GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon

WayTooManyGamesLeo Faria

9.5/10

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 ...

Video ChumsA.J. Maciejewski

8.1/10

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

COGConnectedJaz Sagoo

67/100

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?

TheSixthAxisMiguel Moran

6/10

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.

Nintendo World ReportZachary Miller

6/10

At this point, I have to ask: what was the point in making Undying Moon a roguelite? This may come as a shock to game developers, but not every game has to be a roguelite. I desperately want Undying Moon to be a linear, level-based adventure where I can see all the levels and fight all the bosses without enduring the tedious rigmarole that roguelites require. Keep the randomized level layouts! Keep the randomized paths and boss encounters if you have to, but just let me play your beautiful game without all these roadblocks. Eventually, I just got sick of Undying Moon. It was more frustrating t...

Metro GameCentralGameCentral

5/10

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.

Challenging, rewarding, gorgeous and culturally authentic, GetsuFumaDen is one of the most enjoyable roguelikes I’ve played. Mechanically it doesn’t do much to challenge or reinvent the formula, but it streamlines it beautifully. Meanwhile, it offers a vivid and detailed, classical take on Japanese art styles and the Hyakki Yagyō storytelling tradition. As a starting point for learning more about both these things, you couldn’t ask for something more inspired.