Revive of the Moon – Nintendo Switch Review

Overview – developed by YMCAT in collaboration with publisher Regista, Revive of the Moon is an action horror title taking place in a Japan hit by a cataclysmic event where zombies roam the streets. As Mitsuki, a high school girl who gets caught up in an unprecedented disaster, make your way through the streets as you try to survive. This version of the game is available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, with the link to the game at the bottom of this review.

Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Regista for providing the copy of Revive of the Moon that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, I have previously covered the steam version of Revive of the Moon, which you can find the coverage of (HERE). The main body of the coverage for this release will be fairly similar to the previous coverage, but there will be differences in the opinions contained in the later segments.

Story – during a typical day in Japan, Mitsuki, a high school student is travelling by train when a sudden catastrophic event occurs with a derailment and many dead. During this disaster, Mitsuki finds herself surrounded by monsters, quickly swarming her and her brother, taking his life in the process. After being rescued by her classmate, Mitsuki arms herself with a sword and while resistant, she easily slays the monsters. In this moment, Mitsuki’s destiny was set in motion.

Gameplay – Revive of the Moon is a 3D horror action adventure, where the player must make their way from Tokyo to MT. Fuji, making their way through the different areas in each zone. In each area, the player will fight off the hordes of “Crimsonbies” that are encountered along the way. The story mode consists of multiple zones that progress across various locations, with objectives that must be completed in order to get further.

The player has access to two characters during the course of the adventure. Mitsuki, the main character uses a sword, allowing her to slash through the waves of undead with the ability to perform flaming combo attacks. Mitsuki has limited stamina, stopping her from attacking when out of energy. Then there is Tsubame, a high school teacher who is skilled with firearms. She uses a shotgun when she first appears, with each of her attacks using up her limited ammo.

The two characters have their own strengths and weaknesses during battle with the Crimsonbies. Mitsuki can attack quickly and take out multiple enemies that surround her, cutting down all of the enemies with ease. Tsubame can take down foes from a distance, using her weapon to pick off enemies and detonate explosive materials. The firearms that Tsubame uses must be aimed manually, with some aim assist to help. If ammo runs out, more of it must be scavenged.

There are shared skills for the two players, with both of them having the ability to run, sneak and use the dodge roll, which gives limited vulnerability. There are three viewpoints that can be used, with a far and close third person perspective and a first person viewpoint. These different perspectives can provide a distinct horror experience for players. The first person viewpoint can be very useful when using Tsubame, as it can aid in sniping enemies from afar.

To make it through the nightmare, players can use various items to keep them alive and restore any damage that is taken. These consist of HP recovery items, which will recover small, medium and full health for the player. When health is full, the extra health items will be carried and only used when health falls below set levels. There are also Dango dumplings that can be found, which will permanently increase the maximum health for the player during the adventure.

Throughout the adventure, players will collect experience points for defeating Crimsonbies. This EXP will fill an on screen meter, increasing the player level when it is filled and giving an upgrade point for each level. The accumulated points can be used to improve three stats, which are speed for faster movement and attacks, durability to take more damage and attack to deal more damage. The three different stats have a maximum upgrade level of 10.

Over the course of the game, the player will have dangerous encounters with the undead. These will consist of taking out a set number of enemies or reaching a target location alive. During these segments, the player will be locked in an area, where they won’t be able to progress unless the objective is cleared. One of the most interesting objectives is the first person survival, where the player will be forced into to take out enemies before they are swarmed.

During the game, story scenes will play out and push the plot forward, giving players more detail about the events that are unfolding. The big story scenes are also tied to the boss battles, where the player will encounter powerful foes that will easily lead to death. These boss fights are tough and can only be fought as Mitsuki, pushing the player into close quarters combat. The boss battles are challenging, with deadly attacks that can easily wipe the player out if they are careless.

The final thing to mention is the bonus content included in Revive of the Moon. Separate from the story mode, there is an endless survival mode, where the player must survive for as long as possible. This mode can be good to practice combat, with the player starting off at level one, with the challenge increasing as the undead horde are cut down. There are also plans for a Time attack mode to be added to the game in a future update.

Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.

Controls – this title plays comfortably on the Nintendo switch, with the inputs feeling natural with a Nintendo controller. The combat inputs are reactive with Mitsuki, while the shooting mechanics are a little stiff for Tsubame, but the first person view helps. All of the controls work very well in both handheld and docked mode, offering players a comfortable way to enjoy the game anywhere. The travel on the Joy-Con stick is a little short, but it doesn’t impact the experience.

Difficulty – this is a challenging but fairly balanced title, but there is always the chance for players to be swarmed and quickly killed. There are some objectives that can lead to instant failure, along with hazards that can lead to repetitive deaths. This can be frustrating, which can be a little worse with some of the enemies, as their attacks can feel cheap. Thankfully, the stages have plenty of checkpoints and save points, but death will result in a loss of stored healing items.

Presentation – there is a cute style to the game, with a super deformed style to the characters and monsters, which is in stark contrast to the 2D art scenes and portraits. There is some slowdown in handheld mode, but by adjusting the graphics slider, it is improved at the cost of a little fuzz. The docked system has less of an issue at default visual settings. The score is pretty good, featuring music that builds the atmosphere of the game, with Japanese voice over that is pretty solid.

Final Thoughts – I enjoy action and horror, which this title combines with the Japanese style perfectly, in the same vein as Onechanbara and Fatal Frame. The moment to moment action works very well, but does have a few hiccups with the handheld performance. But it is a comfortable way to play the game, the aiming with guns is a little off, but it doesn’t sour the experience. There are minor translation and text errors, but they are being worked on with patches.

The slowdown can be a frustration, but can be remedied at the cost of a little visual fidelity. This is a fair tradeoff as the overall quality of play makes up for it, with the solid action and the engaging story. Compared to the PC version, this is as good if not better and an excellent way to experience Revive of the Moon. I can easily recommend this game, as it is a solid action horror title with plenty of content at a good price point, and more coming in the future.

In the end, I give the Switch version of Revive of the Moon a final score of 3.75/5. This is a solid and enjoyable action horror adventure, with an engaging narrative, well-paced combat and a narrative that is engaging throughout. There are some minor hiccups, but they do not impact the overall gameplay experience and is perfect to play at home or on the go. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.

Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)