Review: Moonlighter (Nintendo Switch)

Moonlighter is an Action RPG with rogue-lite elements that demonstrates two sides of the coin – revealing everyday routines of Will, an adventurous shopkeeper that secretly dreams of becoming a hero.

Pros:

• Elegant modern pixel graphics.
• 1.5GB Download size.
• Options- Screen shake, Difficulty, Text speed, and GUI.
• Can rebind controls.
• Three difficulties- Normal, Hard and very hard.
• Can change difficulty unless in a dungeon.
• Gameplay- Sell goods by the day, Dungeon crawl by night.
• Ongoing tutorial.
• Customers- They will come in and examine your goods, expressing an emoticon as to show if you have priced your goods too high, too low or maybe just right?
• Price- You set the post and place the goods. You have to bear in mind, Stock levels, What is in demand or what is swamping the market.
• The game is split into days, Typically you get to tend shop till closing time then go dungeon crawling, Coming home will end the day.
• Dungeons- Has a mini-map and used a view like a top-down, Most commonly seen in games like Binding of Isaac or Zelda LTTP.
• Earn cash by selling goods or finding it, Use this money to upgrade your shop or invest in new shops in town to kickstart the local economy.
• Attacks- Weapon, block and dodge roll which can also be used to jump over small gaps.
• Once you sell an item for a price, It will be saved for future sales.
• You get a breakdown of your days sales which help determine high and low sellers.
• Cutesy animations.
• Blacksmith- Craft new weapons, Sword and shield, Big sword, Spears, Gloves and Bow, and arrow.
• Enchant gear to change stats and add buffs and elemental damage etc.
• Play how you want.
• Mirror- Allows you to sell items on the fly in the dungeon.
• Pendant-Take a coin hit but allows you to leave the dungeon instantly.
• Roguelike gameplay when in the dungeons. You lose everything if you die.
• Big boss fights, Winning it will unlock a new realm/world.
• Fun game.
• A lot to do.
• Dungeons randomize every time so it is always fresh.
• Despite being basic and kind of barebones, The combat is both fluid and solid.
• There are four stages in a dungeon with the last stage being the boss fight.
• Many hidden secrets.
• In game cutscenes.
• Four different worlds with a secret fifth one to unlock.
• Some great NPC to meet.
• Can hire people to run your shop.
• So much replayability.
• Loot- Used to do crafting but you also need the loot in order to sell it in your shop, Make money and bring the town back up.

Cons:

• Cannot skip cutscenes.
• Doesn’t explain everything very well in some cases just being a simple picture.
• Items can fall in holes or in walls.
• Selling items at least at the beginning feel so hit and miss as you try and gauge what to sell at.
• Never sure if you are playing it right or actually making progress.
• Can get very grindy later on.
• Some customers just waste your time or wander around doing nothing.
• Never sure when it has saved.