It took a little while to get going, but goodness me I’m hooked on Moonlighter now. Take a good dose of rogue-lite action-RPG, add in permanence of equipment, and then delicately smother in a shopkeeping sim. It’s a game about raiding dungeons at night, then working in the days to sell the loot from your store. (more…)
Ever since delightful Japanese hack n’ slash/storekeeping sim hybrid Recettear proved that such a thing was even possible, I’ve loved the idea of playing as an RPG shopkeeper. Clearly they’re the most powerful class around – how else do you get multiple god-slaying swords in stock? Today yet another game in this small yet charming sub-genre was released. In Moonlighter, you run your family’s equipment store by day, plunder the dungeons for loot and additional stock by night – It almost makes working two jobs sound bearable.
When I played Moonlighter earlier this year, I was so enamored that I wagered I'd have to play a game vaguely similar to it just to tide me over until its release. Turns out, I was right: I recently played Epic Tavern, a management sim about running a medieval tavern and coordinating parties of adventurers. It's good fun, but it didn't quite scratch my Moonlighter itch. Luckily, I don't have to wait any longer, because Moonlighter is out today on Steam, GOG and Humble for $20.
For those who missed the boat: Moonlighter is part top-down action RPG and part shopkeeping sim. It's kind of like Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, but with better combat and streamlined shopkeeping. You play as Will, owner of the Moonlighter item shop in Rynoka village, which is just a stone's throw from five mysterious dungeons. As Will, you explore the dungeons, loot everything you can, and sell the excess loot back at your shop while keeping the best stuff for yourself.
As a general rule, you manage your shop during the day and go exploring at night, but as you you upgrade your shop and help expand Rynoka, your options open up. You can hire a part-time worker to sell things at night, for example, or dump your junk in the bargain bin to auto-sell while you explore during the day. The dungeons and your shop connect in cool ways, and I got surprisingly invested in Will's secret desire to be a hero. It's a lovely, compelling mix, and I can't wait to play more. It's also darn pretty, as evidenced by these screenshots:
Yes, I know, I'm selling sticks, but these sticks fell off of something that nearly killed me in a deep, dark dungeon just a few minutes ago. I risked my hide for that limestone over there, too. This particular starter cable is most certainly a priceless relic, and if you want me to get more treasure like it, you're going to have to pay the price I've set for it. Or at least a price we can agree on.
In Moonlighter, your RPG hero's inventory, perpetually overstuffed with all the things you're absolutely sure you're going to need one day, is a vital part of the experience. You control Will, the young, white-haired owner of the eponymous shop in the small town of Rynoka. The shop's name is everything, as Will sells only items he's gathered while moonlighting as an adventurer at the dungeon not far from his house. When we first meet him, he's in there armed with nothing but a broom, and despite giving his all our adventurer promptly receives the beating of his life. This is the game's first and most important lesson: to make it through the dungeon, you're going to need more than just skill - you're also going to need a whole lot of cash for equipment.
At first, Moonlighter feels like a bit of a vicious circle. To get better weapons, you need materials and quite a formidable stack of coins, but to get either of these you're going to have to go into the dungeon and fight monsters for parts to sell once you return. The procedurally generated dungeons, five in total, have Zelda written all over them: exploring the interconnected rooms, there are always plenty of pots to smash, innocent bushes to stab and ravines to tumble down. You face off against a variety of enemies with different behaviours, and that means adapting or getting cornered quickly. An escape is possible at any point using a talisman that drops you right back in town. Using it costs money, getting away in one piece is thankfully a bargain.
