With many popular games out there that thrive on repetition, Moonlighter could provide a new game to enjoy for players that might be looking for a new gaming routine. This game follows Will, a merchant who visits dungeons to collect goods to sell in his shop. He has bigger dreams of being a hero and helping his town too.
Players who like traveling through dungeons to find loot, managing a town and their own store, and graphics that are fun to look at are sure to enjoy this game. Still, there are some things that could be better about the game.
10 Awesome: Pacing
From the very start of the game, players learn how to fight in dungeons and see what it will be like to travel around. After players inevitably pass out in the dungeon, they get to learn how to run their shop with what they have.
The pacing of the game is fairly reasonable and makes the game more addicting. It's easy to go through dungeons to get new items, and unlocking options for new upgrades and gear encourages players to keep going. The game might seem hard at the beginning, but that's from realistic pacing that shows that players can't defeat strong enemies right away without getting better gear.
9 Could Be Better: Tutorials
When players are thrown into a dungeon right away, it can be pretty jarring. Combine that with the only tutorial on the screen being stone-colored pictures that vaguely show what each button is supposed to do, and it's no wonder that Will passes out so quickly.
It can be hard to get the hang of things sometimes when the player has to learn as they go on their own. More straightforward tutorial text would be helpful to get new players on the right track instead of possibly dying so many times from learning controls that they get discouraged from playing.
8 Awesome: Graphics
While the game is somewhat pixelated in style, it's still visually beautiful. The monsters have interesting designs, the look of combat is exciting, and the atmosphere of the town is very relaxing. It's enough to intrigue players right from the start.
Even the characters have designs that are casual but still nice to look at. All of them look like very believable, realistic villagers for a small town that the player might be able to see themselves living in. Nobody looks super flashy, but they still do a good job of showing their personalities through their appearances.
7 Could Be Better: Map Size
While one of the goals of the game is to expand the town, the map itself doesn't really expand, and it feels very small. It would be nice to have more reasons to go exploring around town, or if there were more areas other than just the town and the dungeons.
Having a bigger map could've allowed for more people to come in, for more shops to open, and countless other possibilities. If players just needed one or two items to finish building an item, a more expansive map could've allowed for more item collecting too.
6 Awesome: Shops
Players have the chance to invite multiple different merchants to their town to sell different kinds of items or offer services. It's not only exciting to see what the shopkeepers are like but to see what they can offer to help Will on his quest to be a hero.
Not only are the merchants unique, but they're also extremely helpful. Besides getting new weapons and powerful enchantments, some of them also do things like buying items that have already been seen in dungeons, decorate your store, or invest your money.
5 Could Be Better: Backpack Size
One of the aspects of Moonlighter that can become frustrating at times is that the size of Will's backpack can't be expanded. This fact alone can be somewhat discouraging for players who want to collect as much loot in a dungeon as possible. It's also quite surprising that there's no backpack expansion considering how many levels there are to each dungeon that has lots of loot to give.
There are a few ways around this, like finding a mirror that lets players sell things from their backpack instantly, or finding the chest that brings items back to Will's shop, but those things aren't always as helpful as a backpack upgrade could be.
4 Awesome: Upgrading
Upgrading Will's weapons, armor, and the shop is a rewarding aspect of Moonlighter. Not only do your items gain more helpful attributes when they're upgraded, but they also take on different appearances that allow for a little customization in the game.
Along with that, upgrading Will's shop can help increase sales in many ways. Players can buy things like a bargain bin, more space in the store, and even a cash register that increases the number of tips received during a sale. Not only is it cool to see the shop expand and look nicer, but it's exciting to see lots of new customers come in since that means players can make more money.
3 Could Be Better: Pricing
The pricing of items in Will's store can also be frustrating at times. There is a short explanation about how the reactions of the customers reveal things like whether the price is too high, too low, just right, or what kind of items customers might be looking for.
Even with all this information, finding the sweet spot of getting the best price for Will and the customer can be annoying sometimes. If customers like a price too much, that means the player could've sold it for more. If the price is too high, then players have to go back to try to find the best price again while not making a sale at the same time. It can be a tedious back-and-forth process, but hopefully, players get the hang of it after a while.
2 Awesome: Unique Dungeons
Moonlighter reveals in messages left around dungeons that each time that Will enters a portal, he will be entering a completely new and unique dungeon. This keeps things interesting throughout the game, especially since dungeon-crawling could feel extremely repetitive very quickly if players had to go through the same dungeon layout every time.
These different dungeon designs keep things exciting since players won't know what monsters they'll fight, what loot they'll find, and what kind of special rooms they might see. Plus, it adds more weight to the need to stay alive, because Will is only allowed to keep the first row of items in his backpack when he passes out in the dungeons, and those items can't be picked up again.
1 Could Be Better: Backstory
The basic storyline that explains the dungeons and the origins of the town are told at the very beginning of the game, but there's barely any backstory for most of the characters, including Will. Players learn that everyone in his family has passed away at this point, he came from a family of merchants, and he wants to explore more.
He doesn't even really talk in the game, so beyond those details, players learn hardly anything about him. The other characters around town are even more mysterious. They occasionally give players tips or tidbits about who they are, but it's hardly enough to make them memorable at all.