Moonlighter

Every run in Moonlighter begins not at a character select screen but behind a shop counter. Digital Sun built the game around a hard split between two phases: Will ventures into procedurally generated dungeons to collect loot, then returns to Rynoka village to sell it. The tension between those two halves is what the entire experience rests on.

The dungeon side plays as a top-down action RPG with rogue-lite elements. Will fights through rooms of enemies using melee and ranged weapons, each requiring different timing and positioning to use well. Bosses gate progress between dungeon tiers, and the inventory system adds a strategic layer — space is limited, items have placement rules, and cursed loot punishes careless packing. Dying sends Will back to town with whatever he managed to carry out.

Equally mechanical is the shop side. Will sets prices manually, and customer reactions — interest, hesitation, walking out — teach the market rate for each item over time. Revenue funds upgrades to the shop itself, the surrounding village businesses, and new crafting and enchanting options unlocked through villager relationships. Armor and weapons are built from dungeon materials, so the two halves feed each other continuously.

• Procedurally arranged dungeons across multiple themed worlds, each with distinct enemy behaviors and loot pools
• Manual price-setting with a customer-reaction feedback system that reveals item values organically
• Inventory management with item placement rules and curse penalties
• Crafting and enchanting system tied to villager-run shops in Rynoka
• New Game+ mode with additional challenge layers
• Companions that can accompany Will into the dungeons

Moonlighter released on May 29, 2018. Digital Sun continued expanding it well past launch, adding quality-of-life improvements, balance changes, new mini-bosses, over a hundred new room layouts, Companions, deeper lore, and the New Game+ mode in successive updates. By the time the game reached its current state, the content base had grown considerably beyond the original release. In November 2025, Digital Sun launched Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault into Early Access, a fully 3D sequel that the studio described as reimagining the shopkeeping action-RPG formula.

Players who like systems that talk to each other will get the most out of it. Someone who enjoys optimizing a supply chain will find the shop loop as satisfying as the combat, and neither half works well if the other is ignored.