This Week I Have Been Mostly Playing...
Moonlighter on Nintendo Switch
Failing to surprise most of you, I am very late to the party with this title even though I bought it on release last year. Created by Digital Sun and funded via Kickstarter, Moonlighter pushes into the crammed dungeon crawler genre by offering a new twist. Not only do you fight monsters and survive said dungeons at night but you sell the spoils earned during the day.
To begin with, it creates an excellent feedback loop. The town is down on its luck and you inherit your family’s old shop. You being Will, the white haired boy with a broom for a weapon (seriously) you venture into the only dungeon available to see what you can find.
If you survive then these items have to be priced at a slight guess to start with (there is a notebook that records the order of expense and then customer reactions) but eventually you can mass sell items without thinking twice.
The hook is upgrades, both to your armour and weapons need not just money but also specific items you find on your hunt. Handily you can wish list these so you know not to accidentally sell the items! The town itself has stores that need to be purchased otherwise you cannot accept these upgrades. Fortunately these shops are not expensive and well worth unlocking early.
Quick tip, make sure you use the enchantments on your weapons and armour. I missed this entirely for the first two hours and they turn out to be a game changer!
Your own shop can be upgraded and items bought to give you buffs such as a 10% tip for customers or a 25% less chance of thieves coming into the store. Yeah people try to nick stuff which is annoying but very well signposted. It’s actually a good addition otherwise you could just play without looking, always tapping A to just sell everything.
Enemies are quite interesting though the bosses have been a little underwhelming. You have two weapons and can dodge roll so it keeps it simple. In each dungeon there are three levels to complete before a final big boss at which point the next dungeon will open. There are four to do before a final mystery giant dungeon at the end.
Once you get what is required its a fun little game, with the feedback loop feeling very much like Stardew Valley. You sell everything and then you cannot wait to get back down to fight some monsters and discover a secret or two. It’s not overly long but, to be honest, it would eventually get a little boring. It’s got me hooked!
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