What would you get when you put Studio Ghibli, Pokemon, and Stardew Valley in a blender? In all probability one thing like Moonstone Island, the most recent providing from builders Studio Supersoft and writer Uncooked Fury. Now, whereas that every one appears like an amazing mixture, let’s proceed with our Moonstone Island assessment to see if it really works as properly in follow as in principle.
The plot setup for Moonstone Island may be very a lot a cross between Kiki’s Supply Service and Citadel within the Sky. You come of age and set out out of your guardian’s home to dwell as an alchemist by yourself for a 12 months, crashlanding on the titular Moonstone Island. And, like the opposite islands on the planet, Moonstone Island floats within the sky. So, y’know, don’t fall.
After you crash, you meet the native innkeeper and bartender, Ossono, and after a fast introduction, you’re given the run of Moonstone Island to determine the place to arrange your base camp and what you want to do from there. Whereas there are quests and some over-arching narratives which are launched, the sport is just not significantly story-heavy, and your actual limiters for what you wish to do subsequent are the power of your Spirits and the facility of your gear.
Moonstone Island Assessment: Put together For (Card) Battle
Spirits are the pure animals that dwell on the planet of Moonstone Island. Very like Pokemon, they’re discovered within the wild and will be vanquished or tamed, and also you carry three of them with you always. Do I really like having a tiny dinosaur following me round in all places? Sure, I do, very a lot. You battle with all three of your Spirits without delay and will be combating as much as three wild Spirits at a time in a card-based system that depends closely on the weather concerned.
Every Spirit positive factors one further card when it ranges up, and the pool of your presently outfitted spirits’ playing cards out of your deck, with new playing cards being chosen every flip. The system is easier than it sounds, and there are many alternatives within the sport so that you can improve playing cards and add new ones to your deck, or erase dangerous playing cards when you select.
Sadly, the fundamental battle system is the place the sport journeys up. Every Spirit has a kind it’s related to and two varieties that it’s weak to, data which will be simply discovered by checking in your Spirit within the medallion. Nonetheless, since all three Spirits are at all times in battle, elemental weaknesses can’t be averted. My water-based Sandcrashle went down like a sack of potatoes the minute I obtained right into a battle on a lightning island, and there was nothing I may do to cease it.
Since this implies there actually isn’t any worth in having a balanced set of Spirits in your medallion, you’ll need a balanced crew of Spirits in your barn you could select from. It does make it a little bit of a chore, having to maintain about 12 to fifteen Spirits all on the similar ranges at any level, and when you by accident find yourself on an island that you simply’re weak to, it’s possible you’ll be ambushed in battle earlier than you may have an opportunity to take off once more.
The cardboard-battling system with Spirits is nice, and it’s one factor that undoubtedly units it aside from many different monster-battling video games. Nonetheless, the three-on-three battles and heavy elemental weaknesses do make it a chore to ascend to the upper ranges in any type of swift method.
However Wait, There’s Extra
Past battling, you may have the choice to farm assets, make pals with or romance the native inhabitants, discover dungeons, and make concoctions and charms to promote or that can assist you in your quests. With over 100 islands to discover, you’re a bit bottlenecked at the beginning of the sport if you’re solely reliant on a balloon to get from place to position, however as soon as you’ll be able to craft a brand new broom, or higher but a glider, you’re in enterprise.
Each the social and useful resource methods within the sport are pretty easy to take care of. You possibly can chat, inform a joke, flirt with folks, or give them items every day, and finally, you possibly can try to ask them out when you’d like. Assets include basic items like stone and wooden, and the one metals that you simply use are Copper, Iron, and Moonstone.
The issue of acquiring Moonstone can get very irritating, whilst you get additional into the sport. Moonstone can solely be seen at night time when it provides off a faint glow, except you determine you wish to do the equal of carpet-bombing a panorama along with your scythe and axe. Even then, just one Moonstone spawns per island per day, and but I’ve gone days with out Moonstones spawning on the titular island, so it appears to be an higher restrict reasonably than a tough and quick rule.
For all that I’ve complained concerning the frustrations of the sport, I’ve had a good time taking part in it. The Spirits are all cute with creative designs (albeit typically bizarre ones) and a sport the place your goal is to discover as a lot as attainable is totally up my alley. Except the attractive blacksmith, all of the characters are charming and enjoyable to speak to, although they don’t have an enormous quantity of depth.
Moonstone Island’s pixel artwork model can be lovable and kooky, which works significantly properly for the Spirits but additionally for the overall setting. There are bizarre vegetation like Stunflowers, rainbow-colored psychic storms, your personal candy little avatar, and quite a lot of island biomes to discover. The colourful and vivid pixel artwork works properly in conveying that this can be a (largely) secure, enjoyable world, the place you’re free to discover with out the same old horrific penalties.
General, Moonstone Island was a nice shock, as I don’t often get pleasure from many town-centric video games. The Spirits are enjoyable to search out, regardless that the battling system will be irritating, however the plethora of islands to discover and the type villagers greater than make-up for it. It does take some time for the sport to actually get going, however as soon as it does, you possibly can glide proper via.
Moonstone Island was reviewed on PC with a replica offered by the Developer over the course of 16 hours of gameplay – all screenshots have been taken throughout the technique of assessment.
