I'm an Early Bird tier Kickstarter for Moonlighter.

TLDR version: I like it enough to give a thumbs up. It's up to you to decide if it's worth the price. Baby's First Roguelite, perfect for those who're terrible with it like me.

Long version: I like this game enough to give a thumbs up. It's been ages since I had something that's remotely like Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale. Really miss that stuff.

The combat mechanics are well done, though on the slow side. If you're used to faster paced attacks such as Zelda-types and pure rogues you might find this feel rather heavy. But, it certainly beats a pure 'walk there and whack that' as many other shopkeeping style games apply.

I'm okay with the current dungeon size. It's not too long that you're sick and tired without any way to return. Also, it's not too short... unless you're decked out. I do understand why this would be an issue for end-game players. But for beginning and midgame, it's fine. Maybe the main game dungeons would do better as training ground for longer (or tougher) content.

Where this game does suffer somewhat is the shop mechanic. The most challenging part of the game is setting the right price and watching thieves. Haggling doesn't exist (yet). Requests are optional (thankfully).

There's no zany shenanigans with the NPCS. You get some variety of customers, but it doesn't have the same sense of personalization as Racettear. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's fine if Moonlighter chooses to focus more on combat. I like the fighting. If Moonlighter's future content gears toward more combat, I would still be happy.

The best thing about Moonlighter is its graphics. Cute with a nice palette choice. Identifiable. And it fits the game setting. It means the game already had good assets/art-direction for any expansion it wants.

Oh and props to the musician. The soundtrack got me humming away. The soundtrack changes according to location and that is a really nice touch.

I hope the Devs will do at least four things:

1. An Endless Randomized Dungeon. A test of endurance is what many dungeoneers look for.

2. A way to farm Bosses. Of course we want to farm bosses. That's what a dungeon crawl is all about.

3. Make Boss loot important someway. Craft something good for our hero? Or for the shop? Special trophies?

4. Make the town NPCS (or the town itself) more useful. At the moment, my best friend is the potion girl. And the blacksmith. Sometimes the hawker. The rest... is kinda mere space fillers.

All in all, if this is your first time with roguelites, Moonlighter is a good place to start. Baby's First Roguelite. Even I -- a person who can't get past the first levels of Rogue Legacy and Necrodancer -- could make progress in this game.

I'm an Early Bird tier Kickstarter for Moonlighter. TLDR version: I like it enough to give a thumbs up. It's up to you to decide if it's worth the price. Baby's First Roguelite, perfect for those who're terrible with it like me. Long version: I like this game enough to give a thumbs up. It's been ages since I had something that's remotely like Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale. Really miss that stuff. The combat mechanics are well done, though on the slow side. If you're used to faster paced attacks such as Zelda-types and pure rogues you might find this feel rather heavy. But, it certainly beats a pure 'walk there and whack that' as many other shopkeeping style games apply. I'm okay with the current dungeon size. It's not too long that you're sick and tired without any way to return. Also, it's not too short... unless you're decked out. I do understand why this would be an issue for end-game players. But for beginning and midgame, it's fine. Maybe the main game dungeons would do better as training ground for longer (or tougher) content. Where this game does suffer somewhat is the shop mechanic. The most challenging part of the game is setting the right price and watching thieves. Haggling doesn't exist (yet). Requests are optional (thankfully). There's no zany shenanigans with the NPCS. You get some variety of customers, but it doesn't have the same sense of personalization as Racettear. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's fine if Moonlighter chooses to focus more on combat. I like the fighting. If Moonlighter's future content gears toward more combat, I would still be happy. The best thing about Moonlighter is its graphics. Cute with a nice palette choice. Identifiable. And it fits the game setting. It means the game already had good assets/art-direction for any expansion it wants. Oh and props to the musician. The soundtrack got me humming away. The soundtrack changes according to location and that is a really nice touch. I hope the Devs will do at least four things: 1. An Endless Randomized Dungeon. A test of endurance is what many dungeoneers look for. 2. A way to farm Bosses. Of course we want to farm bosses. That's what a dungeon crawl is all about. 3. Make Boss loot important someway. Craft something good for our hero? Or for the shop? Special trophies? 4. Make the town NPCS (or the town itself) more useful. At the moment, my best friend is the potion girl. And the blacksmith. Sometimes the hawker. The rest... is kinda mere space fillers. All in all, if this is your first time with roguelites, Moonlighter is a good place to start. Baby's First Roguelite. Even I -- a person who can't get past the first levels of Rogue Legacy and Necrodancer -- could make progress in this game.