Moonlighter

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 110 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 110
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 110
  3. Negative: 16 out of 110
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  1. nachtgiger
    Jun 5, 2018
    5
    The game is basically just one big grind. The problem is, as your equipment gets better by making more money, only your stats actually change, which makes the gameplay rather repetitive. Not a truly bad game per se, it's just very mediocre.

    + awesome music
    + great looking art style

    - boring combat
    - repetitive
  2. houjo2000
    Jun 7, 2018
    4
    This is a promising game, the dungeon crawl aspect of it is enjoyable and with many types of monsters and mini events, as well as a pretty good aesthetic and soundtrack fun can be had.

    Unfortunately, the limited weapons and no utility in combat makes it a shallow hack and slash that gets repetitive. That, and the game is about grinding ingredients from the same monsters in order to make    This is a promising game, the dungeon crawl aspect of it is enjoyable and with many types of monsters and mini events, as well as a pretty good aesthetic and soundtrack fun can be had.

    Unfortunately, the limited weapons and no utility in combat makes it a shallow hack and slash that gets repetitive. That, and the game is about grinding ingredients from the same monsters in order to make gold and buy a very limited selection of equipment.

    That said, this game would be a 6 or perhaps 7 just off the dungeon part. But, half the game is the shop part. Unlike some other games that do an excellent job of it- this basically just makes selling your loot tedious. It's not fun, it's time consuming, and it makes dungeons take far, far longer than they should to get through- which in turn makes them more tedious and start to wear; without this, you'd be through the dungeons much more quickly and they wouldn't have time to become boring.

    This game really can only be suggested to those who enjoy gold and mat farming in MMOs, because that's precisely what it is about.

    Again- this could have been a 6 or 7, but by turning it into a grind they've made almost everything nice about the game become boring.

    Very promising start though.    … Expand
  3. terabity1987
    May 29, 2018
    10
    One of the best Indie game from over the years! so much fun, so much great game :D highly recommended to buy this game and plal, play and once again play !
  4. Chris_martinez
    May 31, 2018
    10
    Moonlighter = fun, amusement, great game ! i reckon its the first game of Digital Sun and very promising for next artful games, great job guys Spaniards !
  5. SuperkenGaming
    May 29, 2018
    8
    Moonlighter
    A Zelda Shoppe Keep
    Moonlighter is a Zelda dungeon crawler meets store management game where you play as Will, You’re a shopkeeper by day, dungeon crawler by night. At first I thought this game was ridiculously unfair and needlessly difficult… you go into these dungeons your attack these monsters that drop items, and your goal is to make it back to your shop with as much    Moonlighter
    A Zelda Shoppe Keep
    Moonlighter is a Zelda dungeon crawler meets store management game where you play as Will,
    You’re a shopkeeper by day, dungeon crawler by night.
    At first I thought this game was ridiculously unfair and needlessly difficult…
    you go into these dungeons your attack these monsters that drop items, and your goal is to make it back to your shop with as much as you can…
    but enemies were going crazy damage, dying would start me back to the beginning of the dungeon and I would drop everything I had…
    worse every time the dungeon was now different, its random every time..
    I was ready to tear this game apart…
    and then I got it.
    I understood the game and that’s when it got its hooks in me.
    The overall objective of the game is to clear its 4 dungeons and unlock the 5th and final gate…
    make it through 4 doors and then take town its boss for a key, doing so would will unlock the next dungeon.
    but you’re not going to do it on pure skill alone. you need better weapons. you need better gear…
    and you need to save the materials and money for this gear
    this is where the hood of the game comes into play.
    you aren’t going to just go in and clear a dungeon…
    There is a hood of explore the dungeon. get as many materials as you can without pushing it… or risk losing it all. once you’re satisfied with the gear you’ve collected you then use your pendant to teleport back which does cost cash.
    to earn this money you sell the items in your shop.
    which is another almost as addictive aspect of this game.
    you aren’t going up to a merchant and selling what you don’t need..
    you are the merchant..
    you put your items on display and town people will come in to look at what you have..
    they will react to your prices and you adjust the prices up and down accordingly…
    and then there’s an added layer of strategy of what to do with this newly acquired cash..
    dump it into your shop so you earn more for the items sold.. bring in new moonlighters so you can purchase weapons potions and items…
    invest in your bed so you can enter a dungeon with an extra layer of protection.
    all of this so you’ll be able to go deeper into a dungeon each time.
    gathering the materials needed to craft one of several weapons types as you’re able to carry tow at a time. I personally chose to go with a two-handed sword and an elemental bow.
    but before I put my effort into the weapons I put my effort into crafting the best armor I could with the materials found in my current dungeon…
    there’s also strategy in how you arrange the items in your bags, as some items found in chests that are unlocked after clearing a room can be cursed positively or negatively
    breaking other items when you return to town, or needing to be placed in a certain position in your bag…
    this keeps the dungeon crawling and item management addictive..
    it stops the game from feeling like a stale resource gathering game…
    you’ll also be able to summon a portal for an insane amount of cash that will take you back to town and let you teleport back into the same dungeon and room you left off in. as no matter how deep you get. if you die or leave and don’t use this portal, you start at the beginning of a random portal…
    getting to the 4th room is no easy feat, though there are rejuvenating pools to give you some health to help you along your way.
    I would save these portals for the room right before the boss, go back to town buy some potions go in once I have all of the beast armor and weapons possible at that point and clean house…
    its did start to feel a bit repetitive to me in the 4th dungeons but ultimately I’m surprised how addictive this game ended up being, taking me around 15 hours to clear…
    and I was hooked the entire time..
    I hated moonlighter at the beginning, but I slowly fell in love.
    I give Moonlighter
    an 8/10    … Expand
  6. illegalmonkey
    Jun 14, 2018
    5
    Moonlighter is a cute and simple little game but I have a few problems with it.

    For starters with one of the primary goals being inventory management I feel like they just didn't know what else to put in this game. It comes off as too cumbersome. "Item to the right disappears upon returning to town" These kinda mechanics are just silly in my book. How about add more substance to the    Moonlighter is a cute and simple little game but I have a few problems with it.

    For starters with one of the primary goals being inventory management I feel like they just didn't know what else to put in this game. It comes off as too cumbersome. "Item to the right disappears upon returning to town" These kinda mechanics are just silly in my book. How about add more substance to the dungeons or a leveling up system along with farming for upgrades.

    My second problem with this has been the buggy nature of the game itself. I have gotten stuck in walls somehow and I had to fight the plant boss three times to properly beat him because the first two times the game became extremely bogged down as if it were dumping memory and eventually froze. I've had it freeze while I was inside a slime monster. I could move fine but everything else was frozen. This is on the PS4 also. How could such a simple game have such huge errors? I'm almost about to give up on it if this is the crap I'm going to run into playing the rest of it. No clue if the devs plan to patch this or what. I don't even get freezing and crashing this bad on huge AAA games like Fallout, and games like that are notorious for having problems. Anyways I'm getting pretty sour about playing this now which is the opposite of what a fun game is supposed to do.    … Expand
  7. GReviews
    Jun 6, 2018
    8
    A hearty action RPG, mixed with monopoly. Moonlighter has a perfect balance of gameplay with outstanding visuals. This is worth picking up by anyone, highly addictive and a truly amazing indie title.
  8. Paul_barley
    May 30, 2018
    10
    Moonlighter is a great fun to play with z mixture of trading and night-exploration fiction. just cant stop playing it! great fun
  9. kasparius
    Jun 5, 2018
    7
    I love the concept and this game is right up my (Stardew) Alley. However, the game is about 8-15 hours depending if you take your time or not, with little reason to go back to it (unless you are an achievement fan, in which case there is a lot of them). When you think of the arc of a game like Stardew Valley, or a similar dungeon crawler like Isaac, it's a real shame that the devs couldn'tI love the concept and this game is right up my (Stardew) Alley. However, the game is about 8-15 hours depending if you take your time or not, with little reason to go back to it (unless you are an achievement fan, in which case there is a lot of them). When you think of the arc of a game like Stardew Valley, or a similar dungeon crawler like Isaac, it's a real shame that the devs couldn't find a way to make the game longer and more compelling.

    The shop portion of the game is decent, especially once you start upgrading your shop, however the amount of things to do is super limited. You stop people from stealing, put up items in the expensive section for certain customers, and determine the right price for each item. When you think of similar sim games like Diner Dash, that have so many things to do, it's a missed opportunity.

    The dungeon portion is fun, but the amount of secret rooms and different aspects every time you go in feels sub-par when compared to Binding of Isaac for instance. The combat is good, but the different armors and weapons don't really change it that much, so it's fairly repetitive, and there is no real incentive to change styles. The bosses are very easy, and you can only fight them once each.

    The village is also a let down, because besides the few shops you unlock (potion and armor especially), you will find that there is very little reason to interact with NPCs. There are side-quests later in the form of customers asking you to get a certain item with a time limit, but they feel tacked on, and are not very compelling.

    On the technical side, I like the way the game looks, and the music was good too, although a tad repetitive. I did run into some game glitches near the end, but I assume those will be ironed out, and they weren't game breaking.

    I hope they update the game, or make a sequel that address these short comings, because there is definitely the potential for a great game here.

    7/10    … Expand
  10. SWERY_51
    Jun 15, 2020
    9
    Pros :
    + Incredibly addictive
    + Very fun and rewarding (dungeon crawling, shop keeping, crafting...) + Music and sound design are a blast + Good looking 2D with pretty nice animations + A lot of things to do, to buy, to craft, to discover + Some fresh ideas and mechanics + 3 difficulty settings + Texts are available in many languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Polish,    Pros :
    + Incredibly addictive
    + Very fun and rewarding (dungeon crawling, shop keeping, crafting...)
    + Music and sound design are a blast
    + Good looking 2D with pretty nice animations
    + A lot of things to do, to buy, to craft, to discover
    + Some fresh ideas and mechanics
    + 3 difficulty settings
    + Texts are available in many languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian)

    Cons:
    - Poor endgame, with bosses not respawning (EDIT: a New Game + mode has now been added)    … Expand
  11. Hermaeus
    Jun 23, 2018
    7
    I had a lot of fun with Moonlighter for quite some time. There's a pretty great reward loop, and while it eventually gets old, it's fun to ransack dungeons and outfit your shop for a while. My biggest problem was that it just kind of sputtered out at the end. The final dungeon, if you can call it that, was a letdown, and I never truly felt rewarded for diligently running and upgrading myI had a lot of fun with Moonlighter for quite some time. There's a pretty great reward loop, and while it eventually gets old, it's fun to ransack dungeons and outfit your shop for a while. My biggest problem was that it just kind of sputtered out at the end. The final dungeon, if you can call it that, was a letdown, and I never truly felt rewarded for diligently running and upgrading my shop.

    Still, Moonlighter was a great diversion which I enjoyed. I'd love to play a bigger, better, more involved and more customizable sequel.    … Expand
  12. destinyfan1
    Oct 7, 2018
    6
    Moonlighter is a good indie game ,with good visuals and great music with original ideas,sadly some are executed poorly ,i play mmorpg's and rpg's like diablo,but moonlighter is just very repetitive.There is just simply not enough variety with limited equipment and weapons,the combat could have also been better,it is definitely a fun ride in the first hours ,but it just get boring fastMoonlighter is a good indie game ,with good visuals and great music with original ideas,sadly some are executed poorly ,i play mmorpg's and rpg's like diablo,but moonlighter is just very repetitive.There is just simply not enough variety with limited equipment and weapons,the combat could have also been better,it is definitely a fun ride in the first hours ,but it just get boring fast
    Sad,because i expected more    … Expand
  13. BITESCREEN
    Dec 18, 2018
    7
    Wer schon immer einmal wissen wollte, wie der Job eines Rollenspiel-Ladenbesitzers wirklich aussieht, spielt Moonlighter – denn hier seid Ihr kein Held, sondern der schnöde Shopkeeper selbst. Um Euer Lager zu füllen und die Kunden zufriedenzustellen, schnetzelt Ihr Euch in der Ur-Zelda-Obenansicht durch zufallsgenerierte Dungeons und nehmt alles mit, was später Profit macht. Den PreisWer schon immer einmal wissen wollte, wie der Job eines Rollenspiel-Ladenbesitzers wirklich aussieht, spielt Moonlighter – denn hier seid Ihr kein Held, sondern der schnöde Shopkeeper selbst. Um Euer Lager zu füllen und die Kunden zufriedenzustellen, schnetzelt Ihr Euch in der Ur-Zelda-Obenansicht durch zufallsgenerierte Dungeons und nehmt alles mit, was später Profit macht. Den Preis bestimmt Ihr dann in der Oberwelt selbst und investiert das gemachte Gold in den Ausbau von Theke und Ausrüstung. Das ist befriedigend und sehr motivierend – vor allem aufgrund der extrem komfortablen Spielmechaniken: Ist etwa im Verlies mal das Inventar voll, verhökert Ihr noch dort entbehrliche Items zu einem niedrigen Preis, ein praktisches Amulett bringt Euch gegen kleines Geld zudem jederzeit zurück an die Oberfläche. Das muss auch so sein – denn die Kämpfe sind knackig und die Bosse gnadenlos. Etwas schade: Die zufallsgenerierten Level unterscheiden sich zwar untereinander, einzeln fehlt es jedoch deutlich an Vielfalt – und Rätsel gibt es ebenfalls keine. Außerdem zieht Moonlighters Midi-Gedudel im Vergleich zu Genrekollege Stardew Valley klar den Kürzeren. Dafür passen seine Knuddeloptik und die meist kurzen Sessions perfekt zur Nintendo-Switch-Version des Indiespiels.… Expand
  14. IIIAHMIII
    Feb 9, 2020
    8
    I fell in love with the game would have rated it a big fat 10 when i started it. Now after around 40 hours i have to give it a 5. It is full of bugs. Not 1 or 2 minor bugs no it''s one big bug. Nothing is fixed after 3 years so shame on sony and the developers. Don't even bother going for the trophies. I did 6 playtroughs and diddnt even unlock the finish the game trophy. Horrible, No dlcI fell in love with the game would have rated it a big fat 10 when i started it. Now after around 40 hours i have to give it a 5. It is full of bugs. Not 1 or 2 minor bugs no it''s one big bug. Nothing is fixed after 3 years so shame on sony and the developers. Don't even bother going for the trophies. I did 6 playtroughs and diddnt even unlock the finish the game trophy. Horrible, No dlc as well that was released in 2018 so shame.… Expand
  15. bersi84
    Jun 1, 2018
    9
    Moonlighter drops you in one of five unique dungeons packed full of rooms and monster, where you hack n slash your way through. In your arsenal there are sword/shield, big swords, lances, bows and more. You can swap between item sets and build your shopping empire by killing mobs and selling the loot in your town shop.

    Prices are unknown at the beginning so its your job to adjust and    Moonlighter drops you in one of five unique dungeons packed full of rooms and monster, where you hack n slash your way through. In your arsenal there are sword/shield, big swords, lances, bows and more. You can swap between item sets and build your shopping empire by killing mobs and selling the loot in your town shop.

    Prices are unknown at the beginning so its your job to adjust and find out what is worth selling at what price. While you adventure on you upgrade your weapons, the available persons in town and your own shop.

    The game has a lovely art style and is very motivating with a decent curve in learning and fun. I really dug the game and sunk several hours into it also considering one of the many achievements you can get.

    On the downside are little bugs that occur but nothing too wild. The performance on PS4 Pro was flawless though and one might defintely miss some re-playability. At the state of release the dungeon bosses wont re-appear and there is no new-game+ mode that keeps you grinding your empire. Also some prices needs to be adjusted as crafted stuff is mostly not even partly worth the individual money the ingredients provide.

    All in all Moonlighter is a refreshing and worthwhile experience I missed for a long time and I truthfully enjoyed the game, hoping for more!    … Expand
  16. Darkwolfx
    Jul 28, 2018
    8
    Moonlighter isn't perfect but it has such an ingenious idea that it's hard to hate it for its missteps

    The game lacks a story for the most part. You play a boy who runs a shop, the titular moonlighter, and there are dungeons near your village that merchants and heroes venture through. There are 4 dungeons and a locked 5th dungeon that our young protagonist wishes to explore Besides    Moonlighter isn't perfect but it has such an ingenious idea that it's hard to hate it for its missteps

    The game lacks a story for the most part. You play a boy who runs a shop, the titular moonlighter, and there are dungeons near your village that merchants and heroes venture through. There are 4 dungeons and a locked 5th dungeon that our young protagonist wishes to explore Besides some notes within the dungeons that you explore, there isn't much of a story beyond that. The ending does open the game up for an even more interesting sequel if it's ever made but sadly that is all there is to the story.

    There are two sections of game play within this game, dungeon crawling and shop-keeping. The dungeon crawling is simple, run through randomly generated dungeons with 4 distinct themes, golem, forest, desert, and tech that you unlock in that order. You will encounter monsters within these dungeons who drop loot that you will sell in your shop or use to upgrade your equipment. There are 3 armor types and 5 different weapon types. The game is not too hard even on the hardest difficulty but is a bit of a grind . The only other move your character can perform is a dodge roll which he will use to avoid enemy attacks or cross gaps in the environment. Overall, the combat is a serviceable system and is quite satisfying for the first half of the game but can quickly get boring. I recommend switching weapons after a while because each weapon has different abilities and stats which can help keep the experience from getting dull

    The shop-keeping also starts out fun with just a small shop with 4 slots but the moonlighter can be upgraded to have more slots and chests just like your town can be upgraded.. The upgrades are really basic and I would love to see them expand upon the town features in the future as you can only hire 5 people to come to your town and 3 of them are basically useless after your first encounter. You open shop, set the prices for the items, and run the shop for the day. You eventually have to worry about thieves but they are quick to stop and usually aren't a big issue. You do get an assistant on the third shop upgrade who will run the shop for you but she takes a 30% cut. Just like the dungeon crawling, it is a fun idea until halfway through the game when it can feel like a chore, especially since the only expenses are your own upgrades and you don't have to worry about any daily or monthly expenses.

    The game also has several bugs that the devs are working to fix. One I ran into was the ground in my town turned black but was easily fixed. Another bug I ran into was I couldn't wear my cloth armor into the final dungeon because the game would crash. Luckily by this point you should be so rich that you can just buy the materials for an iron or steel armor set.

    The game also has a significant issue of the lack of endgame content but the devs are already working on new content to add to the game. Bosses don't respawn and you have no real reason to keep playing once you beat it

    Despite my criticisms, I still loved this game. For $20 it's surprisingly fun and I am really excited to see what they add and see if they eventually come out with a sequel. I still recommend it, especially if it's on sale.    … Expand
  17. ZXSth
    Feb 4, 2020
    7
    Moonlighter was a solid adventure and a great time. And overall, that is often enough - however, I was let down by the game's short length.

    For most of my time playing Moonlighter, I ended up wishing for more in many ways. When it came to the weapon upgrade system, I thought "Wow, give me more of this!" When I began to fight some of the various enemies found in the four dungeons, I    Moonlighter was a solid adventure and a great time. And overall, that is often enough - however, I was let down by the game's short length.

    For most of my time playing Moonlighter, I ended up wishing for more in many ways. When it came to the weapon upgrade system, I thought "Wow, give me more of this!" When I began to fight some of the various enemies found in the four dungeons, I thought "Wow, this combat is pretty stellar - give me something more!" And when I entered each of the four dungeons - the main highlight of the game, in my eyes - I thought "Wow, more of these would be great!" Unfortunately, I think this is Moonlighter's singular (but all-encompassing) flaw.

    I suppose it might seem like more like an asset than a flaw when I claim I want more of what a game already delivers on. However, it isn't just more of what this game brings that I wanted. When it came to the combat, I wanted something slightly more nuanced and complex; I wanted a crafting and weapon upgrade system that had a little more meat to it than a mere four upgradeable weapons, with only two possible upgrade branches for each upgrade; and I wanted more than the four dungeons they gave us. Overall, I think the simplicity of Moonlighter was what really bogged down the experience for me. The schtick of going through the dungeons and proceeding to sell whatever I didn't need got old a bit faster than I'd have preferred.

    Overall, this is a nice little game with some great ideas that I would have loved to see become more fleshed out. The music and art design are solid, the gameplay is simple but enjoyable, and the game has a charm to it that is undeniable. I had a great time with it despite its simplicity.    … Expand
  18. brachypelma44
    Feb 21, 2020
    10
    What a great concept for a game! Go through Zelda-style dungeons, kill monsters, get loot, set up a shop and sell the loot you don't keep for yourself to customers, and then use that money to upgrade your gear, town, and shop. You figure out how to set prices based on customer reactions. It's a simple but satisfying gameplay loop that is addictive as hell. The only real weakness is thatWhat a great concept for a game! Go through Zelda-style dungeons, kill monsters, get loot, set up a shop and sell the loot you don't keep for yourself to customers, and then use that money to upgrade your gear, town, and shop. You figure out how to set prices based on customer reactions. It's a simple but satisfying gameplay loop that is addictive as hell. The only real weakness is that the game isn't longer/there isn't more stuff to upgrade in the town or on your gear.

    The music in this game deserves special mention. Moonlighter has my favorite OST since Mass Effect in 2007. I recently purchased the soundtrack for $6.99 on bandcamp which comes in a variety of file types including 320kbps mp3s and FLACs. David Fenn is now a name I will follow.    … Expand
  19. Islanzadi
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    Liked the pacing between progression and grind. The shop and dungeon elements were both fulfilling. The difficulty ramped up a bit at the end where playing an hour once a week was not enough to progress. Well worth buying on a sale.
  20. digfow
    Dec 11, 2019
    10
    Um dos jogos mais divertidos que joguei no ano.
    Era isso que eu precisava,um jogo que você joga e nem vê o tempo passar.
  21. slime_matt
    Mar 30, 2021
    8
    Played after the patches, and really loved this game.
    It has a good loot loop, and successfully captures the feel of games like Torneko.
  22. Yojimbo2015
    Jun 9, 2023
    7
    Combination of rogue-like dungeon crawler and trading game, Moonlighter is a little lightweight but there's something quite hypnotic and soothing about its unashamed RPG lite level-grinding thanks to the pretty graphics and chilled out attitude.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best PS4 Game of 2018
30
#30 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Cubed3
    Nov 12, 2018
    80
    Like all the finest indie titles, Moonlighter has such a simple premise but is done so masterfully it becomes fantastically addictive - from the basic combat, to the Resident Evil style bag management, to upgrading the shop, to selling the goods; every aspect feels great. Combine this with the charming old-school art and you have got a clear winner on your hands. The only real negative is how short the game is and how the story feels a little lightweight. Moonlighter also feels like it would be even better on Switch, so keep an eye out for Cubed3's review of that version soon!
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  2. RPG Fan
    Sep 4, 2018
    85
    Though it comes with some bugs, ample load times when entering or leaving a dungeon, and an English localization that shows some evidence of the developer's Spanish roots, Moonlighter presents well. While some may shy away from the repetitive formula, I am certain fans of the roguelike genre will find a lot to play with in Moonlighter. That being said, the scant story is not so demanding that players need commit fully to it in one continuous playthrough. Thus, Digital Sun has developed Moonlighter into something that feels as timeless as its role models and will welcome back players delve after delve.
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  3. Gamers Heroes
    Aug 26, 2018
    90
    Moonlighter is an exciting action adventure-shop simulator game that shouldn’t be skipped. If you have any interest in running a shop and dungeon diving, then this game is for you.
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