Moonglow Bay

70%
Game Brain Score Based on 627 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • stability
Moonglow Bay Game Cover
Pure joy from start to finish, Moonglow Bay delights in its colour and story with some well executed fishing mechanics.
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"Moonglow Bay" is a slice-of-life fishing RPG set in a picturesque town teetering on the brink of financial ruin. As a novice angler, you'll uncover 151 aquatic species, cook your catches, and restore the local aquarium. The game also offers co-op play, allowing you to share the adventure with friends. Your ultimate goal is to revitalize the bay and honor your partner's last wish.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

70%
Audience ScoreBased on 627 reviews
story99 positive mentions
stability91 negative mentions
  • Charming and relaxing gameplay with a heartwarming story.
  • Engaging fishing and cooking mechanics that provide a satisfying experience.
  • Beautiful voxel art style and a delightful soundtrack enhance the overall atmosphere.
  • Numerous bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues that can halt progress.
  • Controls are poorly optimized for keyboard and mouse, making gameplay frustrating without a controller.
  • Some quests and objectives lack clarity, leading to confusion and difficulty in progression.
  • story363 mentions

    The story of "Moonglow Bay" is generally described as heartwarming and charming, with players appreciating its emotional depth and character development. However, many reviews note that the narrative can feel unfinished or confusing due to bugs and unclear quest markers, which detracts from the overall experience. While some find the story engaging and enjoyable, others feel it lacks originality and suffers from pacing issues, making it a mixed bag for players.

    • “The story is a fun, quaint, and at the end, emotional story that serves the job of worldbuilding well.”
    • “The story is interesting, the progression is rewarding, the dialogue is funny without seeming forced... basically it's the sort of game where you find yourself going 'I'll just do one more day' until it's 1:30 am and you have to force yourself to stop before unlocking a whole new chunk of stuff.”
    • “The story, simply put, is a wholesome tale that made me giggle, tugged at heartstrings, and brought lots of warm fuzzies!”
    • “Unfortunately, I've encountered a game-breaking issue where after progressing through the main storyline near the endgame, I'm no longer able to save without the game crashing.”
    • “My only gripe is that some parts of the story leave it unclear how to progress, so I had to turn to the internet for those.”
    • “Where the massive, massive wrench gets absolutely jammed into the gears is that the game is game-breakingly buggy, and that is unacceptable in a game with a storyline which you can no longer continue.”
  • gameplay229 mentions

    The gameplay in Moonglow Bay is characterized by a cozy and engaging loop of fishing, cooking, and town management, appealing to fans of life simulation games. However, many players find the mechanics repetitive and lacking depth, particularly in the fishing system, which can feel simplistic and unvaried over time. While the game features charming visuals and a relaxing atmosphere, it suffers from quality-of-life issues and bugs that detract from the overall experience.

    • “The gameplay has an amazing sense of progression that's very visible, whether through completing encyclopedias of fish and recipes to visual changes in the town around you.”
    • “The cooking and fishing action mechanics are so fun and responsive; for me, that is the heart of the game and what makes me want to keep playing.”
    • “Each different aspect of gameplay, from exploration to fishing, cooking, and talking to townsfolk, made sure the game never got boring!”
    • “The game seems to have a lot of seemingly missing pieces when it comes to the characters, UI, mechanics, etc., and I strongly suspect the game was never properly finished.”
    • “Gameplay is very basic compared to what I expected - every catch is the same aside from story events as the boost action is enough to trivialize every fish, and I can't even tell a difference between the rod types or fish types when playing.”
    • “There are some mechanics that don't seem to be very well thought out, like you can't tell how damaged your boat is (except visually), so you don't know how much to repair it.”
  • stability93 mentions

    The game is widely reported to be extremely buggy, with numerous glitches and technical issues that can hinder gameplay, including game-breaking bugs and frequent crashes. While some players find these issues manageable and still enjoy the game, many recommend caution, especially regarding purchasing at full price due to its unfinished state. Overall, the stability of the game is a significant concern, with ongoing patches needed to address the prevalent problems.

    • “This game is extremely buggy, which is really unfortunate. I have gotten stuck repeatedly and had to alt+F4 each time, and can't make it past the first quest.”
    • “Where the massive, massive wrench gets absolutely jammed into the gears is that the game is game-breakingly buggy, and that is unacceptable in a game with a storyline which you can no longer continue.”
    • “Unfortunately, it's a buggy, nearly unplayable mess.”
  • music78 mentions

    The music in Moonglow Bay, composed by Lena Raine, is widely praised for its beautiful, serene, and calming qualities, enhancing the game's cozy atmosphere and gameplay experience. Players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to immerse them in the game world, with many noting its delightful and relaxing nature, despite some technical issues that occasionally disrupt the audio. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that complements the charming visuals and engaging gameplay.

    • “The music is beautiful (I mean, what do you expect from Lena Raine <3) --- what more could you possibly want?”
    • “The soundtrack really enhances every aspect already mentioned of the game.”
    • “Every track on the soundtrack is delightful and calming - rarely do I add a new game soundtrack to my Spotify library, but this one joins Fez, Journey, and a few select others.”
    • “There were definitely bugs that affected my experience (for example: the same boss fight song playing repeatedly after I finished the boss, to the point of me restarting the game, the music cutting off entirely sometimes with no return).”
    • “I really love this game's style, music, and concept...but the terrible keyboard-only controls, lack of key remapping, seemingly random inability to save, local only multiplayer (on steam?), a few visual glitches, and worst of all for me -- I get terrible screen tearing anytime I'm outside in fullscreen or borderless windowed.”
    • “[repetitive, can sink hours into idle tasks, ear-catching soundtrack].”
  • graphics73 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming voxel art style that many players find unique and visually appealing, contributing to the overall atmosphere and aesthetic of the game. However, there are notable performance issues, including graphical glitches and a lack of customization options, which detract from the experience for some users. Overall, while the art style is praised for its creativity and charm, technical shortcomings have led to mixed feelings among players.

    • “The game has the best voxel art style I have ever seen.”
    • “Nice music, gorgeous artwork, a good story, tons of colorful and imaginative fish to catch, all wrapped in a simple but compelling gameplay loop.”
    • “The writing's good, the graphics are lovely, the game's overall atmosphere is great.”
    • “Unfortunately, there were several graphical glitches.”
    • “Very slow-paced, bad graphics; it just didn't seem like fun.”
    • “For starters, there are no graphic options to speak of other than anti-aliasing levels, which is just baffling.”
  • emotional55 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its heartwarming and wholesome narrative, which resonates with players through themes of family, community, and personal loss. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to evoke strong feelings, with quests that are both charming and poignant, leading to moments that can be genuinely touching or even tear-jerking. Overall, it is recommended for those seeking a cozy, relaxing experience that combines engaging gameplay with a heartfelt story.

    • “Heartwarming journey of fishing, street food cooking, helping a small town flourish while overcoming the depression of losing someone you love.”
    • “The story, simply put, is a wholesome tale that made me giggle, tugged at heartstrings, and brought lots of warm fuzzies!”
    • “Moonglow Bay starts strong with its emotional story and initially solid gameplay loop of fishing and cooking.”
  • grinding38 mentions

    The grinding aspect of "Moonglow Bay" has received mixed feedback, with many players finding the fishing and cooking mechanics to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in the end game. While some appreciate the cozy atmosphere and engaging story, others feel that the constant mini-games and the grind for recipes detract from the overall enjoyment, leading to frustration. Despite these criticisms, the urge to complete collections and the charm of the game keep some players invested.

    • “I wanted to like this; the relaxed, casual appearance was very appealing, but the constant minigames to perform every action involved in fishing and cooking get so tedious it ruins this game.”
    • “Progressing the game (particularly when cooking and trying to get new recipes) can be a little tedious in the end game, so losing big chunks of progress like this is really discouraging.”
    • “The fish are cute, but catching them is too easy, and cooking them is incredibly tedious... I just don't get a lot of the decisions made.”
  • optimization30 mentions

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting frequent bugs, stuttering performance, and poor frame rates on both PC and Steam Deck. While the visuals are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by performance issues that can make gameplay frustrating, leading many to recommend waiting for a sale or patches before purchasing.

    • “Recommend buying on sale; Steam Deck performance is better than reported.”
    • “The only thing I can complain about is the optimization of the game for the PC port. The game is perfectly playable, but the framerate isn't great on my PC.”
    • “While the visuals seem simple yet effective, the same can't be said about performance.”
    • “I keep encountering bugs and performance issues.”
    • “The game kept fluctuating and stuttering, something that drives me crazy.”
    • “I can't play this game on my laptop or desktop, and the optimization is very poor for the deck.”
  • atmosphere10 mentions

    The game excels in creating a charming and cozy atmosphere, characterized by its cute town and delightful lego-shaped characters. Players appreciate the relaxing vibe, enhanced by lovely graphics and enjoyable gameplay mechanics, particularly in cooking. Overall, the atmosphere is consistently praised as sweet, calming, and engaging, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The atmosphere and art direction is very nice and cozy; I really enjoyed it, and the gameplay mechanics are very fun, especially the cooking parts.”
    • “The chill and calming atmosphere was enough to make me 100% the game in the 3 days after its release.”
    • “The writing's good, the graphics are lovely, the game's overall atmosphere is great.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing journal entries for the fish, funny NPC interactions, and engaging dialogue that feels natural rather than forced. Players appreciate the cute and humorous details, contributing to a relaxing and heartwarming experience, although some technical issues detract from the overall enjoyment.

    • “The journal entries for the fish were pretty funny sometimes too, and I liked their designs.”
    • “Overall: relaxing, heartwarming story, fun fishing mechanic (that can be cheesed a bit unfortunately), great diversity of fish, funny NPCs, you can pet the doggo.”
    • “The story is interesting, the progression is rewarding, the dialogue is funny without seeming forced... basically it's the sort of game where you find yourself going 'I'll just do one more day' until it's 1:30 AM and you have to force yourself to stop before unlocking a whole new chunk of stuff.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The reviews indicate that the game's replayability is hindered by frustrating default controls, which require significant reconfiguration for a better experience. This issue detracts from the overall enjoyment and willingness to replay the game.

  • monetization2 mentions

    Players appreciate the game's monetization model, noting that it avoids the pitfalls of being a cash grab and instead offers a casual and enjoyable experience without aggressive monetization tactics.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

69% average critic score

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Play time

9hMedian play time
54hAverage play time
7-147hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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