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How many people toil away in a cubicle for 40+ hours a week while wishing they could be somewhere else instead? Whether we want to finally write that novel, find true love, or embark on a life-changing adventure, it can be hard to stay content with the tedium of our work-week rhythm month after month, year after year. We often yearn for something more meaningful, right?
Moonlighter follows a merchant named Will who has inherited the family business: the eponymous Moonlighter, a humble shop within the cosy town of Rynoka. But the young man is not content to merely make a living; he has been making forays into the mysterious Dungeons on a quest to unlock their secrets and maybe make some serious dough on the side. When the old man/town elder figure Zenon discovers this dungeon-diving hobby he scolds Will, but also gifts him with a sword and shield. Armed with these and a magical Pendant that allows him to warp back to town as needed, our tale begins.
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Moonlighter is a top-down rogue-lite action RPG. Anyone who’s played a Legend of Zelda Game Boy title or The Binding of Isaac will feel right at home with the static-screen sensation of clearing rooms full of enemies in twitchy, real-time combat. Even newcomers to the dungeon-crawl aesthetic will recognize the gameplay loop involved: get in, kill monsters, grab loot, get out, gear up, repeat.
And, boy, is the combat satisfying. You have an attack, a more powerful secondary attack, and a dodge-roll that doubles as a jump over small gaps in the environment. You can vary your fighting style depending on what sort of weapon you use. The spears have a long reach but are not as strong as the large swords, but those are slow. The standard sword-and-shield allows you to use, well, a shield… but you can even pull out a bow and attack from long range, albeit more weakly. In fact, you can carry two weapons and switch between them instantly, so there are many combinations to form a one-two-punch of creature-slaying strategy as you see fit. Have fun finding a combo you like, ‘cause there are thousands of enemies between you and unlocking the fabled 'Fifth Gate'.
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But Moonlighter adds a hook to the mix, one that will make or break the player’s impression of the game: not only do you control the warrior trying to survive hostile forces, but you are also guiding Will as a shopkeeper trying to maximize profits. Quite literally; you get to move behind the counter and sell your looted goods, setting the prices manually for each item, gauging customer responses to decide how these prices should be changed, and dealing with challenges such as thieves or fluctuations in demand.
We enjoyed fine-tuning the prices of items until townspeople were paying the highest prices we could get without them getting angry, as shown in facial-expression icons when they examine inventory. There is a real satisfaction when you have a profitable day and clear a load of stock. However, it does raise the question: are you really getting something more out of directing this process that makes it more worthwhile than just selling stuff in a quick go, like in a traditional RPG, and leaping back into the fray sooner?
You will have to figure Shopkeeping 101 to some extent at least, because character progression is handled entirely by the in-game economy. There are no natural level-ups, no inherent statistical upgrades. You raise your HP by purchasing better armour, and raise your defence by enchanting said armour. You raise your attack by purchasing new weapons and enhancing those. If you want stronger armour, you can buy some that will sacrifice a little speed. If you want lighter armour, you can move faster but be more vulnerable to each hit. And you are not just buying these things whole; you’ll need to hand over the necessary ingredients to craft them, as well. Where some RPGs demand a balance of stats and skills, Moonlighter asks you to carefully manage your inventory slots to bring back not only the most profitable treasures but also those you will need to gain stronger items. Fortunately, you can ‘wish list’ the weapons, armour and even potion types you want in the shop, which highlights the necessary crafting components in your inventory once you are back in the dungeon.
Inventory management is a necessary skill throughout, but Moonlighter aids the player in a couple great ways. For one thing, you have a magic ‘mirror’ that you can drop extra items into in exchange for gold. You receive only a fraction of what you would if you sold them in your shop, but it is still a helpful, noticeable amount. Also, Moonlighter is designed really well from a user-interface standpoint. From cursor movements to menu layouts and on-screen button tips, everything feels very smooth and intuitive. Managing your inventory feels less like a chore and almost more like an artform.
The visuals of the game are a highlight overall, in fact. Will’s storybook rise to legendary Hero-Merchant is gorgeous all the way through. The pixel art is not just charming, but imaginative, and executed well on a technical level. Explosions are epic, liquid has a signature flow, enemy designs are indelible, and the tile art is meticulously well put-together. You may think 16-bit “retro style” graphics are old hat for indie titles, but Moonlighter manages a fresh, lively presentation.
The music is great, too, with rich layers of instrumentation on top of pretty compositions. We can hear the shop melody in our head right now, and we're transported back to our humble shop and the quiet task of arranging them on display for a noble purpose. The tracks are slightly contextual, as they may shift for certain rooms. Otherwise, they complement themes. The Forest Dungeon is reminiscent of the feel of the Forest Maze from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
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Oh, right, the dungeons! Will wants to conquer them, and there are four to be tackled in a specific order, ascending in difficulty: Golem, Forest, Desert, Tech. Legend has it that deep within each lies a Guardian, a special boss-fight foe of a much larger size than the rest. Upon defeating each, a Key is given. Once all four Keys are obtained, the mysterious Fifth Gate can be opened.
Once you unlock a new dungeon, you can immediately try it or you can always go back to a previous one for easier pickings. Each dungeon has three levels, which are incrementally harder in their enemy varieties and room patterns. Early in the game, Will gains the ability to place a teleportation gate in a dungeon, which lets him return to the same place after he’s come back to town, perhaps to heal or upgrade his gear. The formula soon feels straightforward: go as deep into the dungeon as you can, use the Pendant to get back before you die so that you can sell loot in order to get better gear so you can advance deeper. If you are familiar with Rogue Legacy, you can expect a very similar pace and feel to how things unfold.
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Ultimately, the storyline is a bit thin. Even in the town, the NPCs are perfectly extemporaneous. Although their dialogue will change as Will unlocks more dungeons and gains renown, the available scripts are less than the available NPCs; in other words, you can talk to three or four people and they’ll all say the same thing in a row. Even certain named NPCs, who open a larger dialogue box and portrait, don’t end up serving any special purpose. While Will’s hometown of Rynoka is lovely, it doesn’t try too hard to disguise the fact that it just serves as a frictionless pathway between the dungeons and the shop.
There are other factors for the player to bear in mind, too. There are shop upgrades to purchase, in order to sell more items in a cycle or entice customers to leave tips. There are unique items that reveal some worldbuilding lore but can be sold at a high price, too. You can help other businesses move into town and aid your efforts in their own ways. We could write an entire separate, full-length article on the various nuances of running the shop, which proves more complex than the combat, although both will demand the patient discipline of a gentle learning curve.
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And it all adds up really well, overall. This is a well-made game, a Kickstarter success. However, we encountered enough bugs in our playthrough to merit mentioning: we had to be careful fighting around edges of rooms, because firing an arrow nudges Will backwards and sometimes this was enough to clip into the level geometry, even to a softlock. Occasionally, a sudden drop of frames would result in us taking damage. Using the mirror too quickly will get an item “stuck” which means you lose it without gaining any gold. Once, we were stuck in our own shop at night, unable to exit or sleep in the bed. We're still not sure how the “percent exploited” stat on the map screen really works, nor why it wouldn’t have been more useful instead to tell us which of the three levels of the dungeon we're currently on. It’s our understanding that Moonlighter has been patched on other systems to fix many of the bugs and add other functionality; while the developer does intend to patch the initial Switch release as well, at press time they were not able to confirm how soon such an update would be available.
Between these issues and some dialogue typos, our only other quibble was a lack of impact in the sound effects (weirdly quiet enemies and combat going on). Otherwise, Moonlighter is a triumph of genre hybridization and artful setting. We think the final act is strong, too, as the Fifth Gate is finally opened and the curtain peels back dramatically on how the mysteries fit together.
Conclusion
If you want to play a top-down Legend of Zelda game as a rogue-lite while also taking shifts as a shopkeeper then, hey, Moonlighter is about to scratch a distinctive itch for you. It hits a sweet spot somewhere between satisfying swordplay and nitty-gritty economic sim, although some players may feel it gets ‘grindy’ after a while in its mechanics. Nonetheless, Digital Sun Games has produced a lush work it can be proud of; one that even touches on our humanity in an optimistic way.
Comments 47
Been keeping an eye on this one. Not a day one for me, but it's definitely on the watchlist and will probably end up getting it for Christmas holidays...
Onto the wishlist it goes. Once it's been patched and come down in price slightly I'll definitely pick it up. As it is, it sounds a little buggy and costs $5 more than most other top tier indies.
This looks great, especially the graphics. Are the dungeons designed or randomly generated? I can't stand randomly generated levels!
I've had the physical copy of this preordered for quite a while so I'll be getting it. My backlog is really big at the moment so not sure when I'll find the time for it but I'll give it a go sooner or later.
My wish list is NEVER going down.
Not sure that's the correct use of the 'extemporaneous' adjective? Anyway, good review overall, this one will find a spot on my Christmas list as it looks excellent.
I’ve had my eye on this for awhile. I’ll be picking this up in a couple months after I get through some other stuff.
@ShaiHulud My thoughts exactly! Think the word the reviewer was looking for was "extraneous". I've always thought this game looked cool, and still do. Wish list for now, though. I have Octopath and Dark Souls to get through first.
Man, I forgot this was coming out this week. Given that I just got Red Dead 2 (and still have to finish Starlink), I won't be getting it right away. But on my wishlist it goes.
Sounds like a good genre blended game that I will be getting. I'll probably wait until next year though as I'm picking up Diablo 3 tomorrow and that's just a game that will eat up at least a month of my time if not more. I have other games to still play so the game isn't demanding my attention at the moment.
I like a good Zelda-like adventure game, but the shopkeeping aspects sound a bit annoying and turn me off. Maybe I'll try it on sale.
@Anti-Matter To weed out the plebes.
$35 on Switch, $15 on Steam. That's a helluva Switch premium.
@AirElephant .. someday, somewhere, it will be on sale. and this day it will be mine.
coz I'm no longer supporting the switch tax .
Holy moly, that's expensive. Good reason to skip it for now.
Sounds good! Can't wait to try this game out!
Is on my list, but that price though
Might think about getting this once it's on sale.
Hmmm pretty sure the embargo date for this was Nov 2nd......
@TheGameTutor
Let’s Them pretends to be in Wellington 😊
it seems like Zelda aesthetics, but from the description, sounds more like just a plain mystery dungeon, most of which are boring as frack
(to me at least)
charging anything over $25 for this seems........egotistical and/or ignorant
add all the bugs mentioned and the value of the game goes down to $15 for a hard copy, $10 for download
I wondered about this game, I may wait for a sale unfortunately and ironically there's just too much to play, and my list just gets bigger and my memory card space smaller. But I love the artwork and the style.
I consider this intriguing, but in fairness to what games interest me more, I would probably play this well after I played everything I wanted to play. It's so sad... I really wish I had the time for experimental or unique games, but I have to reeeeally be picky now.
@Anti-Matter Looks to me like Pokemon Diamond and pearl and Black and White on Nintendo DS. Looks superb in my eyes.
@Eef 35$CAN including taxes. That's a lot you don't think? Don't get me wrong I want this game but compare to Hollow Knight price, it's pricy.
@0muros
I wish it has a Pseudo 3D like FF 7 - 9 or 3D Isometric Final Fantasy Tactics to make the game looked interesting in my eyes.
@Anti-Matter You're superficial and negative. Clean your eyes man. You're always complaining. Do you realize it?
@0muros
I didn't mean to complain.
Not being negative also.
I just wish it has at least Pseudo 3D instead of 2D SNES style.
@Krull @ShaiHulud Yeah you're both correct, I definitely used the wrong word here — last time I write a review at 1am ha, thank you.
@TommyRabbit The dungeon maps are generated randomly, but always follow certain patterns (if you find the healing pool, you're on the right path toward the boss) and are never more than a couple dozen rooms. That being said, I totally still respect if randomness remains a turn-off.
@EricBailey Blame spellcheck, always blame spellcheck... Thanks for the review, and staying up to 1am to write it!
That main character looks like a Pop Vinyl statue to me with his large, cold, dead eyes. I have heard good early impressions of this game and I applaud the creativity of the premise, even though the shopkeeping aspect doesn't appeal to me. I hope it delivers for those who were looking forward to this game or are newly interested in it..
Sounds like fun, but it's a question of timing. I think Xeno 2 will be my next purchase...
Doubt I'll pay more than $20 AUD for this.
Very lovely color schemes they're rolling with here.
Been waiting for this one cannot wait
@Anti-Matter more like why inbetween nes and snes style.... even snes has more titles with better graphics tbh. with that said
This game is different game play instead of just dungeon crawling you must be a merchant as well that the appeal to me I preordered this one.
How NintendoLife gives Moonlighter, an okayish but not spectacular indie, the same score as Diablo 3, complete with full 720p handheld play at 60fps and not a single frame drop... is beyond me.
Let's put Moonlighter at a 7/10 and bump Diablo up to a 9/10, and leave it at that.
That dirty R word again. FFS!
@EricBailey We've all been there!
Got my Switch key days ago. This game is addicting. The music is good, too.
It's funny how all the reviews for this game are glowing, yet if you browse through Reddit and see what people are saying about it, you'd get the impression that it's an incredibly shallow and repetitive game.
Why Nintendo Life is using images from the Xbox One version?
Sigh, such a lazy review.
I can't deal with the sim aspect of the game. Hyper Light Drifter is much more my speed. Managing funds, supplies, stock, a means to live? OMG. I have a real life already. I'm trying to ESCAPE it for a bit.
@TommyRabbit It's sort of halfway between, the dungeons have the same rooms every time, but they are rearranged (basically like if you slid the map tiles around like one of those... tile sliding puzzles).
@Tirza Oh wow, you're not wrong — there's definitely some XBox-version screenshots thrown in. I captured the 50 shots from the Switch myself (if you reload the page, you'll see how the images propagate randomly, I imagine this had something to do with the Xbox ones if they were just tagged "Moonlighter" and left as that) though, to be clear, and the review didn't magically write itself either haha. Thanks for the heads-up.
Glad to hear this reviews well. Was very intrigued when I first heard about it . Literally had my hands on it today when shopping for a couple games but went with DQ Builders and XC2 Torna instead . Price is a bit on the steep side and I am sure it will get a sale shortly down the road . That being said , I will definitely pick it up at some point .
Good review here
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