Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is one part shopkeeper simulator, one part dungeon-delving roguelike. This clever sequel combines the thrill of clearing out procedurally generated dungeons with the satisfaction of running your own shop, selling off the priceless (or, rather, very well-defined in price) relics you discover during your delves into one admittedly super addictive gameplay loop.
The first half of the equation is pretty straightforward and the most recognizable. You delve into procedurally generated dungeons and fight off enemies with some pretty standard, though no less fun, ARPG combat mechanics defined by the weapon you take with you. There are several weapon types with their own playstyles, and each can be mutated further by the roguelike power-ups you discover throughout the dungeon. I felt these power-ups were a little lacking in my Early Access playthrough, but after trying the game again following the 1.0 launch, I can say they’ve been greatly expanded in scope and are generally a lot more fun to use. I loved combining foam and burning modifications to stack a ticking DOT effect on enemies just before they take damage from a timed explosion.
The real purpose of diving into these dungeons is to collect a series of artifacts and improve their quality. You get them at the end of each combat encounter and play a game of loot Tetris designed both to limit how many items you can take home and to improve the quality of said items. Some items have positional effects, which is what makes this minigame so valuable. For example, “burn” destroys an object, with some objects having special effects when they are burned, while “armor” prevents an object from being destroyed. So you can take an object that improves the quality of your entire backpack when it is burned, put armor on it, and get the effect twice or more by avoiding the destructive effect.
When I first played Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault in Early Access, I thought the game was fun but leaned too far into the ARPG roguelike elements at the expense of the shopkeeping. After trying the game again, I can say that’s no longer the case.
It isn’t just that the money earned from your shop is your primary means of progression; the game has also been updated so that the shop is much more heavily featured in the gameplay. Certain calendar days improve sales. Selling items for less than their maximum worth can lead to tips, and there is now even a roguelike power-up system that plays into the day-to-day selling. Running a successful shop feels much more rewarding and, in turn, more fun, to the point where I was actually having more fun selling items than collecting them.
Something I especially enjoy is the way Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault handles its quality and pricing systems.
When you adventure out into the game’s dungeons, you will often have the chance to improve an item’s quality, usually through the game’s loot Tetris system, which I covered earlier in this review. Once you bring these items back to your store, it’s up to you to discover what people will pay for them by pricing them at your best estimate. Try selling a new item for $100 and see if the locals think that price is fair, undervalued, or downright greedy. This alone is a fun system that a lot of merchant games don’t emulate.
Now, all items have a base price that customers value, but the quality of that item multiplies this price automatically. This means you don’t have to price an item based on its quality. If an item has a base price of $610 and a quality of 21, it will get a 200% price multiplier, and customers will pay $1,830 for it instead. This rewards you for going deeper and taking risks in dungeons by giving you more money for the items you sell without making you do more work to sell them. If a customer would have paid the base price for an item, they’ll automatically pay the multiplied price for a higher-quality version.
Heading back into Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, I can say that things have changed and improvements have been made. I can also say that I appreciated elements of the game more this time around than the first time. Maybe the improvements made the older features more fun, or maybe my tastes have changed a bit, but I definitely think Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is a fantastic roguelike, and one that I’m going to be playing a lot more in my free time.
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is priced at $30, a price I’d say is pretty generous for how much the game has to offer. If it has caught your interest, I highly suggest checking it out. I only wish the game had a spin-off set in a fantasy setting. I’m a sucker for fantasy, and the plot of Moonlighter 2’s protagonist is essentially that of my last two D&D characters.
The Final Word
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault has come a long way from its original Early Access state, and I found myself appreciating it a lot more thanks to the various improvements and added features. A fantastic mix of roguelike combat and shop management, the game creates an incredibly engaging gameplay loop of procuring and then selling rare items, and even manages to gamify running a shop in an unexpected way. Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is a fantastic roguelike at a very fair price, and I highly suggest checking it out.
Try Hard Guides was provided with a Steam code for this PC review of Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is available on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.
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