Moonlighter

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 188 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 103 out of 188
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 188
  3. Negative: 21 out of 188

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  1. megabear
    May 29, 2018
    6
    Would have been a good game if there was an end goal other than participating in looping gameplay. Because there is no proper end goal, there is no motivation and because there is no motivation there is no fun.
  2. Kaneris
    Jul 21, 2020
    5
    At first, it's cool to sell the products on the shop, however, after the second dungeon it gets repetitive as heck.

    -Enter the dungeon and exit 6/7 times -Upgrade gear -Sell items -Enter back again to the dungeon and go directly to the last floor -Exit the dungeon with the second artifact -Get potions -Get back to the dungeon and just go directly to the boss -Battle the boss    At first, it's cool to sell the products on the shop, however, after the second dungeon it gets repetitive as heck.

    -Enter the dungeon and exit 6/7 times
    -Upgrade gear
    -Sell items
    -Enter back again to the dungeon and go directly to the last floor
    -Exit the dungeon with the second artifact
    -Get potions
    -Get back to the dungeon and just go directly to the boss
    -Battle the boss spamming the attack bottom and using potions, don't even need to move...

    Congratulations, you have beaten the dungeon, go to the next one and do the exact same...

    Visually it's pretty and music is nice... but that's it.
    NPCs don't matter
    And the story is... crap...

    Al principio vender objetos en la tienda mola, sin embargo, tras la segunda mazmorra se vuelve repetitivo de narices...

    -Entra y sal de la mazmorra 6/7 veces
    -Mejora el equipamiento
    -Vende objetos
    -Entra de nuevo en la mazmorra y ve al último piso directamente
    -Sal de la mazmorra con el segundo artefacto
    -Obtén pociones
    -Vuelve a la mazmorra y ve directamente al boss
    -Combate al boss spameando el botón de ataque, y tanquéatelo tirándote pociones, siquiera tienes que moverte

    Enhorabuena, te has pasado la mazmorra.... Ve a la siguiente y haz exactamente lo mismo...

    Visualmente y la música están bien, pero ya está.
    NPCs no importan
    Y la historia... es mierda...    … Expand
  3. Csefff
    Aug 30, 2018
    7
    Fun dungeon grind with limited scope but great arcade combat.

    + Quick learning curve and satisfyingly balance for most gamers. + Fun core gameplay and mini-games - has a solid loop between combat and shopkeeping (just one more turn...). + Combat is derived from micro-puzzles that are satisfying to solve. - Marketing represented slightly as a 'stardew-like' game, but more like    Fun dungeon grind with limited scope but great arcade combat.

    + Quick learning curve and satisfyingly balance for most gamers.
    + Fun core gameplay and mini-games - has a solid loop between combat and shopkeeping (just one more turn...).
    + Combat is derived from micro-puzzles that are satisfying to solve.

    - Marketing represented slightly as a 'stardew-like' game, but more like 'rogue legacy / enter the gungeon'. In 20 hours, the most methodical gamer would have completed all the content.
    - Lots of optimal pathways in inventory mini-game and item purchases/upgrades.
    - Not a lot of diversity - once you've completed the first dungeon, the rest are different shades of the same colour.    … Expand
  4. Holfgard
    Jan 15, 2019
    7
    Very good looking appearence, so cute and great pixel art. The rogue lite component is interesting but it must be polished. The problem is the economy, you can break it like in the middle of the game and you don't feel the necessity to keep going to the end. That takes you out of the adventure and the story they want to tell you. They tried to fix it with an update but it's not enough.Very good looking appearence, so cute and great pixel art. The rogue lite component is interesting but it must be polished. The problem is the economy, you can break it like in the middle of the game and you don't feel the necessity to keep going to the end. That takes you out of the adventure and the story they want to tell you. They tried to fix it with an update but it's not enough. It's very recommendable but you must have in mind the problems.… Expand
  5. Mizuiro
    Jul 14, 2019
    5
    Juego copia del Zelda pero que no sabe copiar lo que engancha de este...
    Tiene muchas carencias, gameplay un poco de cartón piedra.
    Cosas sin pies ni cabeza como que un amuleto gaste monedas de oro para volver, que un espejo convierta cosas en monedas de oro y demas tontunas que podrian haber solucionado mas elegantemente y no tan en crudo.
  6. ArcanaThe4th
    Jul 31, 2019
    6
    Moonlighter is a fun game. It's really beautiful and I love its atmosphere and aesthetic, but it can also be pretty boring. Its mechanics don't seem to have that much depth and it become easy to make optimize the game to a point where you are pretty much just repeating things. because the game's dungeons are so easy once you get the hang of it, the game pretty much lacks enough challengeMoonlighter is a fun game. It's really beautiful and I love its atmosphere and aesthetic, but it can also be pretty boring. Its mechanics don't seem to have that much depth and it become easy to make optimize the game to a point where you are pretty much just repeating things. because the game's dungeons are so easy once you get the hang of it, the game pretty much lacks enough challenge to keep me hooked on it.

    I've also seen a few bugs, though I am not sure whether these are related to me using the Epic Launcher or my PC overheating, I know for a fact that when my computer froze on its own, it ended up no longer opening that software regardless, so i can't finish it.    … Expand
  7. pawnperspective
    Aug 13, 2020
    7
    Moonlighter is a little bit Action RPG, a little bit Rogue-like, and a small bit Shop/Town Management in a combination that works delightfully, yet sometimes frustratingly, well. The game centers around Will, a young shopkeeper fascinated by the Dungeon and its Gates. Each of the Dungeon’s four Gates brings an adventurer into a randomized labyrinth filled with all sorts of valuable itemsMoonlighter is a little bit Action RPG, a little bit Rogue-like, and a small bit Shop/Town Management in a combination that works delightfully, yet sometimes frustratingly, well. The game centers around Will, a young shopkeeper fascinated by the Dungeon and its Gates. Each of the Dungeon’s four Gates brings an adventurer into a randomized labyrinth filled with all sorts of valuable items and deadly enemies. The mysterious 5th Gate has yet to be unlocked.

    Moonlighter takes place during day and night cycles. During the day, Will sells the goods he finds in the Dungeon at night. Certain items will be in more demand than others, and prices in which customers are willing to pay for those items always fluctuates. As Will’s profits grow, so can his shop and the surrounding town. A blacksmith, alchemist, and other shops can be purchased to supply Will’s daring expeditions into the Dungeon come dark.

    At night Will takes to the mysterious Dungeon trying to find items to sell, as well as materials to craft and enchant his equipment. Each time he enters the Dungeon, it’s different, and each of the four Gates will eventually yield keys to open the 5th Gate, which Will’s father died trying to research. These dungeon stages are severe, and Will will die many, many times while working his way up the power/skill ladder. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating when you first start, but after a bit of a grind, things fall into place and become a bit smoother.

    Moonlighter’s fast action gameplay combined with its sim-style day cycles, amazingly detailed pixel art, and excellent soundtrack make it a game that’s not to miss. There’s a little something for everyone here, though the difficulty curve is a bit sharp to begin. It’s available on Steam, Humble Bundle, GOG, the XBox One, PS4, and Switch, so if you’ve got a modern way to game, you can get the game.    … Expand
  8. eded9999
    May 30, 2018
    5
    Not my type of game, i don't really enjoy the store management.
    And the dungeon part either, don't like the square-to-square kind of map, it's repetitive.
    Maybe not a bad game, but it has no appeal to me.
  9. BioTofu
    Jan 14, 2019
    7
    The game needs to at least double the number of weapons and armors available and I was not enticed to keep continue playing after 3hrs. The crafting, combat, and shop management were too bland... the control was not smooth, i even preferred the very basic combat and inventory management in stardew valley over this... i think its the control that frustrated me the most as it also impactedThe game needs to at least double the number of weapons and armors available and I was not enticed to keep continue playing after 3hrs. The crafting, combat, and shop management were too bland... the control was not smooth, i even preferred the very basic combat and inventory management in stardew valley over this... i think its the control that frustrated me the most as it also impacted the combat.… Expand
  10. Tubey
    Dec 31, 2019
    5
    I decided to give this a go after loving Recettear - an aggressively Japanese game with almost an identical theme (on paper) made a decade ago - and had high expectations going in, due to a beautiful art style and a great core mechanic (again, on paper.)

    So you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that this game is pretty much the polar opposite of Recettear in that it has    I decided to give this a go after loving Recettear - an aggressively Japanese game with almost an identical theme (on paper) made a decade ago - and had high expectations going in, due to a beautiful art style and a great core mechanic (again, on paper.)

    So you can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that this game is pretty much the polar opposite of Recettear in that it has good dungeon crawling content (good, not great - Binding of Isaac this is not) combined with an absolutely god-awful afterthought of item shop management.

    It is boring. Horribly boring. It feels like the devs made the game with every new mechanic added being very deliberate and careful not to break another, so no risks whatsoever were taken with the economy of the game. You snowball rapidly and the game becomes trivial and repetitive about an hour in. You have to effectively guess the rough value of each item you collect from the dungeon to sell, but once you know then that's that. Every item you place on the shop floor sells as long as reasonably priced, unlike in Recettear where you were constantly looking for that one last sale to repay the loan.

    That's another thing - there's no 'ticking clock' failure state, and it BADLY needs one. Instead, everything just nudges along at a pedestrian pace and the only enjoyment you get is from the dungeons. But as said, 'enjoyment' only to an extent - so much so that I stop playing and go back to Enter The Gungeon or Isaac just to get a real fix.

    It's such a massive missed opportunity. It's not bad as such; it's just bland, and impossible to recommend.    … Expand
  11. BeatHour
    Dec 29, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's not very fun, but it's playable from beginning to end. Collecting items feels satisfying, but money isn't super important in this game. It seems like the whole game follows this formula; nothing is very important to actually playing it, somehow, but some elements of the gameplay feel good.

    Both the shop and dungeon features feel tacked on and not fully complete or meaningful to progression. For example, you need the shop to sell things, but it's kind of a glorified item dump, as the mechanics in getting people to buy things don't go deeper than setting your sell price within a certain range. As for dungeons, they're just a little long (about 20-30 minutes to complete) with most enemies not being hard to deal with, and most of the bosses being easy. They're just kind of there, but it feels like something is missing: probably complexity.

    My favorite thing was the secret challenge rooms you can find by falling into pits, and time warp sections of the dungeons. You can use it to get advanced loot, but that just basically nets you more money. It seems very unlikely that you could get items ahead of time from this, which would give this section some purpose. But still, it's satisfying to my brain to upgrade the junk I've got lined up to sell.

    The inventory organization puzzle that's in the game is cute, but it stops short of being important or complex. There's like 5 types of pickups that can be problematic or beneficial in your inventory, so you need to take about 5 seconds after a rare drop to organize your inventory. You can spend some time doing this, so I guess it is a rather strong feature...

    But the combat isn't very strong. It's just attack and dodge fair. I didn't really see a need or have the desire to experiment much with the weapon types. The shield was fine and gives your the additional defensive ability to block, which can get you through areas which your other defensive gear isn't really ready for. As for the rest of the combat, it's buggy (you might have to restart a boss battle because it's either not triggering stage changes, or you get stuck in the floor somehow) and sometimes too weighty. It kind of reminds me of the SNES Zelda taken a bit too far in that a hit can send you ping-ponging around the room. Still, like Dark Souls (although it's not a very hard game if you have the right gear), it's satisfying when you overcome a dungeon with a sliver of health. That said, you can get so overpowered very easily, and by the end of the game I was just thundering through, smacking everything to death before it had a chance to attack.

    And, finally, the story is ridiculously bad. For 90% of the game it's just an old man telling you not to advance in the game, saying the same thing over and over again. You find books in the dungeon that just ramble on about "why are there bosses here? why are there monsters?" Even 20 hours into the game, these books are still asking questions about things like "why are there doors that connect the rooms?" The conclusion is that alien pirates teleported dangerous relic rooms into your world. That's it. Time police come by the time you've already dealt with the pirates, say some little spiel about how they'll give your people licenses to loot the relics... And then it just ends. I would have been more satisfied if it just ended with a "fin" screen after the final (forgettable) boss.    … Expand
  12. lastfox
    May 13, 2020
    6
    A nice little rogue game, that I would describe as a mix of Spelunky, Rogue Legacy and Zelda.

    A scavenger at night and a merchant by day, the game is not an an RPG, but more of an action adventure with combined with a mini shop game. You kind of scavenge certain dungeons (within a limited time frame) to get parts = money and in effect upgrade either your armour, weapons, magic or your    A nice little rogue game, that I would describe as a mix of Spelunky, Rogue Legacy and Zelda.

    A scavenger at night and a merchant by day, the game is not an an RPG, but more of an action adventure with combined with a mini shop game.
    You kind of scavenge certain dungeons (within a limited time frame) to get parts = money and in effect upgrade either your armour, weapons, magic or your own shop.
    The combat seems a bit difficult at first but it's very fair. Every time you enter a dungeon it's maze-like architecture is randomly generated. But there are still rules, which you can uncover by taking hints of other scavengers who didn't make it. There's a ticking clock element in form of a dungeon guardian who is starting to pursue you after you spent too much time in the dungeon. It gives the scavenging a sense of urgency. Honorable mention: nice pixel art and some neat animations. The music is nice too.

    Unfortunately it's a bit short, the village is way too small and therefore the game lacks a bit of scope. The shop system adds some additional hours, but overall it's a pretty short affair.
    I would recommend it if it's on sale.    … Expand
  13. Symilan
    Jul 19, 2021
    6
    Why the **** is everything so repetitive ?
    This had so much potential, this is so original, I loved it ! However there is ABSOLUTLY no difference in the gameplay during the WHOLE GAME.
    Terribly disappointing.
  14. kelvinsanchez15
    May 27, 2019
    7
    Tiene puntos buenos como tiene malos, la música es de 10, el pixel art es muy agradable a la vista, en su contraparte siento que el gameplay no se siente fluido y en partes esta desequilibrado. La mecánica de la tienda pasa de ser una novedad a convertirse en algo tedioso/repetitivo. Aparte de todo eso es un buen juego que merece atención, espero lo sigan mejorando de ser posible.
  15. MoscowAndrew
    Jan 23, 2021
    6
    Good game! Fresh look, cool mechanics, and nice music. But in the end, it doesn't work because the grind spoils everything. It gets boring very quickly.
  16. Soullex
    Dec 8, 2022
    5
    Bu rouge-like türü çok gereksiz. Tekrar tekrar aynı şeyleri yapmak çok sıkıcı.
  17. guiegui
    Jan 2, 2021
    7
    A game with a very interesting proposal, really innovative in the sense that you have your own store. However, the story is more of a background than something really important. After the third dungeon, all you wanna do is finish the game as quickly as possible, at least for me, from that point on, selling items in the store had become very boring and repetitive.
    It took me 11h30m to    A game with a very interesting proposal, really innovative in the sense that you have your own store. However, the story is more of a background than something really important. After the third dungeon, all you wanna do is finish the game as quickly as possible, at least for me, from that point on, selling items in the store had become very boring and repetitive.
    It took me 11h30m to finish the game, and although I really like grind games in this style, I already think that's too much for a game like this, and the only reason I gave 7 for this game was due to the great experience I had in the first 7 hours of gameplay.

    Um jogo com uma proposta bastante interessante, realmente inovador no sentido de você ter sua própria loja. Porém a história é mais um background do que algo realmente importante. Depois da terceira dungeon, tudo o que você quer fazer é zerar o jogo o mais rápido possível, pois, pelo menos para mim, a partir desse ponto, vender itens na loja tinha se tornado algo muito chato e repetitivo.
    Demorei 11h30m para zerar o jogo, e, apesar de eu realmente gostar de grind games nesse estilo, eu ja acho demais para um jogo assim, e o unico motivo de eu ter dado 7 para esse jogo foi pela ótima experiência que tive nas primeiras 7 horas de gameplay.    … Expand
  18. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    5
    Got pretty bored after I finished first dungeon. It's just grindy and boring. I liked Binding of Isaac much more in terms of dungeons
  19. freenik
    Jul 20, 2021
    7
    Fun, cute, casual.
    A major minus is that it lacks a real story line, and all is a little bit too repetitive. If we think of it as a casual game that you play without any burden and moderate effort, then the world in it is a bit too small and there isn't really much to explore and interact with.
  20. Anti-SJWs
    Nov 7, 2020
    6
    Gameplay is good, but repetitive. Nothing like evolution here. Graphic is even better, the pixels art is so simple but beautiful. Not to mention about smooth animation of each character, i think this game should be a standard of pixel graphic. The story???its bad, it is bad. It may interest you in beginning of the game but the middle game and end game, this game will bore you pretty soon.Gameplay is good, but repetitive. Nothing like evolution here. Graphic is even better, the pixels art is so simple but beautiful. Not to mention about smooth animation of each character, i think this game should be a standard of pixel graphic. The story???its bad, it is bad. It may interest you in beginning of the game but the middle game and end game, this game will bore you pretty soon. No new character in dungeon and no interaction at all. U can talk to each npc once but they will say the same thing. I did not discuss about stupid mechanics like days and unbalanced. This game is so unbalanced that you will find it difficult in beginning of the game, but easier when u play more. 6/10 good for people who tired about AAA games like COD, GTA but bad for people looking for a game with deep world filled with interaction like Stardew Valley… Expand
  21. EmirhanSahin
    Feb 8, 2021
    6
    The concept for this game is pretty good. But the game not giving us a goal to play and finish the game. You are just doing the same things over and over again.
  22. Jojogonpa
    Apr 13, 2021
    6
    un jeu au concept (vendeur d'item) très intéressant, mais le gameplay y est malheureusement mal exploités et le concept du jeu montre très vite ces limites après quelques heures dommage...
  23. ErdemMT5
    Jun 19, 2022
    5
    Moonlighter could be a fantastic game if they worked much more on core game loop.
    I liked this game at first few hours. Being a merchant and searching goods in dungeons for money looked very attractive at first. But after couple hours later, it started to be boring. Go dungeons and look for goods, come to town and wait for the customers, after upgrading your tools, advance more in    Moonlighter could be a fantastic game if they worked much more on core game loop.
    I liked this game at first few hours. Being a merchant and searching goods in dungeons for money looked very attractive at first. But after couple hours later, it started to be boring. Go dungeons and look for goods, come to town and wait for the customers, after upgrading your tools, advance more in dungeons until you be able to kill big boss. This idea may seem fine at first, but it gets more boring with every loop.
    And;
    combat mechanics are not enjoyable, They just classic 2d combat mechanics.
    Progression is not good enough. you can upgrade your weapon and shop, and they're really necessary but it changes only stats. You gain more coin and hp but you don't gain any notable new mechanics, and this decrease player's motivation.    … Expand
  24. rustchild
    Feb 7, 2022
    6
    As many here have said already this is a decent game. I was super engaged for the first, say, 40% of it. However the fact that there really isn't much nuance to the store or dungeon crawling aspects of the game it gets old REALLY fast. This could have been great with some stardew valley style character dynamics (which it's really begging for due to the fact it looks almost exactly likeAs many here have said already this is a decent game. I was super engaged for the first, say, 40% of it. However the fact that there really isn't much nuance to the store or dungeon crawling aspects of the game it gets old REALLY fast. This could have been great with some stardew valley style character dynamics (which it's really begging for due to the fact it looks almost exactly like it), or deeper "Shopkeep simulator" mechanics. As is once you've played it for a few hours you've pretty much seen it all.… Expand
  25. Cinept
    Mar 7, 2022
    6
    6/10. Overall felt relatively fun but overly repetitive, nothing special or particularly notable about it.
  26. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    6
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
46
#46 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 31, 2018
    40
    On a paper sympathetic, but tedious in practice. The game is an unamusing attempt to recreate Recettear. The functional foundation would need a more exciting environment and more entertaining action. [Issue#287]
  2. CD-Action
    Sep 27, 2018
    75
    The ending turned out to be a huge disappointment but I will not let the last fifteen minutes or so overshadow my generally good impression. Over 20 hours that led to it were engaging, the pixel art is cute and the music is even better. [08/2018, p.70]
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Jul 18, 2018
    90
    Day is your lady, night is your mistress, young shopkeeper. For what you seek in the depths of randomly generated dungeons will reward you dearly, if you decide to keep the lights of the family business on. Who knows, maybe someday you may even enter the mythical fifth door of the dungeon creepiest of them all. Hah, who am I kidding, you can never do that... If you don't buy the game, so buy it.
    Read full review
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