Moonlighter 2: The Endless Dungeon hands-on preview — Spare a coin for your procedural dungeon crawler?

I own the original Moonlighter almost everywhere you possibly can buy it. It’s a charming game, one I discovered on the Nintendo Switch long ago. The premise of being a shop owner that goes dungeon crawling for goods is awesome, a perfect blend of action and simulator elements. If you’ve seen the trailer for Moonlighter 2, you no doubt were flabbergasted at the changes from the original. After playing it at Summer Game Fest, I can say with all certainty that I didn’t want to put it down.

Starting with those changes, the first one you’ll notice is visual. Gone is the 8-bit, somewhat chibi art style presented in Legend of Zelda fashion. While the isometric view remains, everything is more of a soft 3D design. Think of it like the old Link’s Awakening compared to the recent remake on the Nintendo Switch. I personally prefer the older style, but the new one isn’t bad at all.

Going on an adventure stays largely the same. You’ll head to the dungeon portal, choose what weapon you want to bring, and make your way in. Once there, you’ll journey through different rooms of said dungeon, each ending with a chance of loot or new perks for your run. This rogue-lite element is amazingly fun, making each attempt unique.

That said, it can be difficult at the beginning. Even knowing how Moonlighter works, I got wrecked in my very first section, with my health dropping from fifty points to seven. This includes using the one health potion I had available (these potions work like the Estus flasks in Dark Souls). If you decide you don’t want to risk what you’ve picked up so far, you can hold a button to pull out, leaving with the rewards and leaving behind the chance of more. I appreciate how this gives you the chance to build up to good runs without throwing away beneficial items.

Those items can be sold in your store, assuming you arrange your backpack correctly. Different items have different effects to them, like a horn which burns anything in a corresponding slot of your backpack. This is great if you have a relic that gives you a boost of currency if burned, but sucks if you forget about it and accidentally throw an expensive item in that slot. Utilizing your backpack to your benefit is important, something you don’t think about in a lot of other games.

Also in a carry-over from the previous game, you’ll upgrade your gear based on equipment you find and cash you earn.  Armor, weapons, and gear get new coats of polish, and you get a little bit stronger, taking the edge off the aforementioned difficulty.  It’s that Skinner Box approach we all know and love, and this looks like a solid improvement over the already-great original.

When you get back to your store, you’ll find more has changed. The original Moonlighter focused on pricing items and trying to figure out their value based on customer reaction. In the sequel, it seems like items are already priced; it’s in your boosts and charms, along with a few additional actions that determine how much you can bump them up. This includes being able to clean them in a QTE, or using earned boosts or charms to talk a customer into paying more. There are also some interesting perks that come available during your shop hours that adjust these boosts to be even more useful – just make sure you pay attention to what item they'll work best for.

You’ve got a few new friends around the shop to help you, like a pet that gives you a boost occasionally for petting it. The town is vastly expanded, with new NPCs everywhere, but you’ll find several new faces in your shop as well.  We didn’t get a chance to delve into much of their story, but the little box-shaped buddy might just be a way to shuttle goods back from the dungeons mid-run. We’ll have to wait for the full game to find out.

The world of Moonlight 2: The Endless Dungeon is clearly far more than a new coat of paint, and with so much new discover, we’re looking forward to the Summer 2025 release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. You can download a demo now to check it all out on Steam as a part of Steam Next Fest.