Preview: Moonlighter 2 Enters Early Access
- Antal Bokor
- Nov 17, 2025
- 4 min read
I can’t believe it’s been seven years since the release of Moonligher, but here we are, right on the cusp of Moonligher 2’s Early Access release. There have been a few games that have used a Moonligher-ish game loop, with Dredge and Dave the Diver being the first to come to mind. But questing in a fantasy world and bringing back loot to sell has been a dream of mine since I first heard of MMOs with player-run economies–back when I couldn't find the time to undertake such an endeavor.
And while the first Moonlighter looked like it would be my perfect game in theory, it never really hooked me. But Moonlighter 2 might finally be the game I’ve been dreaming about for all of these years.
Moonlighter 2 is a an action roleplaying game with roguelike elements, a shopkeeping system, and a world bubbling over with charm.
Moonlighter 2 has made a lot of changes and updates to the formula from the first game. The scope is certainly a lot bigger, with Moonlighter 2 looking to be a more ambitious game than the first in nearly every way.
One of the first noticeable changes is the change to the game’s art style between the first and second. Gone is the gorgeous pixel-art imagery, instead replaced with a charming 3D isometric perspective full of lovingly rendered characters. I can’t say the visual style is an upgrade–I’m a sucker for good pixel art–but it’s definitely bright and charming.
I wish I knew what happened at the end of Moonlighter because by Moonlighter 2 you’re in a new town with a new shop, starting all over again. Apparently there’s a dude named Moloch who took over your previous town, and he seems like a real piece of work, that guy. So he’ll need an ousting.
But to do that you’ll need to go through the old loop of fight, collect loot, and then sell it at your shop. Add to that an ancient artifact called the “Endless Vault” to challenge your mettle as a shopkeeper, and there’s a whole lot of potential progression. I mean, you can’t really call something an “Endless Vault” and not deliver on content.
New everything means new town, a new shop, and a lot of new faces. While combat takes up a huge portion of most roguelike games, talking to townspeople and shopkeeping takes up almost as much time in Moonlighter 2. And if you’re a fan of the shopkeeping mechanics from the first game, they’re improved and expanded for the sequel.
Opening up the shop for customers is its own type of action, as you have to gauge customers’ responses to your prices and make changes–but there’s also bonuses that pop up during the shopping day that can make your customer’s purchases put more money and other goodies into your pocket. Valued customers with specific demands might come in, and if you appease them they can grant you some fun bonuses, too.
I’m not a huge fan of the shopkeeping portion for a few reasons. I don’t usually like to lay heavy criticism on an early access title, but since the shop system as it is seems like an integral part of the developer’s vision for the game I thought I’d chime in about it because it’s mostly a “me” problem.
See, when I had my fantasy shopkeeping video game in my head, I would be selling items that I could also use–not relics that aren’t worth much to me. Instead, I would set prices based on how well that piece of gear performs and sell it to other would-be adventurer types. Alas, that is not the case here. But if you don’t care about that, don’t let that dampen your mood.
Combat in Moonlighter 2 is more robust than its predecessor. I sunk a few hours into Moonlighter 2 just unlocking the four weapon types and testing them out. Each weapon type has its own strengths, weaknesses, special attacks and quirks with enough variety there should be a weapon type for everyone to enjoy. Enemies are also challenging and diverse, with an appropriate array of ranged and melee enemies to keep you on your toes.
There are three biomes available for Early Access launch but I only found my way into two of them, and what I’ve seen I really like. Each biome has a new set of enemies, bosses, and each even sports a unique way to travel between “rooms” as you choose your branching path through Moonlighter 2’s randomly generated dungeons.
Since Moonligher 2 is releasing into Early Access, that means it’s not a finished game. Even though it’s launching in a very polished state, Moonlighter 2 will spend a leisurely jaunt in Early Access as developer Digital Sun makes it the best game it can be. According to the Early Access section on its Steam store page, the developer has no end date in mind for Moonlighter 2’s Early Access period. And hopefully that means better game when it hits 1.0.
Moonlighter 2 is definitely an ambitious follow-up to the original 2018 game. And it has high bar to pass, because its gameplay loop involves so many parts that if even one of them doesn’t feel fun it might sour the whole experience. I have high expectations for Moonlighter 2’s progress based on its weighty Early Access release, and I can’t wait to see developer Digital Sun pull it off.
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