Video Game Review: Moonlighter
Discover a charming rouge-lite with a twist of shopkeeping.
11 Bit Studios is not new to the world of gaming but Moonlighter is my first experience with one of their games and I must say I am pleasantly surprised. Going into this game with nearly no knowledge of 11 Bit Studios I was expecting a short mediocre game with little replay value. Once in however, I found an engaging game with a variety of new concepts and plenty of personality.
In Moonlighter the player takes control of Will, the most recent owner of the Moonlighter, a shop that sells items scavenged from the dungeons. As the player continues they find new regions of the dungeons, each with their own unique enemies and materials to sell at the shop. After the player is finished exploring Will can teleport out of the dungeon and arrive back at town where he can sell materials, craft tools, upgrade his shop, and even fund other stores to come to town.
The procedurally generated dungeons are filled with inventive monsters and little bits of lore. Whether it be notes or camps left behind or, more grimly, the skeletons of other explorers which you can loot for life potions.
Moonlighter strikes a near perfect balance between action in the dungeon and calming work in the shop
The combat is nicely customizable with 5 different types of weapons, swords, two handed swords, spears, gloves, and bow and arrows. Each type has their own varieties and upgrade trees.
Unfortunately the combat itself is very basic. All weapons have a basic attack and special alongside the character always being able to roll. This results in the shorter weapons feeling useless as the best way to beat stronger enemies is to just keep throwing arrows and spears at them to keep out of their range.
Once the player returns to town however, things ramp up immensely. Each item found in the dungeons has its own ideal pricing for the player to find. And with the money they invest in upcoming businesses new, fun characters come to town and provide services to aid in exploring the dungeons. Money used to upgrade the shop can provide more selling space, discount bins, a way to earn tips, and even bed upgrades to give well a better nights sleep for some helpful, even if temporary, upgrades.
Overall Moonlighter strikes a near perfect balance between action in the dungeon and calming work in the shop all with a fine layer on charming pixel animation. I’m disappointed I didn’t buy it sooner and will be sinking many more hours into this wonderful game over the coming summer. Moonlighter can be bought on Steam for $20 and Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One for $25.
Hutch Reumann is a Junior who has been on the Verbatim staff since his Freshman year. Although he previously wrote about video games that excited him,...
