Moonlighter . . . Oh, Moonlighter! The perfect example of a game which could be perfect with a sequel, but on its own is not quite there. Perhaps Moonlighter 2 in 2021 will be the game I am looking for? Or maybe this is just a way to tide me over till Animal Crossing comes out next year…

Moonlighter was an experience to be sure, and one I really enjoyed. But I still write this with mixed emotions about it. For me, it was a missed opportunity for the concept and, ultimately, left me wanting more from this world.

Welcome to Rynoka

Moonlighter starts pretty boldly. Essentially, you take over your family’s shop. 10 points for whoever can guess the name? You got it, Moonlighter. Your life revolves around turning profits in the ‘Moonlighter’, whilst at night exploring the dungeons near Rynoka. The first time you do this, you will probably find your father, who died at the hands of these same dungeons. A little foreboding, but when did ominous danger stop anyone, ey?

The gameplay loop in Moonlighter revolves around this constant switching between being a merchant and an explorer. Both mechanics are relatively in depth, with both paths having a series of upgrades which allow you to either develop your store or turn you into Indiana Jones! The weapon system, in particular, allows lots of variety with how you tackle the dungeons. Ranging from spears, bows, long swords and gloves, there are a lot of play styles to employ and a wide range of options within each one. The shop upgrades are more linear but are still good goals to aim for as you work through Moonlighter.

At night I slice. In the day I price.

I am off on an adventure!

Let’s dive into the dungeon crawling itself though, as it is crucial to the success of the game. The top-down style combat INSTANTLY draws Zelda comparisons, and rightly so. In that regard, it feels very similar to A Link Between Worlds. The weapon variety really helps the combat as it can get a little stale if you just stick to one weapon. But being able to use a variety of weapons, at the same time (you can switch between two at once), goes a long way to preventing tedium within the combat.

Having a multitude of weapons also allows you to have some really cool combos at work. For example, I often employ the bow to try and take down enemy health before I move in for the kill. To draw another Zelda comparison, the boss fights are very reminiscent of the top down games within the series. Learn the pattern, know when to attack, and dodge some projectiles. I normally died a few times but they weren’t impossibly hard to defeat.

Back then I did not know how much this stuff was worth, but I slowly learned!

The other key component is the role of shopkeeper connoisseur. For some reason, I enjoyed this more than the actual action within Moonlighter, but I think the system can be improved. For example, a lot of selling items is guesswork until you quickly figure out the optimal amount an item can be sold at. At which point you just set it at that fixed price for the rest of the game and never really go back to it. A lack of an in-depth system does make me question if this aspect of the game is really needed. Could a simple selling system like any other RPG suffice? If the economy in Moonlighter was much deeper and volatile, I think this mechanic would work so much better. However, in its limited state, I think it could have been refined into a much more effective system.

Gather the resources, get the coins. Annnnnnd upgrade away!

A system I do like within the economy is the fact that your progression is completely dependent on your efficiency as a shopkeeper. All the upgrades to your character, weaponry, armour and the rest, are unlocked by gathering resources and buying them. There isn’t character levelling up or upgrades outside of this system. Inherently this does limit you in a way, but I treat it as an incentive to really master the shopkeeping mechanic and dungeon crawling in order to make yourself a better character. When your life literally depends on selling vines for a rip off price, all morals go out of the window!

Get used to gathering lots of the same items to upgrade yourself.

At times having to grind through the dungeons to get materials can be a little repetitive. But one of the shops you unlock allows you to buy items you need, although at a VERY premium price. I mean this is nice, but the actual dungeon crawling mechanic itself could have been much more interesting in order to prevent this being necessary. Exploration comes down to: enter a dungeon, kill enemies, collect materials, leave a dungeon, sell, and go again. As I have already said, a much deeper game could be superb with this mechanic, but Moonlighter just doesn’t have enough to really succeed with this. Going through the same dungeons (despite being randomly generated, they are all aesthetically identical) again and again quickly grows old, which is a shame.

Another issue I have with Moonlighter is how constrained the world feels. Compared to something like Animal Crossing, in which the world changes dynamically around you, whilst still staying relatively small, I just never felt like anything was going on in Rynoka. Even some of the character dialogue is the same, making you realize just how inhibited the world of Moonlighter is. Even with the numerous shops, you can bring to Rynoka, it never feels ALIVE. Which is a massive shame because this is a beautiful world. However, it fails to really show any form of scale, which could have made it so much more immersive.

A beautiful world, but a tiny one all the same…

I think where Moonlighter succeeds most is in its concept. The blending of two opposed genres is relatively successful. But I can’t help but shake the idea that Moonlighter 2 could be an incredible game, as opposed to an enjoyable experience. I had fun, a lot of fun to be honest. It isn’t a bad game by any sense, but it is arguably even worse. It is a good game, which could’ve been amazing but for a couple of missteps. If Moonlighter has been on your list and you have the time to play it now, do it. If you have other games to play, you might as well wait for a sale. The developers are actively updating the game and so the game you play in 6 months may be altogether different from the one right now, perhaps it will be at an even cheaper price.

Still not finished off your backlog? How about adding to it! Check out Pinstripe, or 7 Billion Humans for two pretty cool games to add to your library. To keep the conversation going, go follow us on Twitter and join our Discord.