From the second I sit right down to take Moonlight Peaks for a spin, I’m enchanted by its dedication to the supernatural. As an alternative of a boring outdated mattress, I rise out of a coffin late within the night – I’m a vampire, in spite of everything. I’m instantly greeted by a three-eyed speaking cat. After I go away my dwelling, 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 management game and clothes 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 youngster, have moved in to show to your father that the undead could be extra compassionate than he thinks. Whereas dwelling in Moonlight Peaks, you take part on the town actions, assist your self with farming and crafts, and achieve new skills as you progress by the overarching story.
Fiona, a witch who features 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 device wheel is straightforward to make use of and the quests are simple 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 train me extra concerning 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 dust throughout particular seasons and watch them develop after a set period of time. Nevertheless, as a result of you may have magic, you’ll be able to speed up their progress or improve them in varied methods – one thing you’ll be able to’t do in a extra practical 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 permits you to zoom previous obstacles as a substitute of slowly lumbering round, as an example, 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’ll be able to furiously mash buttons as a substitute – a welcome, time-saving change.
However after all, with any game like Animal Crossing, customization is likely one of the greatest attracts. Terraforming, one thing you are able to do in Nintendo’s recreation to shift land into ramps and different landforms, isn’t current in Moonlight Peaks, but there are nonetheless plenty of choices. Bushes, crops, arches, fences, lampposts, flowers, and extra stand out in my stock. You may also use premade templates to vary the skin look of your own home, and style your individual catalogue of themed furnishings. Only a fast have 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 improvement, I didn’t have plenty of time to work together with the sport’s supporting forged. That mentioned, Moonlight Peaks clearly means to transcend the everyday villager relationship that you simply expertise in Animal Crossing – sure, meaning you’ll be able to date folks. I didn’t get to expertise what that appears like, however including in-depth relationships on high of an already stable farming and customization system might be a game-changer for Moonlight Peaks (hopefully it’s extra in-depth than the surface-level dates we acquired in Fae Farm).
Moonlight Peaks is value taking part in for farming game followers who need a little bit sugar, spice, and every thing good. It places a significant spin on the usual farming formulation and visual effort into worldbuilding, however I’m not absolutely offered till it exhibits me a little bit extra character improvement. I believe we’ll see this one develop and enhance forward of its launch in 2026.
