[Review] Moonlight Peaks: Almost There

It took me a while to come to terms with how I felt about this game. I had wishlisted it back when it was first announced on steam, and I was excited for a game that would finally scratch that “emo-My-Chemical-Romance-Vampire grunge-y2k-whimsigoth” itch in my millennial heart. As a 34-year-old whose wardrobe (and heart) never really outgrew the aesthetic and a big fan of farming sims, it really felt like this game would be made for me.

So when our lovely AnjelusX asked me if I wanted to review the game, I jumped at the offer and loaded up my early 00’s alt playlist and set the lights in my home to a moody blood red, and dove in.

It only took a week of in-game time to change my mind. I won’t waste anyone’s time: if this game were in early access and 15$, I would say go for it. But right now, at $35 USD full release… It feels like paying for half of a book with some of the words missing. It has great potential, but potential is a lot to ask for at $35 for an indie title. Here’s how I came to that conclusion:

• Character Customization –

The character customization menu.

Adorable. The character creator is not gendered, so there is only one body type and you can mix and match feminine and masculine traits to your heart’s content. The clothes are cute and whimsical, and there is an excellent variety of hairstyles. My only gripe is that the camera angle makes your character very difficult to see, and I wish it were closer to the angle of the character creation room.

• Gameplay –

If you have played a farming game before, or any of the myriad games with marketing buzzword “cozy” lately, you know the drill. The gameplay loop is familiar. But that’s the problem. The art and environmental set dressing, the overall vibe, is immaculate. But the gameplay feels soul-less. It feels like a game that started with a clear vision of characters and environment and tacked on the game play afterwards.

It seems to mechanically follow the modern cozy-farming-game script to a T, and unenthusiastically at that. The ability to walk while using the watering can and being able to water multiple plants at once seemed the only departure from the script, and was a nice surprise. But that seems to be where the innovation in farming ends.

Since I am testing the PC/Mac version of the game, I opted for a mouse and keyboard for playing. This is something I would honestly recommend against, as the keyboard controls are clunky and kind of unintuitive. I think this title greatly benefits from a controller.

There is a spell-casting and transformation aspect to the gameplay that I personally haven’t reached at 3.5 game weeks in, so I can’t speak to that, but it does feel like taking so long to introduce those elements is a bit of a pacing issue.

The game contains no combat that I could find in my limited play time, which I find interesting considering the aesthetic.

• Characters –

Time to moisten the gentry.

I really wanted to like the characters, I loved Orlok’s introduction, but as of now, my entire experience with the characters of Moonlight Peaks has been vampire/witch family feud and a vampire-racist Mayor. So far, I’ve barely gotten to glimpse the personality of the other characters. I do enjoy seeing the various supernaturals going about their day, especially the werewolves trotting around town like overgrown huskies.

An honorable mention here for the stupidly cute critters: I love having a little hellcat companion, and can’t help but see my own little hellcat in its smug little face.

Having two black cats of my own, I can attest this is exactly what they say to me every night.

The vampsters and “cheekens” are also some of the cutest critters I’ve seen in a game in a long time. I wish the whimsy of these designs seeped into the environments a bit more. Look at these things, tell me you don’t love these funky little guys.

“Cheekens” the dump-truck chickens of Moonlight Peaks. No thoughts, just round.

• Exploration –

There’s a lot of map to explore (including a lot of loading screens) and exploring the spooky forests and town in the middle of the night, with everything lit with gently twinkling lights or moonlight is an immaculate vibe. My only complaint here is that while there is so much to explore, so much of it feels very empty.

• Conclusions –

I think this is a game which really gets in its own way a lot. There are a lot of good ideas here, and you can tell the devs really have a love for all things supernatural and goth-y. The environmental art is incredible, but sometimes a leans a bit too close to Animal Crossing: New Horizons than creepy forest, it almost feels over-polished.

I love the little critters in this game, I would die for Chee-kenenth and my hellcat Bitey, and I love scooping up those little vampsters and yeeting them back into their burrow.

Meet Chee-keneth, my new son.

The critters and character designs are really the star of the show in this game, and perhaps that’s why I’m being so harsh on the rest of the game. If this were an early access game, I would give it 4.5 (dark) stars, but at full price with no indication of further development, I have to give this a 3.5. I would personally suggest nabbing the game while it’s on sale and hoping it gets further developed in future updates.

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