During Summer Games Fest 2025, I was able to spend about 45 minutes playing Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, the sequel to the hybrid business management roguelike. I got to play through the tutorial, and two loops through the dungeon and shop phases, and while I love the transition to 3D, the most interesting changes come from the inventory and shop.
Less haggling, more profits
In the shop phase, I was surprised to see that I was no longer setting prices like I was in the original Moonlighter, but instead it had turned into a puzzle-based minigame. Now, the prices of your items are determined in the dungeon, but you can boost them in the shop. I had two boosts available to me, one that would add a flat bonus and another that was percentage-based. If you have a boost charge, you can use it, and the customer will always buy at the new price, but if you run out, you can’t.
The exciting twist is that as you sell items, you get new perks that last for just this shop session. These perks can boost the effects of your boosts, like one that increases the percentage boost every time you use that kind of boost. Selling items will award more boosts, but you need to think about when you are using both kinds to maximize the bonuses.
This changes the dynamic of running the shop drastically, essentially turning it into a mini roguelike run, without any combat. I liked the shop mechanic in the original, but this new take makes me way more excited to run the shop in Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault.
Obtaining items in the dungeon has a new system too, essentially turning your backpack into a Resident Evil inventory minigame. While you have backpack limitations in the original, now you come across cursed relics relatively often. These relics have special effects, and while some seem entirely negative, they actually feed into each other.
I got an item that had a left arrow that would burn an item placed there where the arrow pointed, destroying the item. I shoved it into a corner where the arrow pointed at nothing, but I later got a relic that would add the value of the next burned item to its own. Now, I could place the original item in the spot where it destroyed a valuable item, with that value transferring. There are boosts based on placements, number of certain items present, or other factors, creating a small puzzle you need to keep track of to maximize your profits, which was a ton of fun to think about and discover new synergies.
Fast-paced 3D action
The other massive change from the original is that Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is a 3D game. This means Hades like small combat sections splitting up the roguelike dungeon. The combat feels excellent, as I dashed around, fired my lasers, and used environmental items like a spiky plant that would shoot enemies when hit.
The combat still has that almost isometric viewpoint, so it feels surprisingly similar, as you dodge in and out of danger while sneaking some attacks in. I only had access to a sword, but it had a special attack combo to it, which made it seem like most other weapons would have specific combos.
Some enemies have stagger meters, but instead of being stunned, they become vulnerable to backpack attacks. You can swing your backpack as an attack, and when enemies are weak to it, they get sent flying. They can be sent off ledges, into traps, or to other enemies. This creates a nice incentive to focus on certain enemies and to get the most out of your full ability kit. Unfortunately, the original game’s combat system got more and more complex as the game went on, and while I got a brief look at some upgrades, I really only got to experience the early combat, which is great, but also the most limited version.
While I need to see more of the meta progression and I wasn’t able to see what exactly is going on with the Endless Vault, as a huge fan of the original I’m excited to play Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault when it releases later this summer on Steam and Xbox Series X|S.
