Moonlighter

Despite this game's negative reviews and a color scheme heavily centered around teal, I decided to give it a shot, and I can undeniably say it was absolutely worth it. I enjoyed the shop-keeping, dungeon battles, and boss fights all while never feeling I'd entered tedious or grindy territory. I wanted to play a hack and slash roguelite with Zelda-like elements, a pixel aesthetic reminiscent of Pokemon, and good music, and that's exactly what I got. While I did feel that there were some balancing issues between the difficulty settings and mini-bosses and bosses, it wasn't enough to become distracting and take away my enjoyment. I feel like a lot of the negativity around this game possibly stems from overinflated expectations, such as wanting a granular shop management system, in-depth npc interaction, a super advanced weapons upgrade system, or the worst of all— wanting to get 100% achievements. And while I haven't been with this game since its Kickstarter beginnings (where they possibly may have promised these things), such expectations for an indie studio (putting out what I believe is their first game) are completely ridiculous. Maybe Digital Sun will deliver on these things for Moonlighter 2, but what they did for Moonlighter 1 didn't leave me unsatisfied, even if I did wish for a little bit more. As for the 100% everything thing, well, it's not my cup of tea, but isn't getting 100% in and of itself grindy and tedious? One thing that I don't think others have touched on is replayability, and for that I'm not sure. I haven't played the NG+, not because of lack of time, but because of feeling that I've already gotten everything that I wanted out of this game. And with Moonlighter 2 just around the corner, I'd rather give myself a break before sinking into that. I got this game on sale for $2.99, which is a total steal. Had I paid full price, I still would have enjoyed it, and possibly so can you so long as you don't expect too much from it.

Great Dungeon Dive, Cute shop management, the in game customers could b*tch about anything.

I was so happy when I saw this game for only $2 (90% off) but it's practically unplayble! The concept is fun and the pixel art style is cute but it was so frustrating to actually play, the controls are very complicated/difficult for keyboard and no matter what I tried I could not get my xbox controller to function properly despite it being supported. The inputs would constantly not work or switch buttons despite it matching in settings.

No mouse support! Only buy if you have a controller - not recommended for Mouse + Keyboard players.

It had the potential to be a good game, but the bugs are too intrusive. I was not surprised that a couple of bug were present year ago when I first bought the game, it happens, but I came back now that the sequel is coming out to fresh up the memories, and things are not better. I encountered two bugs, and soon discovered that not only they where discovered six years ago, but also that many other where, and never fixed. I found this discussion on steam enumerating them: https://steamcommunity.com/app/606150/discussions/2/2763442118813945675/ and then searching them online there are still report for many them existing no farther than a year ago. The game had supposedly received bug fix along the way, but the report on steam don't mention which bugs were fixed, so I have no idea if they actually had more threatening bug to deal with, but those that remain are serious enough, to be unacceptable for them to be still present after six years, some probably even from game launch. For full disclosure, the bug I personally encountered are: One where an amulet (energy flux) stop working after a was out of potions, it is not on the list but there are report of it on reddit from at least 3 years ago (at least it is somewhat manageable). The second is worst, in the list in under the 6th point, the enchantment on the DLC item is heavily bugged and change effects on reload making the game not worth playing.

It's a cute little game, combining a little loot diver with a marketplace sim. Worth a few hours, though once you finish the main story there's not much else to it.

Only being able to attack in 4 directions while enemies come at you in all different angles is dumb as hell. It's straight up unplayable.

Moonlighter is a game, that has everything set up, to be a game. There is very little world-building, basically post apocalyptic world that has dungeons that are guarded by the defense systems of your ancient ancestors set up in the past. This is told in notes, and the dungeons enviroments. The gameplay loop is two games, play one of the stiffest dungeon dwellers during the night, and sell stuff that you looted during the day. It's got great pixel art, and as I said everything is ready to make a game. But it's missing some things. Such as: Characters? None. There are NPC's that do say some words, and have portraits. Don't be fooled; They are meaningless, they speak of nothing, don't interact, and if they where replaced by vending machines, it would be the same. What you get is seller guy, blacksmith guy, potion guy, and money guy. They say small things, but nothing of substance. Story? You fight at night, and sell during the day. There is no pushback or really talk about what you have accomplished with any substance. Capitalism? There is a guide that gives the exact prices you should set to. That's it, nothing like the game that is basically Moonlighter, Recettear. No market fluxuation, no anything. Stop a thief occasionally, sit by the counter waiting for your stuff to sell, and then restock. Close shop for the night, then go dungeon dive. It feels like a waste of time, and it is. I can go on but basically this feels like an early access game that rugpulled. Great tech demo, you know nothing about your character, no reason other than money to dungeon dive, and nothing to motivate. Look at Hades, where death and coming back made it feel like it wasn't so bad because something progressed. Moonlighter is stagnant from the beginning of the game, and it never goes anywhere with it. The combat isn't great, the story isn't there, the NPC's have less growth than NES RPG's, and the Capitalism simulator is just a shallow husk.

Its a nice (and old) gameplay concept, but badly executed. Try play it for 1:59 hours and if you already got "somewhat bored" with the quite repetive dungeon, sell, dungon, sell... routine, then refund it. There is basically nothing else to see here. I finished the game in about 20 hours in the dire hope of seeing SOMETHING new, but no: All the later things are just higher numbers on existing things. The house upgrades are supposed to unlock more, but actually you just get more space to sell items. Nothing changes. The later dungeons seem just copy-paste from earlier. Even the boss fights are copy paste between levels. I wager, that the developers did not really like to work on the game and just wanted it be over with. The "story" is forgettable and silly, clearly not the main focus. The selling minigame is weird and boring, clearly not the main focus. The combat is annoyingly imprecise and feels rushed, clearly not the main focus. I wonder what the focus was.

Can't even play the game the keyboard controls are a disaster, dont even get me started on navigating menus and for some reason only xbox controllers specifically are supported. Completely unplayable, at least for me, and it took one google search to find Im not alone. One would think the dev would fix this after personally responding to three separate threads about "Oh well obviously the confirm button is J in the menus duh". "L for leave this page, J for this game is a joke go play something else."

bought it and it doesn't open just crashes as soon as i click play

cool game but 100% it is a nightmare. not because its hard but it takes a lot of useless and boring challenges like getting money from trees 100 times or getting to the last floor of the desert dungeon. i wish it was more fun because i enjoyed the game and wanted to continue.

They literally try to sell you their next game the instant you boot up this one. Game mechanics are explained by poorly drawn doodles. The controls are very poorly thought out. The gameplay loop is extremely tedious, you have to do the first floor of dungeons over and over again instead of having a checkpoint to automatically go to the part you actually want to clear.

Similar to Recettear and Cuisineer, you go into dungeons to get stuff to sell in your store. It's more polished than either but also lacks soul. The combat also feels clunkier/slower, and there's very little room for customization/build differentiation. It's still a fine game, especially on sale.

Wonderful dungeon crawler with a satisfying game play loop with the inclusion of the merchant mechanic, loved this game on switch and after playing the demo for the sequel I had to buy the original again while I wait for the second installment.

The base game took around 10 hours to finish on hard(default) difficulty. You play as a "merchant-hero", delve dungeons to bring back artifacts to craft better gear, potions and sell the ones you don't need in your shop, you need to put your own price to these artifacts and change the price depending the reaction of your customers. By selling these you earn gold to pay the fees for the crafting. You can upgrade your shop, invite other merchants to the town. There is also a little pet situation going on, you find eggs in these dungeons and if you bring them back without dying they eventually hatch and you can pick one to accompany you, which will give you some bonuses or the pets will attack/collect items. After finishing the base game comes the DLC dungeon, a couple new enemies, a new dungeon currency and dungeon merchant with a new shortcut mechanic. Didn't try the NG+, don't think I will. It's clear game was made for controller play but it's decent with keyboard and mouse. Except the menus and inventory, you will have to suffer. It is a fun roguelike but a bit short. Buy it on discount.

Excellent fun game with combat and fun mechanics!

vai sem medo, marketing + exploração de dungeon = perfeito! se tiver na promoção melhor ainda!

the looting/loot management is truly enjoyable. the art is very impressive, the progression feels rewarding. I due wish the game included more systems/mechanics Like (Farming) Also the city of Rynoka never really feels like its expanding, the new shop owners never really develop in this game, they just kinda move in. In the same way the moonlighters outward appearance does not display the current state of popularity it should.

i bought this awhile ago for a steam sale and just got around to playing it, going into it i thought it was just gonna be another roguelike to occupy myself for a little bit before the repetition bores me however the mix of having to manage a shop and rebuilding the town the game takes place in makes it feel like you;re doing a lot of progress and not just killing the same enemy to advance further into a dungeon. if you played other games such as cult of the lamb where it had a sort of similar objective you would most definitely enjoy your time playing this game. very excited for their 2nd one to come out later on and i will be buying it day one.

Dungeons and the shopkeeping are fun, feel like the first playthrough is a bit too easy though and the last boss is annoying. deffo worth the price though

It seem nice and peace. I play on mac. But I dont understand why it very lag when character go to the dungeon :((

Buy it on sale. As a $2 game, it’s worth it. I really enjoyed the music and pixel art. The combat is simple, which I appreciated since it doesn’t rely on tons of stats. Each enemy and boss has its own attack pattern, and learning them was fun. There are just enough weapons to let you play in your own style. You can upgrade as much or as little as you like, with a bit of grinding. The familiars you acquire are a nice touch, and even the sales merchant mechanic was a cute idea. If you're looking for a chill, relatively easy game with some light grinding, this one might be for you. But there are definitely some issues. The pricing mechanic gets old fast, and the game doesn’t really offer any tools later on to speed up the process. The story and characters are pretty bland. There’s no world to explore beyond your town. That might have been okay if the game let you really build up your community, but it's just the same setup with a handful of unlockable merchants and a few upgrades to your shop. Sure, more NPCs show up over time, but they offer minimal dialogue, and there wasn't anything to make me enjoy engaging with them. The game suffers when your hub town is the only area outside the dungeons, especially when the hub isn’t engaging. I don't expect a massive open world but at the same time, I'd have expected a little more from the base area. The picture-based tutorials are confusing if you don’t already understand the mechanics, and you can’t revisit them later. More than once, I accidentally figured out how something worked way later than I should have (thumbstick to sort items!). Also, aside from my favorite familiar, your inventory space is fixed from the start. If I hadn’t figured out that workaround early on, I probably wouldn’t have finished the game. As for the DLC: The additional rings & weapons were fun to try out. Visually, the tech-themed redesign of your town and shop is pretty cool. There’s a new vendor and a few new items—but that’s it. No new areas, no upgrades for the other shops, and no expanded parts of town to explore, despite the inter-dimensional trade concept. Imagine if new spaces opened up, side quests became available, or NPCs looped you through older dungeons in new ways. But no—they’re just background characters with no purpose. This wouldn’t have bothered me as much if upgrading both my weapon and armor (looking at you Carbon Fiber Plates) didn’t require so many dungeon runs. It might have helped if I could trade for them through the ICT Trader, but I never once saw them in stock. The new dungeon and its enemies were fine, but I was tired of it well before finishing—endlessly replaying it with under-leveled gear, having to hit every enemy dozens of times just to find one crafting component. That’s the only time the grind really felt awful—and it left a sour taste by the time I finished the boss. Honestly, I wish I had skipped the DLC and called it a day.

The game is great. it has very nostalgic and warm vibe to it, comfortable and chill. Its a great game to enjoy and relax with, Cute Shop management, fun fights, Nothing too crazy. For 1.50$ its a must

really fun. enjoyed clearing out the dungeons, and it didn't feel grindy.

Base game is great fun! Really enjoyed it. However, once I reached the later content introduced by the DLC, it is bugged to hell. Can't leave the shop, display cases stop working, invisible customers/quest givers, got stuck in a doorway transitioning rooms in a dungeon... very sad. It's reached the point where it's no longer playable, unfortunately. Buy the base game and play it - avoid the DLC at all costs!

хорошая игра с приятной атмосферой, но однообразным геймплеем, из-за чего наскучила довольно быстро, да и довольно простая для рогалика, поиграть на два-три вечера сойдет, учитывая что игра стоит всего 43 рубля. Из минусов лично для меня: душные достижения. Я люблю закрывать игры на 100%, но тут это неоправданно долго и скучно.

fun and cozy game, being merchant, miner and combatant at the same time. Chindo approved

I'm pretty sure this was my first Roguelike and I love it, I went out and bought a controller just so I could play the game when I first got it xD the demo for Moonlighter 2 has been treating me good as well! And even for a casual pleb that never beats game I beat this one <3 aiming to 100% it now! Another solid game alongside this one is Undermine but I think I prefer the Moonlighter games personally, the story makes a difference!

I'd recommend this game if you pick it up during a sale, but full price is not worth it. Lets get this out of the way, the combat is abysmal. The game recommends playing it on controller and KBM sucks to play with, because for some reason you have to use your keyboard to interact with everything; something easily fixed by just adding mouse support. Some enemies are capable of dashing at you however they like but you're forced to attack in 4 cardinal directions. If you're looking for a good dungeon crawling experience, forget it. Moonlighter is saved by the other half, inventory management and shopkeeping. Interesting mechanics and overall not too difficult to learn. Quite chill. The music is decent as well, the artstyle is fine at best.

Relaxing game with plenty to do but never seems too complicated. Also runs on a regular laptop which is always a bonus.

Art imitates life. It's sort of like playing through a rogue-like of a gig worker by night. Great design, great visual, great gameplay.

Amazing, great art style. This is one of my favorite dungeon crawlers

Good artstyle, I Imagine it's a good game but I don't use controllers to play typically and the remapping of controls doesn't seem to work for me on PC so I can't really recommend on that front.

Frustrating at the start until you realise you're the one causing your own problems, then it becomes immediately addictive after that.

It's a lovely game, very cute, and the roguelike elements tied with shopkeeping gives an exciting twist. I must admit, the controls are a bit clunky, and there isn't mouse support so a controller is needed.

This game is such a wonderful game. Art is amazing, story was great and the game play was a lot of fun. 7/10

For $20.. I dont think there is enough content. It is fun, but very short and simple. Get it on discount for like ~$2 or dont buy at all.

I've loved it, really solid game, like a mix of stardew valley, zelda, and maze runner! also like classic tycoon games I guess?

A charming game that I like. When you get the vampire ring is just become so much easier.

11 bit studios & Digital Sun cooked so good like it's one of the best games ever The OST is so emotional, gameplay is routiny-relatable (like tell me honestly who wouldn't want to run a shop like Moonlighter), the artstyle is oooooooooooooof! Full-price recommended, Digital Sun's other games are also great And 11 bit studios also helped this to be great I EVEN BOUGHT IT SECOND TIME HERE ON STEAM AFTER BUYING IT IN EPIC GAMES STORE JUST BECAUSE I COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE SALE HERE simply masterpiece

great game, nice mix of action and atmosphere where the whole system of gathering recourses ties both combat and commerce together.

I do not enjoy fighting mechanics. This is the main aspect of the game and I have 0 reason to enjoy it.

Tried multiple controllers, every available solution. But still the game doesn't recognize it. It's just not acceptable

It was worth it. Looking forward to the sequel in hopes of a deeper story-line.

I usually go for rpg's with farming sims but this rougelike merchant simulator scratches the humble farmer's need to sell their wares ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧ solid 9/10!!

What's with the combat in this game? So clunky and slow. I could kill a boss without taking damage but got killed by a goddamn slime at full health. I literally couldn't escape its grab attacks, it spitted me into the walls then kept on swallowing me with no pauses. Never have I ever imagined of getting inappropriately violated by a SLIME. The story is meh, it didn't manage hook my interests or curiosity. Not only that, I don't really see the reason to continue playing this game, the game play is so grinding and repetitive with no value. You only need two runs at max to cover the entire lore of a single dungeon. I explored every every nook and cranny of the dungeon countless times just to discover the already-read lore (There are bite-sized lore in each artifact but most of them are just random, meaningless stuff so I'm not even gonna mention that). The dungeons are the same, just run towards any open door, and fight if one of the rooms decided to lock you up. The only reason why you need to do multiple runs in the dungeons is to get money and materials to upgrade your gears so that you can actually deal real damage to bosses. (I poked the last boss in the second dungeon with my stick and that didn't do shit to it, so I just ran around the place aimlessly whilst dodging bullets. I uninstalled the game after that.) Who's freaking brilliant idea it is to add 67 achievements that are time-consuming into an already grinding game???? I usually 100% games (even games that I hate) but this?? Nah, I would rather touch grass than achieve them. To conclude, this game felt more like a chore than a game.

Very fun. Remember to enchant your weapons and watch for sparkles!

Bought this game for 13,66$ and after 1 week its 2,04$ :( Played 7+ hours and steam cant give back money which i can spend for other games. Its unfair situation.

I usually adore games like this, but I really don't recommend this one. The controls are quite stiff and hard to use, which is awful in a room full of enemies. I love the idea of selling the items you get from enemies in your own shop, but having to trial and error every single item's price is so tedious that I gave up about 15 items in and just used a guide for pricing. Also, this one may be a me issue, but I felt like I wasn't really progressing. I was upgrading armour and weapons, but I felt just as weak as when I first started the game. It's a shame, cuz the music and vibe of it all is really quite charming and lovely.