#loveindies Day 2: Moon Hunters (Kitfox Games)

By Rae

Montreal-based developer Kitfox Games specifically prides itself on world creation – and after playing Moon Hunters, I can completely understand why.

My first run-in with Kitfox Games was through an appointmentto check out Boyfriend Dungeon at PAX West. It was ridiculous, cute, and fun,and I knew by the end of the demo that I would be backing it on Kickstarter.One of those kickstarter perks was getting codes for several other Kitfoxgames, which honestly sat in my library for a bit alongside many other things.When I was making my schedule for #loveindies, I absolutely knew I wanted tofinally try one, and the description of “co-op personality test rpg” sold me onMoon Hunters right away.

First thing’s first – I call things “lovely” a lot, but MoonHunters set a whole new bar. The pixelated gameplay screens were nostalgic andcolourful, while the art was absolutely stunning – it was like looking at aninteractive painting. The opening and ending scenes were beautiful and moving. Thesoundtrack (which you can purchase for $9.99 on Steam) is one of the best I’veheard lately. Aesthetically, it’s an amazing experience. But of course there’smore to games than their outer layer – thankfully, Moon Hunters was just asenjoyable to play as it was to look at and listen to.

Since great, quirky co-op games can be hard to come by, Iwas really excited to get my friend Shyce in on the gameplay with me. Notknowing what to expect, we chose our characters and hometowns, and loaded intothe middle of a small forest, where we soon realized nearly everything wantedto kill us. As we moved on, camped, and moved into the real story – thedeclarations of war from the Sun Cult, the moon that wouldn’t rise, and thetales of other travelers along the way – the game evaluated our every decision.Players have five days to spend however they choose – there are variousexplorable areas, with new NPCs and places to find. By the end of the firstnight, we’d learned I was greedy (I just didn’t want to let drops go to waste!I swear!) and Shyce was brave. Everything we did added up into a fuller pictureof our in-game personalities, letting us make new decisions along the way. Bythe end, our choices were written into beautiful histories – they were how wewere remembered.

There are some skill-checks, but they’re not too bad. Youmight need more bravery to enter a doorway, or more foolishness to destroy ashrine, but in our playthroughs we were often able to increase those attributessoon enough. The gameplay for our first two characters was really smooth and understandable.We both struggled with our second choices (the sun cultist and the songweaver),but I’m pretty sure it was less of a game issue and more of an us issue (ouch –that hurt to say) – each character has a vastly different play style, withvarying degrees of difficulty.

I loved the co-op aspect – it was completely unlike other gamesI’ve played, and I loved having a friend along. It was especially interestingto see how differently we wanted to approach some situations – the co-op aspectof Moon Hunters isn’t about pvp or just barreling through the game more easily.It’s about defining who you are. Because we sometimes had different opinions onhow to proceed, we soon realized that if we didn’t agree, the game would choosean option for us – it wasn’t necessary to pick the same side. We were each freeto define ourselves as we wanted.

I also loved the cumulative aspect of the game. By unlockingnew choices and maps, no playthrough feels wasted – you have a ripple effect onyour world that keeps carrying through. Since the game lasts only five in-gamedays, I worried that it might feel rushed, or there would be pressure to do toomuch too fast. Instead, we could think about what we wanted to do in our nextlives, while fully enjoying the one we were on.

Moon Hunters is definitely a great experience, and has a lot of replay value. Each playthrough is fairly short – once you know what you’re doing, they’re probably only around an hour – so it’s easy to do a bit at a time. We're already planning to go back and play more, to see what other secrets this amazing game hides!

Kitfox Games, of course, has a game library with other interesting themes as well, including The Shrouded Isle (a Lovecraftian management sim) and Shattered Planet (a strategy rogue-like), but what I’m most excited about this year is their aforementioned upcoming release, Boyfriend Dungeon. If descriptions like “romance your swords” and “regen health with bubble tea” seem up your ally, check out my PAX West spotlight article, and my interview with Kitfox Games!