The Moon Sliver
- October 28, 2014
- David Szymanski
- 5h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"The Moon Sliver" is a first-person adventure game that takes place in a surreal, abandoned moonbase. Players must uncover the mystery of what happened to the moonbase and its inhabitants, while navigating through challenging puzzles and a haunting atmosphere. With a focus on exploration and discovery, players will encounter strange machines, cryptic messages, and a striking, minimalist art style.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging and haunting story that unfolds through exploration and text snippets.
- Atmospheric design and sound create a sense of dread and immersion.
- Short playtime of about an hour makes it a quick yet impactful experience.
- Graphics are simplistic and may detract from the overall experience for some players.
- Gameplay is limited to walking and reading, which may not appeal to everyone.
- The narrative can be confusing and may require multiple playthroughs to fully understand.
- story1,518 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of *The Moon Sliver* is a poignant and atmospheric narrative that unfolds through exploration and text snippets, revealing the tragic fate of four friends on a desolate island. While the storytelling is engaging and layered with themes of isolation and melancholy, some players find the non-linear presentation and reliance on text to be confusing and detracting from the overall experience. Despite its brevity, the game offers a compelling, immersive story that resonates with those who appreciate narrative-driven experiences, though it may not satisfy everyone due to its simplistic gameplay and vague elements.
“The story is difficult to piece together at first but you slowly reveal more and more of it over the course of the game, and it is surprisingly deep and complex for a 1 hour experience.”
“The story you uncover is similar - though it escalates as you go on, it's more bleak than openly horrifying, relying instead on feelings of mystery, isolation, regret and emptiness to do its work.”
“The moon sliver is a beautifully-told story that surprised me with its growing feeling of dread and horror.”
“Mediocre, and seems like it would be better served as a short story rather than a game.”
“The game is very confusing and trying to tell a story; I like the eerie and liminal environment though.”
“The story is kind of confusing and not very interesting.”
- atmosphere420 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "The Moon Sliver" is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, effectively combining sound design, music, and visuals to create a chilling and emotionally engaging experience. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke feelings of loneliness and dread without relying on jump scares, instead focusing on a slow-burn narrative that deepens as the game progresses. Overall, the atmosphere is described as top-notch, with many reviewers noting its strong impact despite the game's minimalist graphics and gameplay.
“The atmosphere is top notch.”
“The sound design, music, visuals, all create an amazing atmosphere, filled with well-written paragraphs, that come together to give you an experience.”
“The moon sliver effectively creates a dreary, dark, and creepy atmosphere and knows exactly how much dialogue and lore to give to the player to pique their interest and let the imagination run wild.”
“The atmosphere creates a sense of loneliness while the weather conditions & the lighting truly adds to the nervous sense of a jumpscare around a corner.”
“But its existential despair ended up feeling trite, mainly because it was unsupported by the many rough edges of the gameplay, the writing and the atmosphere.”
“In the end, many aspects of the story and game, save for the music and general atmosphere, feel very unfinished and unpolished, and I don't think I'd recommend it, not even at the discounted £0.99 I paid for it.”
- graphics276 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as minimalistic, dated, and often poor, with many reviewers noting their amateurish quality reminiscent of older titles. However, this simplicity is frequently seen as a strength, enhancing the game's atmosphere and emotional impact rather than detracting from it. Overall, while the visuals may not impress, they effectively contribute to the game's somber and immersive experience.
“Visuals are minimal but effective, and when combined with good sound design it really sells the island as being just a bit 'off' - not overtly supernatural, but still strangely hostile to human life.”
“Incredible soundtrack and atmosphere - so much achieved with such simple graphics and gameplay.”
“The simple visuals evoke a sense of desolation and despair, of love shared and lost.”
“The dissonance between the narrative and the visuals is jarring, and difficult to get past.”
“The graphics are poor, the overall look of the world feels pretty outdated and you can see that this game wasn't created by a big team of developers.”
“Don't buy this because you want to be dazzled by the graphics - they are as basic as they come.”
- music248 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to create a haunting and immersive atmosphere, effectively complementing the overall tone and narrative. While some reviewers noted issues with looping and a desire for more variation, the soundtrack is generally described as beautiful, eerie, and well-placed, enhancing the feelings of loneliness and dread throughout the experience. Overall, the music stands out as one of the game's strongest elements, contributing significantly to its emotional impact.
“The music is beautiful and complements the atmosphere in the best ways.”
“The sound design, music, visuals, all create an amazing atmosphere, filled with well-written paragraphs, that come together to give you an experience.”
“The music effectively sets the tone and contributes greatly to developing the lonely and unsettling tone of the game, particularly in the last few minutes.”
“The music doesn’t quite flow as smoothly as it should; you can hear the moment it clicks back to the start, but it’s tonally perfect and foreboding.”
“There was a great sense of desolation and bleakness that added to the story, accompanied by fitting although occasionally too obviously looping sound and music bites.”
“In the end, many aspects of the story and game, save for the music and general atmosphere, feel very unfinished and unpolished, and I don't think I'd recommend it, not even at the discounted £0.99 I paid for it.”
- gameplay238 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *The Moon Sliver* is primarily a walking simulator, focusing on exploration and narrative rather than traditional mechanics or challenges. Players navigate a desolate island, piecing together a story through minimal interaction and simple puzzles, with a flashlight mechanic that some find unnecessary and distracting. While the gameplay is basic and can feel choppy at times, the atmospheric storytelling and haunting environments create an immersive experience for those who appreciate narrative-driven games.
“An intriguing story revealed slowly, leading to some remarkably tense sections that a game this mechanically simple has no right to be able to create so effectively.”
“The story is amazing, the gameplay is simple yet satisfying, graphics and the soundtrack beautifully contribute to the atmosphere.”
“Everything is so stark and streamlined, and the gameplay style absolutely fits the atmosphere.”
“There's not much gameplay to this game, admittedly; explore, solve a couple very basic puzzles, gather enough pieces of the story and time advances, opening a new area to explore - it's more of an interactive story.”
“From a gameplay perspective there really isn’t much going on, as you walk aimlessly on an island, clicking objects, mostly to gather information about who, what, where, and why.”
“The only gameplay element, that of keeping the flashlight charged, is just an annoyance.”
- replayability34 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its extremely low replayability, with most players noting that it offers less than an hour of gameplay and lacks engaging content to warrant multiple playthroughs. While some suggest it could be entertaining to watch a friend play, the consensus is that the initial experience is the only significant value, making it unsuitable for those seeking a game with lasting replay potential.
“If one can get this title for a reasonable price, considering the length, I think most people will be satisfied that it absolutely does deliver everything it promises.”
“It's cheap, decently replayable, and most importantly, it's enjoyable.”
“As for replay value, it's not a game I would replay over and over again - your first initial playthrough gives this game its weight and value.”
“On the negative side, it offers less than an hour of playtime (I completed the entire thing in ~40 minutes), and basically no replay value.”
“It's bleak, it's barren, and it holds zero replay value.”
“There isn't any real replay value; the characters are not really engaging or substantial enough to care for, and the premise, while eerie and disorientingly alien with the stark visuals, isn't quite as formidable as it deserves.”
- emotional26 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its powerful writing and atmospheric design, which evoke strong feelings ranging from sadness to fear, often leaving players in tears. While some find the experience deeply touching and thought-provoking, others criticize the fragmented narrative and underdeveloped characters, which can hinder emotional investment. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to create a hauntingly beautiful and immersive experience that resonates long after playing.
“The writing and atmosphere were really emotional and drew me in more and more.”
“Atmospheric, beautiful, heartbreaking, and occasionally terrifying, this game is a must-play for those who enjoy thinking and exploring worlds.”
“If you want something that delivers an emotional impact that continues to make you think for a few weeks afterwards, I'd recommend Dear Esther.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with some sections requiring frustrating backtracking and slow progress. While the game offers a calming experience, its short length does not alleviate the feeling of monotony during certain tasks, leading to a sense of trudging rather than engaging gameplay.
“It's extremely short but still somehow ends up feeling tedious.”
“It can sometimes be difficult to find the next piece of the story, or at the least, tedious to backtrack.”
“You're not zipping along at mach speed, but 'trudging' hasn't replaced 'level grinding,' either.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game features appealing graphics and aesthetics, but users report noticeable glitches that detract from the overall experience. Despite these stability issues, players find value in the story, suggesting that the game has redeeming qualities if one can overlook the technical flaws.
“Not the best walking simulator out there, but when you look through the glitches, there's a good story in the moon sliver.”
“The game offers some nice graphics and a nice aesthetic, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be both relatable and self-reflective, often leading to moments of genuine laughter at their own reactions to the game's scenarios. This blend of situational comedy and personal introspection enhances the overall experience.
“I probably stood staring at the wall for a good fifteen seconds when I reached the chair and the lamp, just laughing at myself because of how much I genuinely didn't want to turn around.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game's optimization is lacking, with users reporting performance issues that hinder the overall experience. Many players have experienced frame rate drops and stuttering, suggesting that the game requires further refinement to run smoothly on various hardware configurations.
“The game struggles with optimization, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
“Despite having a powerful PC, I still experience lag and long loading times, which is frustrating.”
“The optimization feels rushed; many areas are poorly rendered, causing visual glitches and performance issues.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development is notably rich, focusing on characters that players may not directly encounter, which adds an element of intrigue. This intentional ambiguity regarding the protagonist's identity until the final level enhances the overall narrative experience.
“There's a lot of character development for characters that you don't get to meet, but that might be on purpose because, [spoiler] until the final level, it's very unclear which character you play as.”
