In this appealing indie game, the player must build his own legend and answer some pivotal questions: What happened to the missing Moon Goddess? Will they choose to help the people they find on their journey? Will they survive? So many intriguing questions that will keep you exploring Moon Hunters!
The Story
The story of Moon Hunters revolves around a three day journey to build and strengthen your character in order to solve the mystery of the missing Moon Goddess. The game is designed with repeat playthroughs in mind, each round is slightly different and full of surprises, allowing the player to gain some new experiences with each new game.
The Gameplay
My first playthrough of Moon Hunters was a solo adventure and it was very fast, so fast that the main story ended after about twenty minutes of gameplay. The game is about trial and error and in order to be able to build your character properly to survive, the game has to be played through multiple times. Similar to The Yawhg, the player learns through multiple play sessions and does not rely on the traditional gaming experience of a single and final playthrough.
At the start of the game, you can choose from four characters of different classes, while two other classes can be unlocked by playing, giving you a final tally of six character types. With each new playthrough, the player can decide to build up a different ability, such as cooking or compassion, to see what will be more helpful in defeating the final boss. The player can choose the town they originate from, which becomes your starting area and it should be chosen based on which attribute the player wants to build. For example, if the hero is going toward cooking you can choose to voyage towards an area that offers more ingredients. The longer you survive in an area, the more you gain experience and items, and grow to be able to battle the bosses. Each time you die, the day ends, so the longer you stay alive the more terrain you can cover and subsequently make your character more powerful.
The combat style is dependant on which hero you choose to play with. All of the abilities and weapon range are displayed on the hero selection screen. Be very vigilant and choose your hero carefully since there is no real healing ability in the solo version of the game. You will encounter many enemies such as beasts and mini bosses along your journey. You will encounter decision areas, forcing you to choose between helping someone, listening to them or guiding them. This balance between combat and role playing is very original and quite refreshing.
Multiplayer
Online multiplayer in Moon Hunters is still in Beta, or probably better defined as early Alpha. Local co-op on the other hand works very well. Online multiplayer currently requires you to open a port on your router, which is not very easy, but was done for the purpose of this review. The process took my colleague and I about 45 minutes. For those wanting to try online play, the multiplayer settings are available here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/320040/discussions/0/405693392926554136/
One reason multiplayer is awesome is because it allows the players to revive each other if defeated in battle. Since there are few healing options in the game, it is a very good aid. Players can also try different strategies in exploring and fighting. In our playthrough, we came across one spot that required four players but our lack of 2 friends did not stop any game progression. This peaked my curiosity for 4 person multiplayer, but I will save that for another adventure.
Technical tips
I played Moon Hunters through Steam. The game loaded very quickly, which is great. It is very stable with little to no bugs. I do recommend playing the game with a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard as I did encounter some issues when playing that way.
The biggest bug that I encountered when playing with a keyboard and mouse was at the end of the game. The game would not close and required the famous *ctrl+alt+delete* command. It’s not a big deal since it does not affect any saves. Also, it is impossible to read the legend of the hero in full when playing with mouse and keyboard as the text does not scroll. This little glitch does not disturb the game progression or the saves at all, but I would recommend a controller! It makes the overall experience more enjoyable.
Conclusion
This game is a must buy or at least a must try; it’s very affordable and so original. You can replay the game a ton of times and each playthrough will be a new experience. Too many games can only be played once or twice, and having an immortal game like this one is worth the mention. Originating from a Kickstarter, Moon Hunters is made by true passionate artists and it shows in this game.
The good:
- The art is amazing
- The music is immersive and the soundtrack edition is a must
- The game is original
The bad:
- The player needs to play with a controller to avoid some small bugs.
DISCLAIMER: Girls on Games was provided with a copy of Moon Hunters for the purpose of this review.