When I think of short indie games, most, if not all that come to mind are cozy adventures and simulators. Laid-back titles that consistently pack a creativity punch all the way through often end up as my year-end favorites. I came into Momo and the Mine with similar expectations, but what I got instead was a surprisingly interesting, bite-size blend of various, challenging platformer design styles.
Taking from many eras, Momo and the Mine’s one-and-a-half-hour playtime (taking into consideration my issue of the skill variety the actual length of the game is probably less than an hour) consists of a few classic mechanics: jump, double jump, and a digging move that works similarly to a moving crouch. Each set of levels culminates with a boss encounter of sorts, consisting of either racing to the right side of the screen, or avoiding damage until the spirit leaves.
The levels ramp up in difficulty pretty steadily, starting with a few simple screens to get used to the controls. Aside from the movement keys, every action is performed with one of the two buttons: one dedicated purely to jumping, while the other allows for the double jump mid-air and burrowing on the ground. Reminiscent of the NES, this control scheme is far from the only element inspired by the console.
From the lovely, upbeat, chirpy bit-crushed soundtrack to the kind of mole spritework Mario Bros 3’s wrench-throwing airship inhabitants could only dream of, the impressive, retro audiovisual quality easily carries this short experience on its own. Strong style with few assets. With such small bursts of gameplay, it would likely be easy to let the quality dip sometimes, but this department impresses until the very end.
There is more to it than just the eye (and ear) candy. For how little there is, the variety of levels and ideas is impressive. Momo and the Mine deftly switches from precision to timing as the main source of challenge around halfway through, always providing welcome checkpoints. The platforming experience is thankfully not frictionless, and the death counter in the pause menu serves as a reminder of just how many times you failed. Totaling at 275 deaths, I sure failed a lot.
Just that would be enough, but on top of designing a good bunch of tight levels, Momo and the Mine hides quite a few collectibles along the way. There is little to help with the search, but given the short length, pressing against every wall would not take even a quarter of the time it takes to beat the game. Such distractions do not always mesh with the rest of the game, but here they are a pleasant and welcome addition, giving the game a bit more meat on its bones.
As the game switches from one key mechanic to another, so does the design philosophy. With the introduction of timing-based obstacles, it feels like Momo and the Mine enters the more frustrating realm of pattern-learning. This kind of trial-and-error approach has been the bane of many great platformers that did not make it to the modern era, but I think the developers here have largely figured it out.
Though this approach found its place in the gaming landscape, it has often been delegated to combat. In platformers, learning timings are often relegated to the hardest of challenges. After all, if you do not get in the rhythm, you will fail no matter how well you execute a section. Here, this pressure is completely alleviated due to the one-screen-at-a-time approach coupled with the extremely short levels, creating a very pleasant sensation that I would love to see explored more.
Not satisfied with just that, Momo and the Mine dips a little into the extreme side of this approach: instakill, pattern-based bosses. These were quite popular in the late 2000s PC platformers and topped quite a few “Worst Bosses” lists around the time. Encounters like these certainly have a time and place, but they rarely impress when just thrown into the middle of the game. Some may call them torturous. I just happen to be called “some.”
As such, the end of the third world took me around half an hour, and as I tried and tried to execute the perfect pattern, I noticed that out of the four phases, one consisted of just waiting in a spot for a minute. Just to play with the player a bit more, the very final attack is something straight out of “I Wanna Be The Guy.” This kind of time-wasting leads me to my next point: despite all my praise, the game is very far from perfect.
Given the miniature scale of the experience, it is a shame that I cannot recommend it without caveats like these. Not every decision works, but most importantly, the game often stumbles in its basics. The moving platforms reacted to the movement keys, which led to one getting stuck in a place I couldn’t access. The double jump is finicky, and the forward momentum it provides feels inconsistent. Some hitboxes could use fine-tuning, and dangers during boss encounters are very poorly telegraphed.
Momo and the Mine provides a satisfying booster shot of creativity and retro style which I would heartily recommend to anyone looking for a pleasant evening filled with just the right amount of satisfaction and frustration. Not everything works, and the balance may feel off at times, but at this point in my life, a little bit of controlled platformer anger feels almost nostalgic. Perhaps other gamers will also yearn for the mines.
Mateusz played Momo and the Mine on PC with his own bought copy.
