTM has much more fluid dodge mechanics while Moonlit Farewell introduces a relatively frustrating amount of animation lock. It isn't abysmall levels of aniamtion lock but RuTM had such responsive control and feel that Moonlit Farewell is a clear stepback. 2) Also unlike RuTM, you cannot actually dodge in mid air in this game forcing awkward attempts to close in on ranged enemies situated on a high platform. Aside from player control the game also lacks real challenge. Regular enemies typically only have 1 move and are easily stunlocked by your melee combo. This makes traversal and combat somewhat boring as nearly every enemy can be negated by just hitting them first. Of the remaining enemy types, they typically follow the same behavior in that within a second or so they'll take a swing at you. Knowing this it is easy just to preemptively dodge and begin attacking at which point they will typically die before a second attack can come out. Bosses display similar lackluster behavior in that they are typically fairly easy to avoid and burst down in this game. Part of what made bosses of RuTM memorable was their difficulty. The game ultimately feels way to easy all around. I will give props to the team for the relics in this game since some of them are gameplay altering items in addition to the classic passive ones you'll see in many modern Metroidvanias. Collectibles are also easy to find, in a good way, and the map clearly defining boundaries and important landmarks.
Level design: The game is styled as a Metroidvania but unfortunately I think this entry is lacking, particularly in that it is a step back from RutM. RutM did not have the most amazing overworld compared to other metroidvanias but it did adequately in creating the interconnected world that you discovered as you obtained new powerups. Moonlit Farewell in contrast attempts to create a similar layout but lacks much of the openess and non-linearity of standard Metroidvanias, even compared to those that do a great deal of hand holding. The levels attempt to create an illusion of being open but by the end of the game it felt incredibly linear it its approach to exploration. This is further damning due to the fact that rooms are not particularly exciting in any capacity. Not really any puzzles, platforming challenges, interesting enemy placement, or even instant death traps that you have to watch out for. It leaves me somewhat dissappointed, though at the end of the day level design isn't really what I enjoyed the most out of RutM anyways.