Momodora: Moonlit Farewell - Switch Review

Steve Whiting -

Developed by the solo-dev Guilherme Martins, who works under the studio name Bombservice, Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is the latest game in the Momodora series. Since the first two games were released as freeware in 2010/2011, the series has gained a cult following with the fourth title, Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, getting a wider console release in 2017/2018. And now here we are with the fifth title, Moonlit Farewell, which was initially released on Steam a year ago and now lands on the Nintendo Switch. I love a story of games being developed by solo developers and then getting increasingly popular over time, so well done to Bombservice for getting to this point and fulfilling the dream that many of us have!

The Good

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell follows the story of Momo Reinol, a priestess from the village of Koho. Koho has been taken over by demons who seemed to be summoned by a mysterious bell, so Momo begins a journey to track the perpetrators down and destroy said bell. Momo can jump, melee attack, has a bow and arrow, and can also choose between different companions and 'sigils’. The companions act as little fairy-type creatures that float around Momo as she moves around, and they’ll do things such as gather in currency or explore the environment. The ‘sigils’ are effectively power-ups in the shape of playing cards, which you can equip and combine to passively enhance Momo’s powers. The upgrade system in Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is very simple, which I like, and it means you don’t have to concern yourself with too much guff over and above just making sure Momo is as strong and bad-ass as possible.

Being a metroidvania, the game world in Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is all interconnected, and the joy of finding a new power up that unblocks new paths for Momo is as fun and rewarding as it is in any Metroid game. The pixel art on show is absolutely beautiful and alleviates any concerns over backtracking because it all looks so beautiful. Sure, it’s not as sophisticated in it’s appearance as some other games in the genre, but the marriage of the pixel art aesthetic and the simple but immersive game world makes you feel like you’re back in the hayday of side-scrolling adventuring.

I also really enjoyed the boss fights in Momodora: Moonlit Farewell; they’re not too punishing but also not too easy. It can be a bit disheartening when you come across a boss fight that suddenly acts as a brickwall to progression due to how hard it is, but equally, I don’t feel comfortable with defeating a boss the first time every time. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell hits the balance well and means that as a metroidvania experience, it’s pretty accessible.

TL;DR

  • Satisfyingly simple upgrades and progression
  • Beautiful pixel-art
  • Boss fights are not too punishing

The Bad

Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is a fun and perhaps brief experience, and as a result, it doesn’t delve too deeply into the story or many of the characters. Some may be looking for more depth here, but Momodora: Moonlit Farewell is a pretty standard metroidvania and is more about the gameplay than storytelling. I personally don’t mind that, but I just wanted to warn others.

My previous review was for another metroidvania, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, and one of the (very few) negatives in my opinion was that it was too hand-holdy when it came to exploration. This was because every room changed colour on the map when it was ‘completed’ meaning you had instant feedback on where to backtrack or not. Momodora: Moonlit Farewell also has a similar issue, but in a slightly different way. If there is a grid square in the game world that still has undiscovered items within it, there is a question mark icon on the map. It just means that the exploration becomes a bit more of a tick-box exercise as you know exactly where to go to mop up items for 100%, whereas I would prefer it to be a bit more ambiguous so that you have to work things out for yourself.

TL;DR

  • Hand-holdy exploration progression system
  • Light on story and character development

Final Score: 8/10

When you take into account the background of Momodora: Moonlit Farewell in terms of it’s tiny development team, then it’s a feat we must applaud. Sure, it’s not as expansive or in-depth as some of its counterparts, but it’s a great option for anyone who wants to try out a metroidvania without getting bogged down in complex stats and difficult bosses. 

I shall now be spending my upcoming weekends playing the Momodora series back catalogue, and that’s the highest praise I can give; Momodora: Moonlit Farewell was fun and beautiful, and I want more!

Thank you for checking out our Momodora: Moonlit Farewell Switch review, thank you to PLAYISM (via Stride PR) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support: