Moonlight Peaks

Cozy Enshittification Slop that is being carried exclusively by a trendy gimmick. I gave it my best shot and kept as open of a mind as possible, even when faced with horrible writing, terrible personalities, and a generally empty feel all around. If I could get my money and my time back I would. So many questionable choices and I struggle between it just "not being for me" and it literally just being an in the face cash grab.

Really enjoyable game. Feels different enough from other farming sims. Art is beautiful, story is good. I have only two major critiques (and they are major): 1. the dates are sooooo repetitive and disappointing, they really need to overhaul dating. 2. going on dates pushes back the storyline/main quests significantly 3. character assets like hair are shared with npcs so you end up looking exactly like an NPC with most choices and it costs over $1k in game to change it otherwise, great game but i really hope they fix dating and add more unique character assets

Update: I'm leaving the "Not Recommended" recommendation and below review for now, but I do want to state that the developer quickly patched the wine and other items selling prices back to normal after the public outcry and disappointment from their previous change. I will edit this review further if the below other issues are fixed. This game has potential which is why I DO have 76 hours already invested in it. It would just be nice if it felt like a fully fleshed out game rather than something early access. Original Review: I enjoy writing reviews for games, so naturally I've told myself for the past 76 hours of playtime to write something. But I couldn't bring myself to do it because even though I was enjoying the cozy aspect, there were still too many flaws to honestly recommend other players to spend real-life money to buy it and play. So I kept playing, hoping it would eventually redeem itself, and then I'd type something of a pros and cons list out. Then yesterday's update happened and it was the final 'nail in the coffin' in my deciding factor of the game. Moonlight Peaks is a $35 full release game. Not Beta, not Early Access, Full Release. However the game feels like a one-layered pretty shell and with the amount of updates it's taking to fix it proves it wasn't ready for full release despite the fact that it's already been out for almost two months. Additionally, the developers decided yesterday in an update to completely change the economy of this "full release" game with the excuse of "rebalancing it" by nerfing the only products (examples being wine, honey, etc.) worth producing because they actually made money. No one asked for this. Many people, myself included, had created designated areas of our farm for wine production as passive income because I don't enjoy grinding for money and purely play these "cozy" games for the story, characters, and decorating (which are also unfortunately flawed, as well, which we'll get to later). But now, with the ridiculous shop prices of items, tools, and materials ($16,000 + materials for each final tool upgrade, $25,000 for only the second house upgrade, for example) it's going to take forever to make money and enjoy the aspects that people are actually playing for. But unfortunately, we're now in a society where a development team can release a game that people pay real money for, then decide two months later to completely change that game. I honestly wish I could request a refund now out of spite because I've lost trust in the developers and this is a horrible practice anyway. But, all of the above aside, I will now list the pros and cons. Also the TL;DR version of the below: Full Release game should not be considered full release because it's not fleshed out, has too many issues/clicks to access content, and just isn't up-to-par compared to other similar games. Pros - the game is cute and cozy and the art is enjoyable/pleasing to look at - the characters, though one-layered, are diverse and feel like a community - the story concept is unique and enjoyable - though waaayyyyy too drawn out with too much time in between each story event - the soul blobs are fun to catch and the little blurbs often throwback to other games - the vampsters (while incredibly ANNOYING having to slowly walk back to the cave one-by-one) are fun to find - I like that we have the ability to decorate our house, farm, and parts of the town Cons - everything is too expensive with it being too difficult to make money, especially now with the wine nerf. I hate farming, that's not why I buy these games, so I have zero intention of grinding other crops especially when it takes forever with so little payoff - taking care of animals is incredibly tedious. I have 9 animals and barely interact with them anymore since almost all are at full hearts because there's too many clicks to talk, pet, collect milk, collect wool, etc. - tool upgrades do nothing. I understand it's supposed to take less stamina, but why is it simply not like every other game where an upgrade takes less hits. A silver axe (3rd upgrade) for example, still takes 8 hits to chop a tree down as it's original base level tool-form. Again, too. many. clicks. - lack of item descriptions. the developers have mentioned before that details are in the journal but not everything is there including not everything has sell price listed and items rarely give a description what they do. For example, I saw there was a firefly sanctuary but it didn't tell what it was for, then it still didn't tell what it was for after you made it. Plus I don't want to have to go to the journal every time. Too many clicks. Most games of this type simply allow you to hover over the item to give a detailed description. - too much time between each story quest. For example, you have to wait 7 FULL in-game days just to vote in a certain election only for the election to not really progress anything. I'm on spring year 2 and it still feels like a slow slog through events even though I'm at 4 - 6+ hearts with most characters - dates - please for the love of everything change up the date events. I've just started telling them no when one shows up to date because it's the same thing every time. The marshmallow one is especially horrible because it takes forever to get the marshmallow just right or else the date is considered bad. - character dialogue - I guess I was spoiled by Fields of Mistria giving multiple dialogues multiple times a day, but this game literally only lets you talk to each person once per day and then they don't say anything else, plus it's usually just a random one sentence. - sometimes cutscenes show up as sparkles on the map, sometimes they don't. when they do show up, I often have to avoid triggering one if I'm going somewhere because if the cutscene takes place on the opposite side of the map it will plop you down over there rather than finishing with you being where you're still at, so then it takes valuable in-game time to walk all the way back to where you were originally going. Ultimately, with all of the issues that are still taking bug fixes and the fact that the cons list contains things that are clearly not fleshed out, this game should not be a full release game.

I loved this game before it got repetitive and overall boring up until I got to the point of the game where I wanted to (and even then it gets old fast). To start with the pros: I loved how creative it is. I miss seeing monster related stuff, I love the purple atmosphere, I love the diversity and how hot Alina is, I like the forms in the game, I love how customizable it is from the character to the farm and home, and I just love the overall aesthetic and vibe! Now cons: The pacing is the BIGGEST problem with the game, its exhaustingly slow, I often felt myself just farming then heading back home to sleep on a loop. It should be easier to make a bunch of money, as well as some good sprinklers rather than to waste magic like crazy and only have one magic star the next day (again probably a pacing issue because I have yet to even earn a fourth star and I have a big farm). I usually felt unsatisfied during festivals, at times finding myself bored of talking to everyone twice, shopping, then heading back home. There was nothing to do in summer which leaves the game looking unfinished (devs please do smth about this!). I also wish there was a better conflict in the game such as people actually getting upset when you dated others or even monsters in the mines to fight (like Stardew) or actually making it entertaining rather than having your head wrapped around the "ooh vampires! werewolves! mermaids!"; Although i do understand wanting to keep the cozy game charm it makes the game seem unpolished and the townies prompts for the main character's no consequence life. for a cozy game, however, it achieved what it was aiming for: to make the player sleepy. I felt tired of romancing majority of the town and trying to grind in the game as well, I desperately wish that going on dates didn't push back the pacing because GOD, I was bored. I don't understand the age range for this game because at points it seems more childish than others, the "Snek" and "Cheeken" made me cringe, and the portraits (no shade to the artist I LOVED how they made the women) are so unappealing for the men in the game that I had to switch it to portrait 2 only to debate if it was ai or not. though I hadn't married anyone yet (due to me wanting to marry the mermaid I've had my eye on since before I even bought the game), it takes soo long to get to the mermaid island. I felt bored after a while and looking up the guide on how to get to the island for the twentieth time. overall, the ad made it seem more interesting than it is, this game is not 35 USD for. Maybe 25 but even then that's pushing it. I do think that I couple of months from now, after all the updates and criticisms the game has been given, it has potential to be what it wants to be. However, as of now, this game is just so boring after spring. Lastly, this game made me crave for a cozy game where we don't have to farm and maybe instead we could open an ice cream shop or something.

I have to go with an overall no for this game I really wanted to love it, the theme is right up my alley spooky and farming. My issue is with the questing and overall gameplay, unlike other games where you can endlessly do things at your own pace this game stops you and locks everything behind quests and on top of that the stamina in this game is god awful I am sorry. I love the characters I love the theme but the gameplay is what is stopping me when all I have to do everyday is get wood and iron because I haven't gotten the quest to get a form to unlock the next level even though all my tools are at iron and I'm stuck with them... till I get a quest.. on the 2nd year... in summer... there just doesn't feel like there is anything to do other than wait for a quest. And this game is not worth $30 when stardew and fields of mistria is $15

Let me start by saying this game has potential to be something good, the occult premise is fun and the graphics are kinda cool. It however is FAR from there currently. The main story line is so shallow and honestly you can go in game weeks of doing nothing but land maintenance and running around trying to find things to dig up, the characters in town are one note things, that even giving gifts to seems like a time sink and other than maxing hearts with them there is no real interest at all in engaging them at all. Random pointless cutscenes, that honestly you hit the dialogue advancer as fast as you can to make them end. The annual yearly events seemed promising until you actually do them, they are pointless, the rewards are not worth the time. And there is no incentive to do or accomplish anything in the game. For a farming sim, farming is the least exciting part of the game (other than the brutal slog that it is fishing). I would actually say this is a dating sim disguised as a farming/building sim and even that is not well done, you can marry someone but you cannot live with them??? The game seems rushed and to me like it is still in early access. If you do want to try it please wait for a STEAM sale. The one promising thing that could turn this game around for the better of the community is the devs are super responsive to feedback and are working to make the game better.

Moonlight Peaks is such an amazing cozy farm simulator for anyone who wants it in a world of magic and the supernatural! The whole game has a sprinkle of cozy-goth aesthetic that is absolutely adorable! The storyline is well thought out and easy to get invested in, and it's plethora of NPCs in town keeps you engaged in the story! The romance options are adorable, sweet, diverse, and inclusive! (No poly marriage however.) The mechanics are easy to learn! My only complaint is in regards to decorating: I was so inspired when I saw the NPC's beautifully decorated homes but then was quickly disappointed when I found I could not place anything diagonally, some things cannot be stacked, or place close to other items without there being an awkward gap. I also wish there were a lot more color options, and decoration packs. HOWEVER - the devs are still highly involved in updating the game, and are listening to the players with updates, and hints of DLCs! I do hope they advance the decorating of this game, and this game would be 100% my favorite cozy farm simulator game!

Neat ideas. Lots of let downs. The game offers a fun supernatural twist on the genre, but whenever I found something good about it, it let me down. The game starts slow, though you eventually gain a bit more movement speed. You have woodcutting, mining, farming- the usual line up. The in game camera is way too close imo, but there are mods to help with that. The town has a wide variety of quirky characters, though the majority of men are very rough around the edges, good for "I can fix him" people. And the majority of the women are nice and friendly, not much spice. I honestly wanted to quit with how annoying or frustrating some of the town could be, but I powered through. The games progression is very slow. Not from a lack of input, but you'll constantly need to wait in game months to progress the story, and if you're too active with building relationships with the town, it will delay the story and your ability unlocks even more. I got to the point in the game where you can get married, and it doesn't really change anything. The town didn't have much to say (most of them don't even turn up to the wedding) and your spouse also has little to say or do. Not helped by final Episode in the arc getting cut short in what I can only describe as a barn related cockblock. I think I'm far from finished with the games story, but with numerous letdowns, I'm not eager to wake up, water the crops, and go right back to sleep for the next few months hoping to unlock more cutscenes. Should be worth a revisit with more updates and bugfixes, but the games £30 price tag makes it a ROUGH recommendation, considering the alternatives.