GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon

Whenever a developer announces a game, and that game is initially released in Early Access state, I almost always sigh in frustration. I don’t necessarily have anything against the concept of Early Access. I understand it is really useful for developers with limited resources, as well as getting in touch with its community in a more meaningful way. The problem is that this method is overused to the point of saturation, with tons of games remaining in Early Access for many, many years. Very ...

You don't often see modern sequels of obscure Famicom games but Konami made GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon anyway and it's great.

There are a plethora of games like Mother 3 and Jump Ultimate Stars that never made the trip across the ocean to the western part of the world. As fans clamor for the country-exclusives to be localized, Konami looks to reignite an obscure franchise that has never seen a global audience. GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon maintains its side-scrolling, action-platformer roots but looks to evolve with the addition of rogue-lite elements. In an increasingly popular genre, can the game do enough to slice its own niche?

GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is a gorgeous game with solid side-scrolling combat, but its genre shift to the roguelike form hasn't paid off. The progression system is slow and the upgrades you obtain are pretty deal, leading to a roguelike experience that doesn't do enough to incentivise sticking with it for very long.

Less a reboot of a forgotten NES game and more a sub-par clone of Dead Cells, where the gorgeous visuals cannot hide the mediocre gameplay.