This does not mean it is a bad game, and if you think Fusion is a bad game: shame on you.

I'm saying this first because it will be the biggest make or break for people looking into buying this game: Momodora V is a linear game, despite the map design still aligning with that -vania style of game. For this reason, I am going to call this game a Fusionvania, after Metroid Fusion.

That being said, this game has been well worth the wait. I have been excited for this game since I saw its initial announcement and it has lived up to the expectations I had.

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-Momo is a step up from Kaho in terms of movement, retaining almost all of the movement Kaho had in Reverie (including some unintentional tech like the jumping dodge roll being implemented) and getting additional movement options through the upgrades given to you.
-In addition to the above point, there is now a stamina meter tied to the dodge roll and sprinting. I assume the former is to punish dodge spam while the latter is... Sprinting. It has been very well implemented and never outright gets in the way of the experience.
-I really like the Sigil system. There's a lot of different ways to customize Momo with it that allow you to choose how to play the game. Want to give your leaf attacks a little more oomph? Do it. Want to make yourself more tanky? The Sigils exist for it. Want to shoot a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of explosive arrows? Go ahead! I love it because you can make an argument for the use of any Sigil, so it comes down to what you think is the most important.
-This game is absolutely beautiful. The art is very fluid and detailed without any style clashing. I adore the backgrounds, scenery, and animation; as a sprite artist myself, I know this is all hard to nail down and they hit that nail on the freakin' head.

-The map tells you if there are secrets in the area and how many exits a room has. This makes secret hunting easier, but I do prefer when games only hint at this information and don't disclose if there's something secret in an area outright.
-Hard mode is a 1-life ordeal, and while easy to find, is not accessible from the start, instead being earned behind a fake wall.
-Kinda miffed there aren't multiple endings this time around...

-Some enemies, mainly at the midway point, felt a bit too damage spongey, even with obtaining all the damage upgrades up to that point.
-I do not like the upgrades that require you to wait in real time for them to appear.

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The story and writing are serviceable. I'm not expecting every game to be a life-changing experience of course, but I'm not going to keep playing a game if the writing is Marvel-tier. Fortunately, Moonlit Farewell is competently written, and does a good job of wrapping up the story.

I've never been a good music critic; I don't know the terminology for any of it, so I'm not going to go in depth. The compositions are good and atmospheric, which fits the game's overall mood.

I already went over the graphics, but I could go on and gush about them forever. This game is FRIGGIN BEAUTIFUL with its art. It's fluidly animated, everything is very clearly readable (you can tell what it's supposed to be), and it all fits the atmosphere so well. I could recognize some re-used sprites from Reverie, but the artstyle between the two games is not so different that they clash.

Part of me thought the maps were just slightly too big, but going back with the perspective that the game is more of a "Fusionvania" rather than your typical open-ended affair, it honestly kinda works with that type of design. It does make backtracking to get stuff you missed take a bit longer, but with the increased mobility you get as you get further in, this slowly becomes less of an issue over time.

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Ultimately, this game is best if you go in with the expectation that it will be a more linear adventure. That in itself is not a bad thing; I do not believe all Metroidvanias have to be open-ended, easily-broken maps. In fact, I would encourage more games to try the approach done here! I believe this sort of "Fusionvania" style is worthy of being its own subgenre.