Moonscars is a wonderful and challenging addition to the Metroidvania genre, though it does get a bit repetitive with the lack of enemy diversity near the end. A lot of criticism seems to be aimed at the difficulty, but I found it to be just right for me.
Visually there's some really gorgeous areas like the Depths, but admittedly most places kind of wash into each other (though I would not say they look unappealing). Compared to its contemporaries like Blasphemous, Hollow Knight or Ori and the Will of the Wisps, it just doesn't quite live up to their (consistent) beauty.
What it does have over most of these (except maybe Hollow Knight), is an incredibly satisfying combat system. Healing is quick and hitting enemies is rewarding. Spells are strong but there is still a clear incentive for parrying and stabbing. Special weapons (with the exception of 1 or 2) are incredibly fun and really mixed up my playstyle in small but meaningful ways. I was tense throughout most of my adventure, especially when under the effects of the starving moon, yet I did not die very often. This kept my engagement up throughout much of the game, though when I started encountering the same few enemy combinations repeatedly this feeling admittedly waned a bit. Additionally, the bossfights were all pretty fantastic. I especially love how they just throw you into the deep end immediately with the first boss.
The story was nothing to write home about, I'm kind of mixed on it similarly to Blasphemous' story. A lot of conversations that seem complex but its really just a lot of incomprehensible terms and ideas thrown at you to make it seem more deep than it really is. Unfortunately, this games' cast just isn't as intriguing as Blasphemous' was, so it feels even more noticable.
If this review seems overly negative for the score that I gave it, I really did not intend it to be so. It is honestly closer to 4.5 stars than 3.5. However, I do think there is a lot here that the developers could improve on for their sequel(s) to create a truly exceptional Metroidvania experience.
Visually there's some really gorgeous areas like the Depths, but admittedly most places kind of wash into each other (though I would not say they look unappealing). Compared to its contemporaries like Blasphemous, Hollow Knight or Ori and the Will of the Wisps, it just doesn't quite live up to their (consistent) beauty.
What it does have over most of these (except maybe Hollow Knight), is an incredibly satisfying combat system. Healing is quick and hitting enemies is rewarding. Spells are strong but there is still a clear incentive for parrying and stabbing. Special weapons (with the exception of 1 or 2) are incredibly fun and really mixed up my playstyle in small but meaningful ways. I was tense throughout most of my adventure, especially when under the effects of the starving moon, yet I did not die very often. This kept my engagement up throughout much of the game, though when I started encountering the same few enemy combinations repeatedly this feeling admittedly waned a bit. Additionally, the bossfights were all pretty fantastic. I especially love how they just throw you into the deep end immediately with the first boss.
The story was nothing to write home about, I'm kind of mixed on it similarly to Blasphemous' story. A lot of conversations that seem complex but its really just a lot of incomprehensible terms and ideas thrown at you to make it seem more deep than it really is. Unfortunately, this games' cast just isn't as intriguing as Blasphemous' was, so it feels even more noticable.
If this review seems overly negative for the score that I gave it, I really did not intend it to be so. It is honestly closer to 4.5 stars than 3.5. However, I do think there is a lot here that the developers could improve on for their sequel(s) to create a truly exceptional Metroidvania experience.