The Endless Vault Review – WGB

As a lot as I loved the unique Moonlighter, at no level after ending it did I discover myself wishing for a sequel. And but right here we’re with Moonlighter 2: The Limitless Vault, over eight years after the unique sport got here out. And to my shock, Moonlighter 2 does handle to justify itself, even when it additionally overcomplicates issues typically.

REVIEW AT A GLANCE

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Developer Digital Solar

Writer 11 bit Studios

Reviewed On PS5

Out there On PC, PS5, Xbox Sequence X/S, Change 2

Launch Date 2 September, 2026

Worth (UK) £24.99

Style Motion RPG/ Roguelite/Store Sim

Assessment Code Supplied by the writer

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Fast Take:

Kill issues and promote the loot through stable roguelite mechanics. it’s an addictive loop, however there’s an annoying grind within the late sport that holds Moonlighter 2 again from being actually sensible.

Shopkeeper Will is again in motion, this time in a unique realm as a result of someplace between video games a bizarre supernatural bloke referred to as Moloch took over Will’s hometown of Rynoka and kicked everybody out. Not that Moonlighter 2 feels particularly inclined to point out you these occasions, fully skipping over how Moloch took energy and all of the questions that spawn from that. Once we final left Rynoka, it was prospering; Will was basically a multimillionaire relic hunter and the city had accepted its place as a brand new energy in a multidimensional universe. Then Moloch apparently strolled in, took all the things and banished the inhabitants. The place was Will whereas this was occurring? Did anybody combat again? Was there a resistance? Did Moloch conquer the city in a night earlier than all people had completed their tea? The sport isn’t . As an alternative, we progressively study Moloch’s plans via a handful of flashbacks, however having skipped what ought to have been the emotionally necessary half, I struggled to present a lot of a shit. Will desires his dwelling again, which is comprehensible, however I hadn’t visited Rynoka in eight years and had already settled into a brand new store in Will’s new dwelling. I used to be fairly blissful to remain the place I used to be and proceed promoting haunted spoons to passing idiots, or regardless of the hell half these relics are.

Moloch’s goal is the Limitless Vault, a floating dice that seems in Tresna, Will’s new hometown. It periodically dishes out rewards if you meet its targets — often incomes more and more ludicrous piles of gold through the artwork of flogging merchandise — with the final word prize being a single want. Within the case of Will and his friends, that want is their ticket to getting their dwelling again. This offers the sport its general construction, however my drawback with the story is the way it desires to anchor itself to what occurred eight years in the past with out correctly addressing it. I can admire the writers not eager to rely too closely on a sport that got here out so way back, however as an alternative of making a clear standalone journey, they tied all the things again to Rynoka after which disregarded the way it fell.

The core loop remains to be the identical, although: enterprise right into a dungeon with the intention to homicide your method via the assorted creatures inhabiting it, then take the loot dwelling and use it to inventory your store. To Will, the time period “kleptomaniac” is a praise. Now, although, there’s a heap of latest programs ladled atop all of it and way more emphasis on roguelite runs the place you energy your self up as you journey, earlier than heading dwelling to purchase everlasting upgrades and promote all the things that wasn’t nailed down. It’d an addictive kind of loop, maintaining me engaged sufficient that I used to be prepared to forgive a severe lull within the tempo towards the later levels of the sport.

Again within the distant days of 2018, you entered a dungeon and ambled alongside a largely linear path to gather your treasures. Moonlighter 2 takes a unique method that emphasises the improved roguelite facet of issues. You select from a small number of 3 places (with two variations every) and journey from node to node, with every cease providing a chest on the finish, or a fight perk or another kind of improve. Do you’re taking a node that may strengthen the present construct and assist in opposition to the ultimate boss, or give attention to cramming dearer tat into your bag? It’s a easy choice, however an efficient one.

At any level, you may decide to peace out and teleport dwelling, maintaining your loot intact. Ought to loss of life efficiently punch your ticket, you continue to hold your relics, however their worth will drop, so not less than it’s not a whole waste.

Fight helps hold all the things shifting at a punchy tempo. Regular assaults, a weapon-specific particular, a gun and a dodge offer you a simple set of instruments, whereas the backpack can be utilized to slap ruptured enemies into partitions or one another. It isn’t tremendously sophisticated, however smacking some poor bastard throughout the room utilizing the identical bag at present stuffed together with his civilisation’s priceless artefacts by no means stopped being entertaining. Plus, there’s a great sense of weight behind your blows.

The 4 weapon varieties have sufficient happening to make experimenting worthwhile. The sword is the reliable all-rounder, whereas the spear leaves heads embedded within the floor which might then be summoned again via something unlucky sufficient to be standing in the way in which. The large broadsword hits like an offended supply van however makes use of a sharpness system that needs to be managed, and the gauntlets commerce particular person affect for a flurry of assaults. The gauntlets had been in all probability my least favorite as a result of the hits by no means felt as satisfying, however every weapon has a number of craftable variants that rearrange how its primary gimmick works. One broadsword may spend sharpness on an infinite particular assault, for instance, whereas a spear variant makes its returning heads dwelling in on enemies as an alternative of demanding cautious positioning.

Throughout a run you’ll additionally accumulate perks constructed round results reminiscent of Ignite, Foam, Thunder, Poison and Risky. A good few can begin to really feel comparable in how they function – and there’s additionally a blacksmith who gives a short lived weapon improve proper after the miniboss on each run – however Moonlighter 2 nails the satisfaction of cobbling collectively a powerful construct. Get the correct results bouncing off one another and the identical boss that battered you beforehand may be fully fucking annihilated. However even and not using a good construct, the fight feels adequate.

Loot is not hoovered immediately from corpses, however taken from chests on the finish of nodes, and your stock has turn into a puzzle of its personal. Most relics have an effect on different slots in your bag in some style, so getting most worth means always shuffling all the things round. In a single world, relics can shock no matter they’re pointing towards, activating helpful results however destroying an merchandise if it will get shocked twice except a battery removes the cost. Elsewhere, dolls soak up matching dolls or crystals of the identical rarity, progressively changing into extra invaluable.

It’s the function I’m most combined on. Discovering a intelligent association that massively improves a relic may be genuinely satisfying, particularly when an initially unremarkable little bit of garbage turns into the star of all the haul. However there are additionally occasions after I merely don’t wish to cease after each chest and rearrange my backpack once more. For a lot of the sport you will get away with tossing issues in with out being overly cautious, though the large gold necessities in a while make participating with the system more and more necessary.

Promoting all the things again on the store has modified too. Within the first sport, it was primarily about discovering the correct worth for every merchandise via trial and error. Now there’s a entire bloody puzzle concerned. Promoting low-cost or on the excellent worth fills a meter that grants perks, probably rewarding you issues like intentionally making a number of poor gross sales earlier than dramatically inflating the worth of one thing costly. Totally different prospects may tolerate larger costs, demand a discount or depart huge ideas, whereas furnishings and specialised show stands present but extra bonuses, as do bizarre adoptable pets which you can plop in a nook. It seems like rather a lot, however in observe it isn’t overly demanding. When you don’t fancy working Will’s store like a one-man Amazon empire, you may ignore a few of the finer particulars and promote issues as if you’re making an attempt to filter your storage. Select to delve into it, although, and squeezing each potential penny from a day may be good enjoyable. It additionally raises an necessary query: who’re all these individuals, and why are they so keen to purchase my interdimensional tat?

Sadly, the relaxed method stops working fairly so nicely because the Vault’s calls for climb. The five hundred,000-gold problem was the place the pacing first started to buckle, and the following demand for one million gold cash exaggerated the issue. By this stage I had already seen each variants of all three areas, unlocked a lot of the weapons I needed and purchased nearly each main improve that me. There have been technically nonetheless smaller issues to chase, however significant progress had stalled whereas the sport requested me to repeat the identical handful of places for an more and more giant quantity. I did what the sport clearly needed and began studying min-max the store. Reasonably than promoting no matter got here dwelling after every outing, I stockpiled two whole runs, used low-cost relics to construct multipliers and held essentially the most invaluable gadgets again till all of the bonuses had been buzzing. One rigorously managed day introduced in round 330,000 gold, so mastering the programs demonstrably works. It additionally made the underlying problem clearer: even after changing into way more environment friendly, I nonetheless wanted a number of journeys via areas I had already exhausted, gathering cash I had little or no motive to spend.

That is the place extra different Vault targets may have helped. Earlier challenges asking for 50,000 gold in a single day, a certain quantity earned via ideas or a batch of upgraded relics would have inspired gamers to know the store progressively whereas breaking apart the procession of cumulative gold targets. As an alternative, Moonlighter 2 lets its new mechanics really feel optionally available for hours after which abruptly begins charging an unofficial tax for ignoring them. Apparently, I’ve reached the stage in life the place I’m asking a sport for barely extra hand-holding. Horrifying.

What carried me via was that punchy tempo. Runs don’t take overly lengthy, the fight stays pleasing and there’s all the time some satisfaction in deciding whether or not to strengthen the present construct or gamble on extra loot. I may soar in, full a run and get again out with out feeling as if I had signed away a whole night. The person runs retained their vitality lengthy after the marketing campaign surrounding them had run out of momentum. It desperately wanted one other correct space. Having two variations of every location does present some selection, however by the point the biggest monetary roadblocks turned up I had already seen what all six variations needed to supply. One other biome, enemy set and pair of bosses would have performed way more to justify the grind than merely discovering new methods to ship me across the current carousel.

Visually, Moonlighter 2 is a handsome sport. The transfer to full 3D brings vibrant environments, chunky animation and loads of visible vitality to fight, though it does lose a few of the distinctive appeal equipped by the unique’s pixel artwork. Technically, I bumped into a few crashes, however frequent saves meant I by no means misplaced something substantial. I additionally often had unexplained fireballs floating round Will regardless of having no perk or tools that appeared accountable. Maybe the years of dealing with cursed antiques have lastly caught up with him.

Moonlighter 2 is an attention-grabbing sequel as a result of at occasions it feels precisely as pointless as I anticipated, shovelling programs onto a splendidly easy idea and stretching its development out. Its story reaches backwards with out doing the work wanted to make Rynoka’s loss matter, whereas the later Vault challenges expose simply how little contemporary materials is ready past the early momentum.

And but, when all the things clicks, it really works. Dungeon runs are punchy, fight feels good, constructing a ridiculous mixture of perks is satisfying and turning a backpack of stolen garbage right into a small fortune nonetheless prompts one thing worryingly primal in my mind. The sequel loses a few of the unique’s simplicity, however its heap of latest programs may be rewarding when you allow them to simmer. I simply want it knew when it had made its level and let me get again to being the pleasant native kleptomaniac with out demanding one other million gold first.