Developer: Digital Sun Games
Publisher: 11 bit studios
Platform: Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: Switch
Moonlighter (Switch) – Review
On May 29th of 2018, after having been supported by well over 5000 people on Kickstarter, Digital Sun Games introduced the world to their first ever game called Moonlighter. The game was initially only released on Steam. However later that year, 11 bit studios announced to be taking the game to Switch as well, to the appease of many owners of the widely popular Nintendo console. And now that day has finally come. Well then, let’s not wait for the moonlight to shine… Let’s dive right in.
Story
Moonlighter is a game about a young shopkeeper named Will. Will lives for adventure and dreams of becoming a hero. He lives in a town called Rynoka, a place that once used to be a thriving little village, but over time has lost its wealth and therefore has lost its charm.
A little beyond Rynoka lies a set of dungeons, which Will loves to visit and explore. He collects artifacts whilst fighting off creatures and monsters at night, which he then sells in his little shop during the day. These funds can later be used to improve your shop or invest in other shops in town, which you can use to buy and upgrade weapons and armour.
The game’s two prior objectives perfectly balance each other out. If you prefer exploring dungeons, you won’t have to spend too much time selling your loot and vice versa. There is also no form of leveling up and the game doesn’t rush you to finish it in any way, so you can take your time experiencing this game in its fullest potential without any hickups.
Graphics
The graphics of Moonlighter are very retro. The game seems to have been based on games like the early Legend of Zelda games and Stardew Valley – games that had a top down view as well – but instead of copying that art style completely, it takes those elements and completely makes them its own. From your own shop in the town of Rynoka to the dungeons Will traverses at night, everything looks absolutely beautiful, bright and colourful.
Sound
The music in Moonlighter fits every situation to a T. When you’re managing your shop, the music smoothly accompanies the player and makes putting items you found in dungeons up for sale fun and exciting. As soon as you enter the dungeons, the music becomes epic and exciting, and makes you feel as if you’ve actually entered a mysterious dungeon yourself. The deeper you venture into these dungeons, the more epic the music becomes. And even when you find rooms where you get to calm down and heal, the music is there to fully support the feeling of calming down before continuing your adventure.
The sound design for this game is impeccable as well. From slashing your sword into enemies to picking up items, every sound is noticeable and distinguishable.
Gameplay
Moonlighter is a top-down single player action RPG with rogue-lite elements. Although the game was originally released on Steam, it finds another perfect home on the Switch. The controls feel incredible both in docked mode and handheld mode. The game finds a perfect balance between its two elements, those being keeping a shop during the day and battling your way through randomly generated dungeons at night. You also have the option to go and explore the dungeons during the day, but the game makes it very clear there are certain artifacts you will only be able to find at night.
Beyond Rynoka lies a place called the Gates, an excavation site that attracts people who seek adventure. This area has five doors that lead to so called Realms. This is where you go to fight monsters and obtain items to sell. The dungeons are randomly generated, meaning you probably won’t find the same sequence of rooms twice. This makes exploring the dungeons a lot of fun, as they will be completely different every time you enter them. At the end of every Dungeon you will find a boss that holds the key that will open the next Realm. Once you collect four keys, the fifth and final door will open. Finding these bosses will be tough at first, so you will have to go back and forth between selling items to make money in order to fund shops that can upgrade your weapons and armor, which in turn will make finding your way through dungeons and finding bosses a little simpler. If your bag is full and you decide to go back to your shop, you can use your pendant to teleport back to Rynoka at any time. However, this comes at a cost of gold. If you don’t have enough gold to pay this fee, you can use a mysterious mirror to trade items for small amounts of gold.
The monsters you fight in these dungeons get increasingly tougher to beat as you progress in the game. If they happen to kill you, don’t fret. You’ll be teleported out of the dungeons and lose a certain amount of items you found, after which you can choose to re-enter the dungeon or go back to your shop.
The game has been set up so that you will only learn the basics right at the beginning and has you find out the rest as you play. This eliminates any element of elaborate handholding and strengthens the element of exploration, which is the biggest element of the game. You will find out that the items you find in dungeons can have special requirements that can either affect Will or the way you arrange items in your bag. You also have to find out the proper pricing of every item you find by yourself, so even selling items in your store can become a fun challenge. Fortunately, customers have a very clear way of telling you whether they like or dislike the price.
As you make more and more money, you’re entirely free to spend it the way that suits your playstyle. You can either invest it into new shops in town where you can upgrade and buy new weapons and armour, or you can invest it into your own shop. For example, you can increase the amount of items you can sell – which starts off at four, so you might want to spend some gold on this as soon as possible – or you can use it to upgrade things like your cash register and even your bed, which all add perks to make the game a little bit easier to play. The prices for some upgrades can feel a little steep at first, but as you progress and find items that sell for a high price, they’ll be more than worth it.
Conclusion
When Digital Sun initially released Moonlighter, they gained a lot of praise for it. And now that the game has come to Switch, they still managed to top themselves. The controls feel completely natural, the music is incredibly well written and executed and overall the game seems to have found its perfect home on this console. This game is well worth its weight in gold and is a perfect addition to any gamer’s library.
Moonlighter (Switch) - Review,
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[…] We reviewed the base game Moonlighter before, you can check out our review here. […]