Moon Hunters - Whole mythologies hidden at your fingertips

I do not know about you but I actually like pixel style games...when they are well made in both visual and mechanical aspect. An example immediately comes to my mind - Duelyst or Serpent in the Staglands which simply did not came out at the right time in my opinion. Anyway I'm diverging as always. Today I am here to tell you more about another pixely game - Moon Hunters. The creation of Kitfox Games is an adventure game for 1-4 players in which you must find out what happened to your Moon goddess. The creators of the game describe is as "personality test RPG.". But one by one...

There is not much to tell you story wise - the annual Moon festival is at hand, but the Moon does not appear in the sky. The Goddess is gone! You are given the task to find Her. From here on the story is yours to create with your actions, decisions and interactions. But be careful you have only five days to accomplish your task.

The world of Moon Hunters is procedurally generated and you will find something new every time. From towering mountains to endless oceans you will find new landmarks and meet new characters which will enrich your mythos. There is battle system in Moon Hunters and while you will have to master it if your want to find everything about the rich world of the game, Moon Hunters is a lot more about exploration and discovery than about fighting. With finding more and more and meeting more and more you will grow your characters and little by little build his/her legend.

Moon hunters is one of the few game that I have seen which claim that every decision matters and its really true. Also your previous actions will build your characters and based on these previous decisions he will react differently. For example an agressive character may try to kill someone who has lied or stolen from him while more charismatic may try to learn secrets, other associates etc. It all depends on you and what kind of story you want to build.

With your progression through the game you will unlock skills and even new characters with their own skills, statistics, character and playstyles. The short time each playthrough takes helps a lot to keep you interested and to make you come back again and again.

At first glance the game might look simple and with not much to offer but there is definitely a lot to discover and experiment with. It all depends on the myth you want to tell.


Where to find it:

Official site

Steam

Enter the Gungeon - It's time to kill some Past!

There are two very niche and very merciless genres of games - Roguelike and Bullethells. But because now a day is modern for a game to be extra hard and kills you for nothing Dodgeroll have decided to mix those two together and create the Gungeon - a dungeon where you will look for the gun which can kill the past. Why? You regret part of your past and want it...dead!

In the Gungeon you will have a choice between few different characters who share the same goal, but start with different equipment (mainly guns, but also armour, faithful corgi and more). Once you choose your character you are ready to start the search for The Gun.

But your way to the famous gun will not be easy. The Gungeon is ridden with traps and the merciless Gundead roam its halls. The cute but nasty residents of the dungeon will shower you with bullets and will not forgive you any mistakes. Your only chance is to shoot faster than them and be quick on your feet. If this is not enough there will always be ready to take your money merchants which will offer you better guns or other useful items not to mention locked chests always with something to help you inside.

And when you manage to pass all the Gundead, avoid the traps and chasms and reach the end of the floor, you will have to face a Boss who will do all in his power to stop you from advancing any further.

Difficulty - check!

As I said this is a mix between Roguelike and something else and as such in it everything is procedurally generated. Levels, rooms, bosses, chests, items in chests, items in shops everything. I tend to be someone who likes procedural generation, but here it has one big flaw - often you will not find a good weapon and the boss will tear you apart. But then again this is another part of the Roguelike side of the game, I am mentioning it to have it in mind as its rather impactful on the game.

Procedurally generated levels - check!

So far we have agreed that its hard, it has procedurally generated levels and it’s a dungeon crawl then we have proved it is a Roguelike(or Roguelite as some prefer for good reasons). But how does this go with the Bullethell? Really well actually, after all what more evil than a bit unfair game which is raining bullets on you like there is no tomorrow.

A lot of bullets, enemies, power ups - check!

Now that I have proven my statement about the mix of genres that this game is, let’s talk about the gameplay.

If we put the story aside Enter The Gungeon is actually really well made action game. The fact that you use different kinds of range weapons make it a lot more dynamic it is also not turn based as many other Roguelikes. Fast paced, action packed high class gunslinging. With active dodge and a lot of table flipping for cover. Great shooting action!

The graphics are pixel style but unlike many others are actually really good and I think that they improve the game more than harming it. Talking about the graphics, the game has certain kind of cutesy vibe around it but this together with the pixels should not put you away, because Enter the Gungeon is really well made and those two together give it unique character.

From what you read the game might remind you of Nuclear Throne but there are few differences, mainly The Gungeon is more dungeon crawl than action game, unlike NT. NT has more characters with more impactful abilities, but Gungeon has more guns including even one shooting bees. Yes...      

Personally I find The Gungeon more to my taste as it is not so stressful but still challenging and fun. If you are hardcore NT veteran you might find The Gungeon a bit slow in the beginning.

Where to find it:

 Steam

 GoG

 Humble Store