Momodora: Moonlit Farewell Is Still One Of My Favorite Metroidvanias After Its Console Launch
Just as good one year later.
January 2024 was a great month for fans of Metroidvania games. First came Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, followed by Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, then Touhou Luna Nights, all in the span of two weeks. With all that action platforming on offer, though, it was easy to miss one or two of those games — and let’s be honest, if you only played one, it was likely The Lost Crown. Fortunately, one of January 2024’s great Metroidvanias is now getting a second life on consoles, and it happens to be my favorite of the bunch.
When Momodora: Moonlit Farewell launched on January 11, 2024, it was only available on PC. That didn’t stop me from devouring the ten-ish hour adventure that very weekend, but it did mean that console-only players were left out. The Momodora series is beloved by indie action sickos like me, but now that the latest entry is out on consoles, it has a chance to find a whole new audience of players who may not have noticed its PC debut.
Moonlit Farewell is a gorgeous pixel-art Metroidvania to kick off 2025.
As the game begins, the toll of a bell has summoned hordes of demons that threaten Koho village, and warrior priestess Momo Reinol is sent to put a stop to it. From there, you delve into the expansive caverns Koho was foolishly built atop, unlocking powers over time to unlock new parts of the map and open the path to secrets hidden in every corner.
We’ve seen huge twists to the Metroidvania formula in recent hits like the puzzle-focused Animal Well, but Moonlit Farewell keeps things pretty traditional. You’ll hack, you’ll slash, you’ll dodge roll and air dash your way through multiple themed environments, dispatching gigantic bosses along the way. Upgrades come quickly in Moonlit Farewell, turning the initially plodding Momo into a double-jumping machine in no time flat.
Rather than breaking new ground, Moonlit Farewell succeeds by getting the fundamentals exactly right. Everything from dodges to slashes with Momo’s magical leaf feels turned to perfection, making the game a joy to play even when you’re just moving from place to place or taking on low-level foes as you retrace your steps to find secrets. Boss fights are a particular treat. Moonlit Farewell has plenty of screen-filling bosses to face off against, but the most satisfying of them are roughly Momo-sized enemies that really put your reflexes to the test.
Moonlit Farewell’s combat is fairly simple, but extremely satisfying.
To supplement your abilities, Moonlit Farewell uses a customizable upgrade system not too different from the charms in Hollow Knight. Called Sigils here, these modifiers can be swapped out at any time and some can radically alter the way you play. Adding a ranged attack to your sword slashes, add fire to your arrows, or even make the game more difficult to allow for some extreme challenge runs. Playing through Moonlit Farewell for a second time ahead of its console launch, I made a point of using Sigils I’d skipped the first time around and had a blast with how much they changed the experience.
For others who find themselves wanting more after the first run, beating Moonlit Farewell unlocks Arrange Mode, which reverses the map and adds some other interesting changes to discover, along with a hardcore option that deletes your save file if you’re ever defeated.
Moonlit Farewell is the fifth entry in the Momodora series, but it may also be the best entry point for new players. The first three are considerably more stripped down (though still worth playing), to the point that developer rdein includes a note on the original’s Itch.io page warning about its unpolished state. The fourth in the series, Reverie Under the Moonlight, is an incredible Metroidvania that’s absolutely worth playing, but a lot of players (myself included) also find it considerably more difficult than Moonlit Farewell. Whether you decide to tackle the whole series or not, Moonlit Farewell’s console launch is one of the best indie games of early 2025, just like its PC release was last year.
