It is in the dead of night that you board a train, escaping your parentage and striking out on your own. Your destination? The quaint town of Moonlight Peaks, a small and idyllic town nestled away from the rest of the world. When night falls, under the pale moon, the inhabitants come to life. As the child of the legendary vampire (you know the one), your lineage is well known throughout the town – even amongst nonvampires, of which you’ll meet plenty. The Halloween Town-esque nature of the town means there are plenty of “creepy” inhabitants, and everything falls into the idea of lineage, monsters and spooky frights.
Moonlight Peaks starts off a lot like other games of its kind. Upon arriving at your cottage, you’ll meet a local who serves as an early quest giver. The cottage is broken down a bit, and the land is, predictably, covered in foliage and rocks. This all serves to introduce you to the basic mechanics (helped by the fact that you have a lot of your tools up front). None of this is unique to Moonlight Peaks per se, but it’s all very well paced. Unfortunately, some components, like farming, take a little longer than they probably should, slowing things down a smidge.
If you’ve played other life sims, you’ll feel right at home here. Fishing is very similar to Animal Crossing, as is crafting. The map, reminiscent of Fae Farm or Disney Dreamlight Valley, does a great job of tracking characters as they move around town, and, given that time isn’t always on your side, this is a godsend. Upgrading things like your home or tools feel appropriately paced as well, and every upgrade allows you to learn other mechanics, like using the refiner and how it helps you make components. One complaint is the energy mechanic, which is ultimately a normal component of the genre, but here feels very strict. You lose stamina much quicker than in other games, and you lose it for anything that requires a tool (except magic, which has a different gauge). It just feels a little too limiting, even early on.
One issue with crafting is the lack of a queue option. Not being able to say “I want to make five planks and then four refined stones”, and instead having to come back for the planks and then start up the stones really highlights this game’s biggest issue. It’s hard to really get into a flow of any kind. Cutscenes, for instance, also have a tendency to disrupt the rhythm in an odd way. Imagine you are going to give someone a gift, or explore the mines, and suddenly you’re in a cutscene. Now imagine that cutscene has transported you to another location, and you now have to open the map to figure out where you are in relation to where you wanted to be in the first place. It’s just a weird quirk that isn’t game breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s kind of an inconvenience.
There are mechanics that are unique to Moonlight Peaks, but only so far as they cover the themes within. Things like being able to turn into an otherworldly cat or conjure a floating watering can (which requires some memorisation on the player’s part, as do all spell castings) feel like great additions, even if the aforementioned water can often feel like it has a mind of its own. They don’t feel needlessly tacked on either, instead feeling like important contributing factors in the overall experience. There’s even a card game to get into if you fancy it.
The townsfolk are both adorable and lively, each with a distinct personality that really flourishes as time goes on. A personal favorite is Ludo, but every character really feels like they grow on you over time. Whether it be the firm but fair Samael, the headstrong Saga, or the goofy and lovable Mina, getting to know the town is a real joy.
The artwork is delightful, with a simple chibi style that makes everything adorable. The portrait art is also nice, even if it doesn’t quite fit. You can change it to an anime style, but this doesn’t quite work either. The problem, though, is there’s really no obvious solution, as if they used chibi portraits, they would probably look cheap or creepy in the wrong ways.
Cubed3 Rating
Most of Moonlight Peaks‘ problems are only problems if you need to find some. It is inventive enough on its own to be surprising, and makes smart use of genre conventions elsewhere. For anyone who wants to distill it into a simple description, Moonlight Peaks could sit easily among Stardew Valley, Fae Farm and Animal Crossing in the pantheon of life sims.
About this Score
Add a Comment
Moonlight Peaks
Developer: Little Chicken Game Company
Formats: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
Cubed3 is reader-supported. If you buy through banners on our site, we may earn a commission. This does not influence our opinions/reviews.
Comments
Cubed3 is reader-supported. If you buy through banners on our site, we may earn a commission. This does not influence our opinions/reviews.
