From the second I sit all the way down to take Moonlight Peaks for a spin, I’m enchanted by its dedication to the supernatural. As an alternative of a boring previous mattress, I rise out of a coffin late within the night – I’m a vampire, in any case. I’m instantly greeted by a three-eyed speaking cat. After I go away my house, there’s a white-haired witch ready exterior, ushering me forth right into a twilight-lit world.
It isn’t laborious to see why Moonlight Peaks attracts comparisons to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. It takes the traditional cozy administration sport and attire it in a Halloween costume, throwing a few distinctive mechanics into the cauldron for good measure. In my 30-minute demo, I dived into the magic and customization options that hope to separate it from the acquainted farming fare.
The titular Moonlight Peaks is a city stuffed with supernatural creatures, together with witches, werewolves, and vampires. You, Dracula’s baby, have moved in to show to your father that the undead will be extra compassionate than he thinks. Whereas residing in Moonlight Peaks, you take part on the town actions, help your self with farming and crafts, and acquire new skills as you progress by means of the overarching story.
Fiona, a witch who capabilities because the mayor in my demo, instructs me to examine my mailbox for a quest. Very first thing on the checklist? Collect wooden, stone, and fiber. It’s acquainted, however one thing regular compared to the sport’s extra experimental options. The software wheel is straightforward to make use of and the quests are straightforward to view, so it’s not lengthy earlier than I’ve accrued the related sources to finish my first quest.
Whereas I hack away on the pure panorama, I’m additionally given a second to admire glowing inexperienced mushrooms, floating sprites that I promptly seize with my internet, and wandering animals like my feline companion and a one-eyed cow. I additionally discover small notes within the grass, which educate me extra in regards to the city’s historical past (based by three main households; the same old fantasy lore).
Farming works equally to Stardew Valley, the place you plant crops in tilled filth throughout particular seasons and watch them develop after a set period of time. Nevertheless, as a result of you will have magic, you may speed up their progress or improve them in numerous methods – one thing you may’t do in a extra lifelike setting.
The magic isn’t only a gimmick. Moonlight Peaks leans into its spooky identification with distinctive mechanics like potion-making and vampiric skills. Turning right into a bat means that you can zoom previous obstacles as a substitute of slowly lumbering round, as an illustration, and you may brew potions with supplies you discover scattered round. As an alternative of simply ready for a timer to tick down, although, you may furiously mash buttons as a substitute – a welcome, time-saving change.
However in fact, with any sport like Animal Crossing, customization is among the largest attracts. Terraforming, one thing you are able to do in Nintendo’s sport to shift land into ramps and different landforms, isn’t current in Moonlight Peaks, but there are nonetheless plenty of choices. Bushes, vegetation, arches, fences, lampposts, flowers, and extra stand out in my stock. You may also use premade templates to vary the surface look of your property, and vogue your personal catalogue of themed furnishings. Only a fast take a look at the Steam web page provides you an eyeful of the sport’s vibrant gardens and witchy decor.
Contemplating Moonlight Peaks remains to be early in growth, I didn’t have plenty of time to work together with the sport’s supporting forged. That stated, Moonlight Peaks clearly means to transcend the standard villager relationship that you just expertise in Animal Crossing – sure, which means you may date folks. I didn’t get to expertise what that appears like, however including in-depth relationships on prime of an already strong farming and customization system may very well be a game-changer for Moonlight Peaks (hopefully it’s extra in-depth than the surface-level dates we bought in Fae Farm).
Moonlight Peaks is value enjoying for farming sport followers who need somewhat sugar, spice, and all the pieces good. It places a significant spin on the usual farming system and visual effort into worldbuilding, however I’m not absolutely bought till it exhibits me somewhat extra character growth. I think we’ll see this one develop and enhance forward of its launch in 2026.
