Most titles focus on the more dangerous, risk-taking aspects of life as an adventurer. And of course they do, it’s the raucous skull smashing and monster mashing that makes rogue life so enticing. However, as thrilling a life it may be, wading through the flowing entrails of your foes isn’t always the most lucrative job on its own. Got to turn those guts into gold! While many adventure RPGs handle this by allowing the hero to sell their plundered wares to traders and the like, Digital Sun studios title Moonlighter cuts out the middleman and makes the hero a trader himself.
Moonlighter takes place in a world populated with mysterious dungeons full of spooky critters and rare materials. At some time in history, a brave and curious village built up around one such dungeon. The townsfolk would plunder the dungeon in search of previously mentioned goodies for generations until there weren’t enough folks left to be sustainable. You play as Will, last of his family and heir to the titular shop, the last of its kind as well. Will is tasked with plundering the mines at night, collecting materials to sell, and use the gold to invest in the town at large and his own shop as well, all the while attempting to open the ancient locked door to the mysterious fifth dungeon. It’s a simple set up that allows for a delightfully addicting loop.
You the player are actually involved in managing the ins and outs of life as a dungeon crawler with a day job. Different materials found in the procedurally rotated dungeons are worth different values that you must suss out by taking a ballpark guess and then attempting to sell them. When the store is open, townsfolk will analyze the objects you display, determine whether it is a great value for them, a fair price, or an unfair price, which they will let you know via a moody cartoon smiley face. You want to have good enough prices to make sales, but not so low you lose money. And selling too many of the same items can deflate its value, causing you to have to sell less or seek out new stock. As the gold comes in, you are able to invest in the town by financing the opening of other shops including an armorer and potion maker and invest in your shop by purchasing upgrades that offer more sales displays or added tips to purchases. Balancing collecting materials for gear upgrades and profit is nice and constantly playing out.
The bulk of the combat and exploration is pretty simple. You have a dodge roll, quick potion key, and different types of weapons. Sword and shield combos, greatswords, spears, gauntlets, and bows are all available with different attack styles and status upgrades. The same goes for armor with fabric, iron, and steel all giving speed and/or damage resistance bonus. All gear can be upgraded by combining them with dungeon materials at the armorer and enchanted for boosts at the potion shop. It’s all quite simple but works well to keep you setting goals for the next tier. Going through the dungeon involves traveling from room to room, killing themed baddies, opening chests, and taking out a miniboss. You’ll do this across three floors in each area, and end with a boss fight. The enemies are tough enough for a challenge, and I found the creature designs to be familiar but neat interpretations.
Moonlighter has a very simplistic art style that works well in my opinion. It is reminiscent of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in a way I found quite comforting. The game isn’t ashamed of this influence, as a Zelda quote is dropped when you receive your first real weapon. The dialogue and style seem silly, but Moonlighter does a good job of being serious enough about itself to have developed its own personality. The music is charming, if at times repetitive, and even in its darkest moments the title is filled with color and wiggling life. I found myself quite proud of my shop and business productivity, and I’m ready to tackle any would-be shoplifter, in a whirling dervish of fists and elbows. In the time played, I have completed two dungeons, but I feel like I may end up stretching out the final three. Shop upgrades are quite expensive, but I’m attached enough to my little junk shop to work towards them.
If you ever wondered what it was like to hold down two jobs, but without all of the soul-crushing depression that typically comes along, then Moonlighter is a good way to go. For Game Pass subscribers, this bad boy is included, but for Live Gold members its also on sale for $6.59. If you’re on PC, Steam is having a sale as well, featuring this title at $6.79. For PS4 and Switch owners, it’s still not a bad deal for $19.99 and $24.99 respectively.