Moon Hunters Review

I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of the retro-style hardcore RPG revival. Every game proclaims itself to be "the Dark Souls of ______", which means nothing at this point. Devs just throw together some lazy 8- or 16-bit graphics, artificially increase difficulty, and rake in profit. If "Moon Hunters" had been sold to me based on the premise alone, I would never have given it a second look; it is, after all, a retro-style hardcore RPG. Well, sort of.

Described by some as Zelda-Meets-Diablo, "Moon Hunters" manages to set itself apart with its writing and art style. While it does seem inspired by an older generation of games, the art is actually gorgeous. There's nothing derivative here; it's actually quite unique. I love the character designs most of all. The plot is simple, and the story is extremely short. Like, 30-45 minutes short. The point of the game is to play through the story multiple times, unlocking more secrets, characters, and plot points. You choose your class and tribe of origin, then set out on your adventure. The game takes place over about four or five days, and you camp after each one. While in camp, you can complete a short activity to upgrade the stats of your choice.

Where a lot of people seem to be leaving negative comments is the mechanical fidelity of the game itself. This is an indie game, and plays like one. There are bugs. There are objects you can get stuck in and watch helplessly while you die. If you're playing a ranged class, the aiming is way off, and sometimes the animation will hit an enemy but the skill itself won't. Thankfully, the melee combat is just fine. Not incredible, but fine. The enemies can take a hit, but it's not as hardcore as some people made it out to be. Dying is pretty easy though, especially if you're a caster-style class. Keep in mind that this is meant to be a co-op game and for the purposes of this review I played alone.

(minor story spoilers ahead!)

The thing about "Moon Hunters" is that those mechanical issues can be patched. The game is still playable, and I finished the story twice before sitting down to write a review. I really love the art style and the lore! The story centers around a group of tribes who worship the moon as a goddess, until one day the moon disappears from sight. You, the hero of whichever tribe you choose, have to try and find out what happened to the moon, while fighting off the Cult of the Sun (which worships the sun, naturally). There's a whole bunch of backstory and lore to be found in every nook and cranny of the locations you visit. The game culminates in a single boss fight, some story stuff happens which changes each time depending on who you are and what you did, and the credits roll. Then, you start a new character and do it all over again.

(end of spoilers)

I have to admit that I'm not in love with this game, due to the mechanical problems mentioned before. The story, however, is keeping me interested enough to go back. The soundtrack is beautiful as well, and I think I might just buy it. This game has a lot going for it, and I would hate for it to fall into obscurity just because of a couple problems that can be patched right out of the game. I do recommend that you check it out!

"Moon Hunters" is available on Steam for $14.99 USD (with 10% off at the time of this writing, to end on March 17th). Give it a try, you might just like it after all.

Graphics: AMAZING
Sound: AMAZING
Gameplay: GOOD
Value: GOOD

Overall: GREAT

-Justin