A brand-new trailer for the upcoming sequel to 2018’s indie darling, “Moonlighter” has just dropped with some new information for what fans can look forward to later this year along with an announcement that the title will join Xbox Game Pass on day one. “Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault” brings an array of new challenges to the indie shopkeeping simulator meets action roguelike, along with a brand-new look.
The original Moonlighter followed a young orphan named Will who was a shopkeeper in the village of Rynoka by day. Once the haggling and stocking of shelves were done Will takes to the city’s dungeons by night to loot for new wares. Will is little more than a lowly merchant in Rynoka, but that doesn’t stop him from finding himself on a Hero’s journey as he explores the dungeons and the secrets contained within.
Will’s adventures are clearly far from over, however, as he returns in Moonlighter 2 to continue his dungeon crawling, shopkeeping ways after becoming trapped in another dimension. The far away city of Tresna offers new opportunities for Will to expand his arsenal of weapons and gear, explore new biomes to collect delightful treasures to stock the shelves of his shop, and find a new slate of enemies to slay.
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While players can expect to see recognizable characters like Will, they will notice a significant difference in the art style for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault. The original Moonlighter, also developed by Digital Sun and published by 11 bit studios, was entirely pixel art and played as a top-down adventure. Moonlighter 2 steps into a 3D world after Will’s home dimension is lost, leaving him to be a castaway in this new and exciting land.
Much like in Moonlighter 1, building up the city around your shop is imperative to your own success as a shopkeeper. Players will need to guide will through ever-changing dimensions to uncover mysterious relics, and then charm the people of Tresna while haggling for the best deals. Then, turn around and invest the money earned back into the community by buying new swords, gauntlets, and even an upgrade or two for your trusty broom.
Of course, shopkeeping and economics are only a small portion of Moonlighter. Will’s adventures to the Endless Vault are also vital to Moonlighter 2’s gameplay loop. Digital Sun, the Spanish studio behind the development of Moonlighter, has expanded both shopkeeping and dungeon crawling alike, introducing new perks and upgrades that can be changed with each new run into the vault.
Moonlighter 2 has been in development for five years, with the team having applied feedback from players and lessons learned from the development of the first Moonlighter title to grow the experience of the sequel. “We’ve fully embraced the roguelike possibilities of Moonlighter and can’t wait to see how players engage with these fresh elements,” wrote the development team on a Steam blog post.
Moonlighter 2 is confirmed for Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5 consoles when it releases later this year. Subscribers of Xbox Game Pass will be able to play the game as part of their subscription at no extra cost. The team has yet to announce a specific release date for Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault.
