Moonlighter Review (Switch)
If you don’t mind the game’ s repetitive nature, the shopkeeping dungeon crawler is a perfect fit for Nintendo Switch.
Platforms: Switch (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Digital Sun
Release Date: Nov. 9, 2018
Reviewed by: John Phipps (@mistermegative)
You know, it took me awhile to categorize my thoughts about Moonlighter. I’m a big fan of rogue-likes, procedurally-generated games, and pixel art, so you’d think a combination of all three would be a no-brainer for someone like me.
With that thought in mind, I can report that while Moonlighter manages each slice relatively well, they always feel a bit disparate and never like they’re part of the same pie. Set in a small village named Rynoka, Moonlighter’s plot revolves around your merchant character’s management of a shop during the day, while doing some dungeon crawling at night looking for items to sell. Managing the inventory and prices at the shop is actually rather clever, if simple; when you place items on sale, you assign prices to them and watch as various townspeople and travelers filter in and peruse the goods. You’ll know the price is right when you get a nice little smiley emoji pop up over their heads and they grab the merch. In the same vein, you’ll know you’re charging way too much if they toss out a sad, frowny emoji and walk out the door in a huff. When this happens, you can try selling the item at a lower price, which sometimes turns the entire process into a game of hot and cold.
However, there is a layer of nuance present: selling too much of an in-demand item can result in the market becoming flooded, forcing you to lower prices on your goods. This means charging higher prices for hot items with limited availability. This added layer of simulated economy does add a much-needed element of micromanagement, but once you get the hang of drip-feeding popular items to keep consumer demand slightly unsatisfied, the process borders on mundane and repetitive.
Of course, there’s another aspect of Moonlighter; the dungeon crawl. After all, you need money to keep your business going, and you need relics to sell for said money. To that end, every night you can delve into a series of four randomized dungeons and fight monsters in a manner very reminiscent of 2D Zelda games. Armed with a sword and shield, the combat is fun and engaging, but lacking in anything beyond the most basic “swing sword, kill monster” mechanics. Each level ends with a large, well-designed and difficult boss fight. Everything is procedural, so expect some changes over multiple dungeon runs, although there are a few constants such as healing pools. This is a rogue-like, so if (rather when — this is a difficult game) you die you’ll lose everything you’re carrying in your backpack. But in a pretty cool twist, items in your (limited space) pockets will stay with you.
Playing across PS4 and now Switch, I didn’t notice any meaningful difference in performance or controls. I’m a sucker for beautiful pixel art and Moonlighter delivers that in spades. From enemy design to animation, it’s clear a lot of love went into piecing the game’s visuals together. If you’re planning on purchasing Moonlighter, I highly recommend the Switch; the portable nature of that console lends itself well to this kind of game, and it looks really, really nice on that undocked screen.
But if you have twenty or so hours, and the merchant by day, dungeon crawler by night gameplay cycle appeals to you, Moonlighter will provide.
At the end of the day, Moonlighter is an enjoyable fusion of 2D dungeon crawler and shopkeeper sim. Honestly my biggest complaint is the abrupt end. It’s not a very long experience, and you’ll probably find yourself wishing there was more meat on these bones. But if you have twenty or so hours, and the merchant by day, dungeon crawler by night gameplay cycle appeals to you, Moonlighter will provide. Just be prepared for a little repetition.
Moonlighter was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a press code courtesy of Digital Sun & Evolve PR.
