Posted: January 25, 2023

Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight

A wonderful gem. I played this game on Linux in 2023.

The first two games are free on itch.io.

The art and music are fantastic. The game creates a soothing and immersive mood. It’s depressive.

The combat is simple, but challenging. The double jump takes a bit of getting used to, but then it’s fine.

This is a metroidvania with minimal backtracking. I was able to complete the game on Insane difficulty in a couple hours (after beating the game once on Hard).

Highly recommended if you enjoy games like Dark Souls, Valfaris, or Hollow Knight.

Recommendations:

• If you’re good at games, start on Hard.
• Try no-hitting all of the bosses for special items.
• Don’t worry about money too much. You don’t need to buy all of the items, as there are only 2 passive slots.
• Equip the Ring of Candor ASAP so you don’t need to backtrack or look at a guide for secrets. It makes a ding sound when you enter a room containing a secret.

Difficulties:

• Easy is intended for people who don’t play games
• Normal reduces your health a little bit
• Hard reduces your health more, and adds new enemy placements
• Insane has the same enemy placements as Hard, but reduces your health even more.
• NG+ doesn’t change the difficulty, it just increases the damage you take.

I achieved the following:

• Beat Insane mode
• Explore 100% of the map
• Collect all no-hit boss items
• Collect all Ivory Bugs
• Collect all health fragments
• Beat the Secret Boss
• Dirty Shroom achievement

SPOILER WARNING! A list of things I know about the game:

• Ivory bugs are delivered to the rabbit in the garden
• The following are just for decoration or flavor:
  • Laughing red skull
  • Portrait
  • Defaced portrait
  • Music box
  • Big money bell
  • Broken bell save point
  • The Demon guy is a Himehorn reference
  • Birthstone
• You can unlock the “??????” door in the monastery by exploring 100% of the map.
• It’s not possible to save the prisoner next to Askorn.
• A cursed fly can randomly spawn in (any? certain?) rooms. Killing the fly drops a lot of money, but that’s all.
• There’s some kind of poem? https://steamcommunity.com/app/428550/discussions/0/412448792361912636/
• No-hit boss runs are cancelled by self damage.
• The strongest items I found were Heavy Arrows + Necklace of Sacrifice.
• Minibosses do not drop items, even if you don’t get hit.
• The Dull Pearl is the same as the Edea Pearl, and they do not stack.
• You get a Passiflower whether you end Cath’s suffering or not. Don’t be a monster!

List of no-hit items:

• Lubella: Bakman’s Patch
• Derelict Frida: Sparse Thread
• Pardoner Fennel: Tainted Missive
• Archpriestess Choir: Bloodstained Tissue
• Edea: Edea’s Pearl
• Lubella: Torn Branch
• Heretical Arsonist: Pocket Incensory
• Duquess Lupiar and Magnolia: Heavy Arrows
• Queen: Birthstone