During the 11 Bit Studios Preview event that I attended, there was a lot of emphasis on their upcoming Game Pass game, The Alters. Although The Alters looks promising, the main reason for my trip to Poland was to play an early version of Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault.
To put it simply, I’m absolutely hooked on roguelike games. Whether it’s day or night, or even early in the morning if you’re a late-night player like me, my mind seems to keep revisiting these types of games.
The last loss lingers in my mind, chuckling as it seeps into my self-image. I was on the verge of tossing the controller, accusing the game for being unjustly difficult, but let’s face it—it’s usually the player who is at fault. These roguelike games such as Hades, they certainly know how to keep you grounded.
– The last defeat still haunts me, laughing as it affects my self-image.
– I was close to throwing the controller, blaming the game for being unfair, but in reality, it’s often the player who is at fault.
– Games like Hades are great at keeping you humble.
What I utterly adore is that intense task, which, despite its toughest form, can be gradually conquered with each attempt.
Moonlighter 2 managed to crit-hit me right in the feels after just a few runs.
What is Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault?
If you haven’t encountered the Moonlighter series yet (I find myself astonished at the privilege of referring to it as such), now would be an excellent opportunity for you to delve into it. The first installment alone has garnered sales exceeding 2 million units, making it quite significant!
Moonlighter is an indie-developed 2D roguelike dungeon crawler called Moonlighter, produced by Digital Sun. The initial game stayed within a 2D realm, but its successor has ventured into the three-dimensional world.
In essence, the process goes like this: Explore dungeons, collect treasures, sell them at your own store, then invest those earnings into improvements for yourself as well as your shop. Essentially, wash, rinse, and repeat.
Correct, in Moonlighter 2, your character operates a shop. This shop serves as a platform where your character can sell the treasures amassed from the dungeons. By strategically arranging these looted items on your store’s tables, they become available for purchase to the stream of customers visiting your establishment.
Spend that money on enhancements to improve your journey and increase efficiency. Acquiring that money begins once you conquer your initial dungeon level.
Currently, you can select from three different dungeons, each containing numerous stages and powerful bosses to conquer. With each accomplishment, you’ll receive progressively more valuable rewards. In every zone, you’ll have the opportunity to depart with the treasures you’ve amassed so far. An item called a Medallion allows your character to return safely to the main village, laden with loot.
This loop, though reminiscent of the initial game, has undergone a complete transformation in each segment to deliver an improved and more captivating gameplay experience.
Why the move to 3D was the right move
For those long-time enthusiasts of Moonlighter, we want to acknowledge the discord surrounding the transition from 2D to 3D visuals. If you delve into discussions on Reddit or Steam, you’ll find a dedicated community that appears quite divided about this change.
Initially, the ambiguity about the game’s direction left some players perplexed. However, the 2D, retro-style dungeon crawler theme resonated deeply with more than two million gamers, making it an artistic masterpiece. Thus, one might wonder, why deviate from such a successful formula?
In a conversation, I chatted with Luis Pérez, Design Director at Digital Sun Games, as well as their Public Relations Lead, Isra Mallén, regarding the reason behind the change they implemented.
Luis mentioned, “‘We recognized that our pixel art was stunning, our group is outstanding, and we were curious if we could live up to the jump without sacrificing any of the appeal. Personally, I believe there might be a touch of bias here. However, I firmly think that the art team performed exceptionally well.’
He went on to explain that enhancing the overall user experience was a key goal for Moonlighter, with 3D combat being an effective means to achieve this: “We recognized that Moonlighter required updates and enhancements, and we placed a strong emphasis on improving its combat aspects.
In Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, the 3D transition significantly enhances combat, as it reduces instances where enemies might be missed due to minor pixel discrepancies, a problem present in the original Moonlighter. By moving into a three-dimensional space, the sequel introduces an element of tension that was absent in the first game.
Luis described, “Our aim was to intensify the conflict and add a sense of urgency to the battles. To illustrate, Mage Seeker featured more intricate combat mechanics, and we’ve incorporated much of what we learned from that experience here as well.
In their own words, Isra Mallén stated, “The fight scenes seemed necessary but weren’t a key component in Moonlighter 1. The original game was more straightforward in many aspects. This is the first time we are designing a combat system specifically for Moonlighter. It’s quite distinct from anything we’ve done before.
Bringing a burn to merchant gaming
Regarding updates, the merchant system underwent a remarkable transformation that I hadn’t anticipated but genuinely enjoy. It’s delightful to be back to selling goods once more!
In the outdated setup, gamers used to set a preliminary price for selling their goods, which often ended up being significantly higher than what buyers were ready to pay (overpricing, which could lead to customer annoyance), or much lower (underpricing, resulting in missed opportunities for profit).
With the new system, there’s no need for guessing. Instead, the price of an item becomes immediately clear as soon as you take it. The pricing isn’t solely based on the original worth; it’s influenced by the newly introduced mechanisms that simulate burning or degradation.
Placing items in the wrong spot may lead to their destruction, but now there’s a reason for it. Specifically, certain flammable items will see a rise in cost based on the specific textual conditions provided.
For instance, I found an object that, when set alight, would replicate itself. By using this with other burning mechanisms that would raise the cost of nearby items, you could trigger a chain reaction causing an original item worth 150 coins to become 400, then doubling it to 800.
Planning your inventory is somehow.. fun? What sorcery is this?
Returning items to the vendor stalls not only triggers another series of mini-games, but it also gives players an opportunity to acquire both power-ups and enchantments.
Each time a boost is activated, the cost increases by a fixed amount (starting at 50 gold). On the other hand, charms increase the cost by 10%. Therefore, an item worth 1 coin would cost 51 coins after a boost, but its price wouldn’t change if you used a charm. After every sale, you get either a boost or a charm at random.
As an observer, I notice that these effects can be amplified as well. Once a specific threshold of sales is reached, players are bestowed with the opportunity to select bonuses from the storefront. These bonuses serve to enhance both enhancements (boosts and charms) in terms of monetary value and usage. Certain bonuses even allow for the use of multiple boosts or charms on a single saleable item, such as doubling down and utilizing two or even three at once.
If you combine valuable items with high-priced gold, you’ll find yourself reaching unbelievably inflated sales prices when executed correctly.
Combat and Dungeon Crawling — A Moonlighter 2 special
In Moonlighter 1, the combat had a wait-and-react feel. Players could anticipate enemy attacks by stepping back or changing direction after luring an attack from another adversary. While there was certainly a strategy for fighting in Moonlighter 1, the sense of urgency, as Luis put it, is uniquely present in Moonlighter 2.
As soon as you step foot into your first dungeon, you’ll surely notice the impact of the improved combat skills you’ve honed. The seamless blend of attacking, dodging, and shooting creates a sense of fulfillment that was missing in the earlier version, and I hold a special affection for that initial game!
As a researcher immersed in the captivating world of Endless Vaults, each expedition has ignited an irresistible surge of adrenaline within me. It’s not about the exuberance of playing Apex Legends or other fast-paced FPS games; rather, it’s this unique sensation that I experience when navigating the vaults.
In the sequel of Moonlighter, the core strategy remains consistent, but it presents a battle system that focuses more on rewards. To put it simply, due to the emphasis placed on combat, Digital Sun has devised a fresh stun system.
As players reduce the health of bigger adversaries beyond halfway, they can propel these opponents into diverse outcomes. Pushing an individual opponent towards a precipice results in their “forcible exit” from the arena, whereas hurling them into a group causes harm and a recoil impact.
These effects are primarily useful in close combat situations, yet they can still be activated from a distance using long-range weapons. By the way, Moonlighter 2 seems to offer a balanced combat experience as it lets players equip both close-range and long-range weaponry.
In my initial glance, I could merely catch sight of a handful of close combat weapons such as a broom, sword, and gauntlets. Yet, an additional weapon, a ranged pistol, was also provided, indicating at least four diverse choices for the game’s players.
Introducing ranged weapons gave my gameplay in Moonlighter an exhilarating fluidity I hadn’t anticipated. From one second to the next, I was dealing damage from afar or evading enemy attacks, regardless of distance. With bigger dungeons ahead, you’ll need all your tools at hand to survive.
The layout of these dungeons still follows a modular design, steering gamers towards various zones culminating in captivating boss encounters. Yet, an innovative feature has been incorporated, turning the process of navigating through rooms into a tactical challenge.
Instead of wandering aimlessly to locate the right route to the boss, defeating enemies in an area gives you a treasure chest and offers several paths to choose from for moving forward, making each room clearance more meaningful.
In each treasure chest, you’ll find either rewards or bonuses that vary according to the type of room you selected as your entry point. I’ll discuss the rewards later, but the perks can drastically alter your entire playthrough based on the options you randomly select.
Some weapons provide additional distant attacks but consume more ammunition, while others enhance critical hit chances or damage. The specifics can change based on the rarity of the perk, usually becoming more potent as you advance deeper in the dungeon. During my gameplay, I advanced approximately one-third through the dungeon before encountering the first boss.
Boss battle
The moments were running short. To be precise, it was five minutes after the hour, and folks were already gathering their belongings. Yet, despite my tardiness, I had managed to reach the boss. Was I planning on giving up then? Absolutely not.
Previously, I’d encountered the initial boss in the Moonlighter dungeons without much difficulty; they served as a gentle introduction to the boss mechanics of that particular region. However, on this occasion, I was taken aback – it proved to be anything but a warm-up!
This item was relentless. Over and over, it would unleash sonic waves and explosives toward me. I found myself constantly testing the limit of my endless evasion mechanism.
At times, my superior would place a grenade for me to kick away. I’d kick it back haphazardly towards its defenses, gradually weakening them until they broke. Once those explosives were detonated, retaliation was imminent. My small sword dealt as much damage as possible with each strike, anticipating the approaching countdown as the boss rose again, like a ticking time bomb.
All of a sudden, I wasn’t by myself anymore. After the boss had collected itself, it unleashed a swarm of adversaries upon me and resumed its airborne assaults.
After just five minutes into the battle, it became evidently clear that this wasn’t a typical boss fight I had encountered in Moonlighter 2. Instead, it presented a new challenge, one that assessed not only my combat abilities but also my reliability and perseverance.
Due to a single error, I lost between 10 and 20 health points, leaving me with no means to recover as I had arrived carrying just two healing potions. Sadly, this reduces my current health to 8, making any further damage potentially fatal.
Multiple times, we perform this dance without causing a single scratch. It’s my turn. Suddenly, the boss shatters the protective cover I was utilizing to evade his assaults.
It’s time to lock in.
In another turn, the boss is nearly defeated, just a sliver of health left. Evading two more waves of attacks should give me the chance to put an end to this dreadful situation.
I manage to survive the incoming onslaught, wiping out the remaining shelter I had in this boss battlefield. With no other option, I dodge through the assaults, skillfully using my invincibility frames, almost channeling the divine power of FromSoftware.
Later, a grenade I hadn’t noticed fully catches up to me, appearing out of the corner of my vision. The merchant, struck by it, tumbles limply to the ground below, leaving a trail of red stains on the screen.
With a yelp and a grin spreading over me, I felt it ripple through my entire frame. I shook my head quickly, understanding that the fault was mine alone. Overeager with dodge-rolls, I’d careened straight into an explosion. Scanning my surroundings, I found the room devoid of any press or media. The only spectators were a few developers who had been silently encouraging me during my nearly 15-minute battle against the boss.
I’m sorry for disappointing you by not meeting up on time, and for falling short as a team player. But, let me assure you that the true victory was seeing the joy on your faces playing Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, especially the proud grin it brought to mine.
Summary
After stepping aside from the table, I soon joined a group of fellow journalists at the gathering and couldn’t help but express my enthusiasm about the extraordinary event I had just experienced. At that moment, it wasn’t about education or exchanging information, but rather, sharing my excitement over something that exceeded my expectations.
Moonlighter 2: The Infinite Vault enhances every detail from the original game to create a more immersive and rewarding experience, while preserving the legacy of Moonlighter. The merchant-based mini-game, fast-paced combat triggered by emergencies, and intricate inventory management system are all refined in Moonlighter 2, setting it on course for triumph.
If someone asks you, “Hey, Mike, is it okay to play Moonlighter 2 before the first one?” You can reassure them by saying that they don’t need to fret, as Moonlighter 2 significantly improves upon the original from start to finish.
In the summer of 2025, Moonlighter 2: The Boundless Vault is set to launch on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, and PlayStation 5.
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2025-05-29 22:11