Moondrop

This game is ... odd. It's a farming game with metaprogression, and your farms, at least initially, only last something like 10 days; it describes itself as roguelite, which isn't quite right, but isn't quite wrong, either - it sits uneasily between multiple genres, and succeeds at being its own thing. There aren't villagers / NPCs, at least as of the current state of development, which I think will matter somewhat to the typical player of farming simulations - but everything works as it is. It is a solid game with an interesting loop. I'm recommending it, but with a caveat, because this game is more oriented for people who want a roguelike experience rather than people who want a farming simulator experience. The following paragraph is no longer accurate, as the developer has updated the game to incorporate player feedback - I leave it in here in part to illustrate that the developer is continuing to develop this game. There is a now a mid-run savegame feature, which was very ti...

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a farming simulator and mash it up with a roguelike? Well, look no further because that (at the most basic level) is Moondrop. While the game initially manifests as a typical progression through the upgrade tree enabling faster/better farming and debris removal (watering can upgrades, axe upgrades, etc.) it quickly reveals a meta-progression around the building up of a small mountain town. In addition to this there are side quests and goals that are able to be taken on during a given farming 'run' if you will. Treasure hunts, fishing, etc. It offers a surprising amount of variety and depth, which is fitting because even the core farming gameplay has an interesting wrinkle based on adjacency bonuses for various types of plants and seeds. I haven't messed around too much with alchemy yet, but I'm starting to see how I can continue to enhance my runs by starting to dig more into that system. Overall, I'm happy to recommend Moondro...

It's an interesting little game, but feels like it could've been better. The exploration aspect is interesting. However, the gameplay feels really primitive. No zoom, very low pixel graphics, and the controls just feel clunky. The help is really underdeveloped: just a couple pages of text. It could still be appealing, but I've also run into several bugs: - Items started vanishing from my inventory. No clue why. - If you leave a potion ingredient in the cauldron, it sometimes vanishes. - Getting seeds from a chest puts them in your item inventory, but they need to go into the seed inventory. There's a workaround of dropping them and picking them back up, but this shouldn't be necessary. I'd also criticize that walking into an explosion too soon after it's done seems to hurt the character. Maybe that's deliberate, but it feels like as soon as objects are destroyed it should be safe to enter. For a game that's heavily about gathering, having things vanish is just frustrating.

I wanted to like it, I really did, but it is kind of boring. The big kicker was that after mistfall you loose all of your inventory. I can understand loosing everything at the farm, but there is no reason why I should loose what I am carrying too (since according to the game you leave before the mistfall hits).

So, a roguelite lite farming sim? Feels like a weird genre combo, yet it works surprisingly well. With only ten days to go, your crops don't take time to grow but are influenced by what other plants you put around them. These growth factors change game to game. Add some special abilities, tools, and use a random draw for what seeds you get and you've got the best and most interesting puzzle the game has. Something that is quick to learn but provides enough challenge that even when you've figured out some keys to success, each run can be a new challenge.

It's a cross between Stardew Valley and a roguelike. The game has a charming retro feel with simple graphics. It's a little rough around the edges - some mechanics are hard to figure out, and some things feel a little clunky, but it's an experimental new game from a new indie developer and it's worth supporting. I enjoyed playing!

A charming roguelike farm sim. Build up your farm by planting crops intelligently; find new seeds; rebuild your village; and try to stave off the mist for as long as possible.

Well balanced and challenging with good replay value. Took a second to get used to the new seed-growth mechanic, but discovering new ways to manage progression was really rewarding. A bit addictive in regards to unlocking everything.

A few bugs, not bad though. Nice little 5 hours of gameplay before my first crash. I can't complain =)

The roguelike strikes again! Put some game mechanics in a blender and throw it at the wall... I think this one sticks! Moondrop is sort of two games in one: the first is the farming, collecting, and crafting progression, and the second is a scramble to clear obstacles, grab items, and solve puzzles in a procedurally-generated maze. Each gives the player tools to succeed in the other. The roguelite progression system worked well for me at meeting me in the middle of my learning curve, with a win on my sixth run. I played the Early Access 1.41 build, breaking my "no Early Access games" policy because I like the podcast! Glad I did, and I intend to come back and play the finished game. As it stands, it's unique, interesting, and lots of fun, though of course it isn't in a fully-polished state yet. I shy away from farm sim games usually to protect my time from getting sucked away by a slow-paced game with lots of filler... Moondrop is NOT that. Everything is on a clock, and while the far...