One of my favorite games of the XBLA heyday was Dust: An Elysian Tail. A Summer of Arcade highlight of the year, the game was exploration heavy with fantastical elements, and some other indie game cameos too. (Super Meat Boy and Spelunky anyone?) While not exactly a 2D sidescroller, some of the elements that appeared in that title seemed to evoke themselves back into the crowdfunded Moon Hunters. However, after playing both, it’s apparent that Moon Hunters has one dramatic difference, that radically changes what players might think. Here’s how that affects the gameplay, whether for better or for worse.
Gameplay:
While Moon Hunters breaks the traditional open world or linear conventions seen in the industry (indie or not) it does start off quite normally. You’ll be tasked with choosing a hero and fighting on from there, and the game also has a very heavy simulation aspect. (Similar to the stuff seen in State of Decay and the Oregon Trial) However, not once does it feel forced in, as more and more hefty yet fun challenges are added as a consequences.
Story & Design:
Another big aspect of Moon Hunter is it’s story, or rather the choices you make in it. Rather than the blank slate other titles like Heavy Rain will give you, Moon Hunters manages to rewrite every little detail based on the pace and efficiency of your progression. Everything has a ripple effect like i’ve never seen it before, and it’s truly something to behold.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
Presentation wise, the game is on par with what you would expect from an indie game, although it doesn’t match the caliber set by the gameplay and story. There are also some technical issues, and these might need to be ironed out in order to set a better standard.
Additionally, the game is very short, but can be expanded near exponentially due to the amount of decisions at player’s hands. This gets even better when more people are playing, upping the level of strategy that’s normally played at a gathering. It’s also online too, meaning you can still have the same impact if you have buddies far away.
Conclusion:
Moon Hunters is not only a wonderfully creative game, but it manages to be innovative without getting weighed down by other issues. And, with it’s pick-up-and-play like style, the significance has been added to it’s short rate of completion. The technical prowess isn’t the greatest, but everything else is supremely top-notch.
Moon Hunters gets a 9/10 (Superb)
We’d like to thank Kitfox Games giving us a code!
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