Moon Hunters is an interesting game that uses its unique premise and randomly-generated levels to craft an enjoyable, if not somewhat repetitive, experience.
Moon Hunters
Developer: Kitfox Games
Price: $14.99
Platform: PC, PS4, PS Vita
MonsterVine was provided with a PC code for review.
The idea of Moon Hunters stood out to me when I first heard it. Romping through randomly-generated environments numerous times as different customizable characters sounded fascinating to me. The idea of constructing your own sort of lore by leaving legacies with each character appealed to the writer in me, which is why I was so excited to play this game.
The main plot of Moon Hunters revolves around your character and the actions you choose to take. Seeing as the game is made to be played numerous times, it’s difficult to summarize the game’s central plot. Depending on the character you pick, the village you start in, and how you treat others, your story and character will change in many different ways.
One story has you face the villainous Sun Cult by finding and attacking members of their group, while another can have you preparing to face their leader by battling and training in forests and deserts. Every random environment, and what you do in them, affects your character’s stats, story, and eventually, the legacy they leave behind.
After either dying or defeating the central enemy you’re after, you are given a description of what your character did before or after their in-game fate. This depends on your character’s class and beginning, who you interact with, how you interact with them, what stats you focus on, and how your story ends. This provides numerous interesting scenarios that make each playthrough feel special, and worth completing.
This is especially easy because of the average length of an adventure in Moon Hunters. Each campaign lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, provided you don’t meet an unsavoury fate early on. This length makes each storyline digestible, and easy to enjoy.
Some storylines however, can prove to be very similar to one another, which can feel somewhat exhausting, as the benefit of finding new and interesting paths is side-tracked because of some similar choices. This isn’t a major problem, as you can still find new pieces of story through exploring different classes and choices, but it’s still an issue that can make the game more bland.
Moon Hunters’s gameplay also goes a long way in giving the game its great replay value. As a hack and slash game with RPG elements, there’s a lot of variety in how you can customize your character using the core gameplay system. Each class of character has their own attacks and abilities, which can be upgraded in their own ways using currency earned through exploration and battle. These abilities make each class feel like entirely different characters, adding a great deal of variety to each campaign.
As you slice, shoot, and charge your enemies, you’ll find new places and fight new foes. The core combat system is enjoyable in bursts, which compliments the length of each campaign well. Playing the game in long sessions could prove to be tiresome however, as it takes a fair amount of time in each campaign to become any form of formidable fighter. This means that for a decent chunk of the story, you’ll be fighting enemies on the run, in order to avoid an untimely demise.
Thanks to its unique day and night system, Moon Hunters provides you with time limits and daily breaks at the end of each chosen area. In these brief moments of calm, you’re given a variety of options in what you can do, with each option improving different stats. Gazing at the stars improves your faith, while standing guard increases your strength. This adds a sense of benefit to each break in the story, which keeps things interesting.
At the time of writing this review, the online multiplayer was in beta, and not fully functioning, so we’re going to hold off on reviewing that aspect of the game until it’s updated and in a more playable state.
Moon Hunters is made up of some really fantastic visuals. Each new area is themed differently, meaning you get to traverse all sorts of beautiful landscapes, ranging from villages and forests, to deserts and mountains. Each themed area feels distinct and vibrant in its own way, especially with the dynamic new aesthetic an area takes on with the game’s day and night system.
The character sprites and artwork are very nice as well. Each class looks wildly different, but still incredibly appealing. The appearance of each class fits their abilities rather well, which makes it even easier to find yourself sinking into each role.
Moon Hunters has an ambient soundtrack that fits the overall tone of the game in a remarkable way. Traveling feels epic but subdued, as there’s a mysterious tone to many of the tracks that adds a sense of mysticism to each adventure. The sound effects are fitting as well, with suitable “whooshes” and steps for movement, and intense slashes, energy discharges, and crunches for combat.
The Final Word
Moon Hunters is a refreshing game to be sure. Its unique take on story and the heritage of your characters is well-executed, its gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable in the short campaigns, and its visuals and sound design are suitably diverse and relaxing. Despite bits of repetitiveness in its story and gameplay, Moon Hunters is well worth playing.
-MonsterVine Score: 4 out of 5 – Good
