Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

MonsterVineSean Halliday

Moonrider’s ability to master the pacing and placement of level design from the period provides a platform to build a modern classic experience. It should come as no surprise that this is exactly what Moonrider offers. Developer JoyMasher has a rich pedigree in crafting modern retro with masterclasses like Blazing Chrome and Odaluss: The Dark Call. Every little aspect of their work feels like it has been wrapped with meticulous attention. Moonrider’s basic combat flows into the zippy movement, which in turn washes between the foes and hazards the player faces. It’s all so perfectly done.

Gaming NexusJoseph Moorer

9/10

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a fantastic game. It reminds you of how those old SNES and Genesis games were, enhanced with plenty of quality of life elements. If all your side scrolling melee retro games got together, and created a game in the lab of a maniacal government, it would be this. If you love retro 16-bit action games, you won't regret this. Cyber ninja vanish.

WayTooManyGamesOliver Shellding

8.5/10

Not every game needs to reinvent the wheel in order to make a great impact. I’m thrilled that you think this particular title is a bold new take on deck-building, plant life simulation, and erotic exercises, but I’m seriously looking for a way to just lock in and turn off my brain today. It’s been a hell of a time at work, the world seems dreadfully unstable, and the idea of needing to get eyeballs deep in lore, mechanics, and nuance in order to play a god damn game is unsettlingly depl...

Hardcore Gamer Chris Shive

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider conjures the spirit of the golden age of 16-bit gaming. Everything from the graphics to the soundtrack perfectly recreates the essence of early '90s gaming, while the gameplay mechanics feel contemporary enough where it hits the sweet spot in blending modern with classic. The most important element that Moonrider recreated is making a modern 16-bit game that is just as fun and exciting as the titles that inspired it were back in their heyday. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a retro-inspired title that shows just how fun a trip to a dystopian future can be.

Screen RantRob Gordon

8/10

If this story feels a little similar - a cybernetic soldier travelling around the world defeating evil 'robot masters' if you will - then the structure of Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider will come as no surprise. The player is able to choose from five levels in any order, much like the best from a Mega Man game, defeating the fellow super soldier at the end of the stage and gaining their signature weapon. Meanwhile, much like the Mega Man X games, there are secret upgrades to be found among the stages that the player can find, such as regenerating special weapon power or the ever-useful double ju...

Game InformerKyle Hilliard

7.75/10

Retro platformers are not hard to come by. I count myself among the group of video game players who welcome efforts from small development teams that play to our nostalgia for an era where playing video games meant tuning to channel 3. Some are fantastic, some are too hard to be enjoyable, but most land somewhere in the middle. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider won’t go down in history as one of the greats that both embraces the past and modernizes the action, but I would place it closer to the fantastic side of the scale, even if it doesn’t quite make it all the way.

TechRaptorTyler Chancey

7.5/10

While short and inconsistent in challenge, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a fun throwback to late 90s Japanese cyberpunk spectacle.

GamingTrendJack Zustiak

70/100

Rather than being a game for people who miss the old school ninja platformers of yesteryear, Moonrider feels more like a game made for the people who miss the idea of them. The game borrows liberally from its inspirations and combines them into a game that looks and plays the part just fine. It just doesn’t push itself or the player on a level that will fully satisfy people who still regularly enjoy the games it takes from.

Sirus GamingRay Remigio

7/10

We tell you, it’s a good game! It’s not average! It might have some problems here and there, but you must admit it is a “Good” game

Game SkinnyBryn Gelbart

7/10

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a quick and powerful hit of retro action platformer nostalgia.

Game RantGriffith Aldrich Melton

7/10

Overall, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is a stellar homage to 16-bit action platformers of the 1990s. Every detail in the game successfully recreates the feeling of playing an SNES side-scroller that demands high levels of concentration and technical skill. Aside from a few boss fights, the gameplay feels quick, fast, and exciting, despite being intentionally dated mechanically. The fact that this game intentionally limits itself to an imitation of older games might bother some players, and while more effort could have gone into expanding certain areas of the game, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider ...

GameSpewRichard Seagrave

7/10

There’s nothing mind-blowing about Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider. And it perhaps doesn’t quite feel as tight or rewarding to play as JoyMasher’s previous game, the fantastic Blazing Chrome. But it’s a solid take on the classic action platformer, and is bound to entertain those who were around during the genre’s heyday, as well as newcomers keen on some challenging action.