For what appears to be the last game in the series, I was surprised to see how moved I was from just seeing how these games have evolved over time. It's odd watching something you played because it was free (when you were, like, ten) turn into this. I think growing up alongside something makes you susceptible to fond feelings for it, and that’s the case here. Returning to Momodora was a really great time for me.

It goes without saying that this is one of the prettiest games of the year by a mile, at least at the time of writing this review. I think that’s become something Momodora is known for, and it’s well deserved. Every environment has a certain character to it that I can’t quite put to words well. I enjoy that sort of thing.

I’m fond of the gameplay changes made. I found it less difficult than Reverie, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The sigils felt fun to find, and to some extent I experimented with all of them by the end of the game’s runtime. The movement isn’t the most pristine thing, but it’s generally fun to explore each environment, and I never felt like I was too slow to be having fun doing so.

While it lacks the depth of other examples within the medium, the narrative isn’t necessarily boring either. While it’s aided by the visuals, I did feel connected to what was going on in the world by the end of things. This could be a biproduct of playing every game in the series, and I could easily see someone playing this game and shrugging off the story entirely, but it resonated with me. To avoid spoilers, I’ll cap this by cautioning you to not go into this one expecting the same bleak world as Reverie. This one is more about hope than anything else.

Anyway, it’s a damn good game. With games such as this one the worst part is that, by the end of it, I don’t have anyone to really talk about it with. If you read this review, play the game, give it five stars, and then discuss it with me. That’s your mission. If you’ve already played it, you have permission to be my friend.