- May 29, 2018
- Digital Sun
- 12h median play time
Moonlighter
A vibrant, fresh blend of rogue-like and store management games, with something for everyone. Aesthetically beautiful, narratively rich, extremely satisfying to play.
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About
Moonlighter is a single player hack and slash game with fantasy and business themes. It was developed by Digital Sun and was released on May 29, 2018. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.
"Moonlighter" is an action RPG with shop management elements. During the day, you run your store in the village, setting prices and dealing with customers. At night, you explore dungeon levels, fighting monsters and gathering materials to craft better gear and stock your store. Balancing these two aspects is key to success.











- Charming pixel art and engaging soundtrack create a cozy atmosphere.
- Unique gameplay loop combining dungeon crawling and shop management keeps it interesting.
- Fun and addictive, with a satisfying sense of progression and upgrades.
- Combat feels clunky and unresponsive, making encounters frustrating at times.
- Repetitive gameplay can lead to boredom, especially after the first few dungeons.
- Keyboard controls are poorly designed, making it difficult to navigate menus without a controller.
- gameplay1,517 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
The gameplay in Moonlighter is characterized by a unique blend of dungeon crawling and shopkeeping mechanics, creating an addictive loop of looting, selling, and upgrading. While many players appreciate the charming art style and the initial novelty of the mechanics, the gameplay can become repetitive and shallow over time, with limited variety in combat and dungeon design. Overall, the game offers a fun experience, but it lacks depth and complexity, leading to a sense of monotony as players progress.
“The gameplay loop is the biggest thing this game has going for it, swapping between dungeon crawling and shopkeeping is pretty compelling--even if the latter gets pretty easy once you have the game's systems figured out.”
“The different dungeons require you to learn the new monster mechanics and the new loot you find requires you to learn about pricing items.”
“Moonlighter combines two amazing gameplay loops into one seamless experience!”
“I want to like the game, but anything related to the core mechanics in this game were weirdly unresponsive and clunky, combined with many bad design choices and some technical issues.”
“The shop mechanics are basically non-existent, with the only minigame coming in the form of guessing the price of an item, and tackling thieves that come into your shop.”
“The gameplay loop of fighting in the dungeon then selling things in your shop to save up for an upgrade to your shop or armor or weapon...very fun, but the gameplay gets old and plateaus quickly, and the bosses, the most fun part, can only be fought once each.”
Review: Moonlighter
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
65%Moonlighter review: “Bettering that wonderful gameplay loop that Stardew Valley excels at”
Moonlighter manages to perfectly balance the best bits of Stardew Valley, Dark Souls and Binding of Isaac for a game that just keeps you coming back for more.
90%Moonlighter review
Moonlighter is a cute and casual revival of an uncommon mashup but doesn’t stick around to push the boundaries.
78%
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Frequently Asked Questions
Moonlighter is a hack and slash game with fantasy and business themes.
Moonlighter is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck and others.
The main story can be completed in around 14 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 27 hours to finish. On average players spend around 43 hours playing Moonlighter.
Moonlighter was released on May 29, 2018.
Moonlighter was developed by Digital Sun.
Moonlighter has received positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.
Moonlighter is a single player game.
Similar games include Cuisineer, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, Cult of the Lamb, The Swords of Ditto, bit Dungeon II and others.





