PC REVIEW | Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault brings us back to the story of Will, a shopkeeper who doesn’t just sell items, he goes out and fights for them.

Long ago, people discovered a group of strange Gates during an excavation. These Gates turned out to be portals leading to different worlds and dimensions. Inside them, adventurers can find all kinds of monsters, treasures, and secrets. Because of this, a small village was built nearby so adventurers could rest, sell their loot, and prepare for the next run.

In this sequel, instead of ordinary dungeons, you enter ever-changing dimensions filled with enemies, traps, and mountains of loot. Every time you step inside, the world shifts. Your goal is simple: collect what you can, survive, and bring everything back home.

Things I liked!

• Gameplay: Still Addictive as Ever | The magic of Moonlighter has always been that perfect balance between dungeon crawling and shopkeeping, and the sequel doubles down on it. You dive into dimensions, fight monsters, dodge traps, collect relics… then return home and switch completely into merchant mode. What makes it work is that both sides feed each other: you need dungeon loot to run your shop, and you need shop money to upgrade your gear and survive dungeons.

• Inventory Strategy | One of the biggest surprises in Moonlighter 2 is how much better the inventory system feels. Your backpack becomes a real part of the gameplay, not just storage you ignore. Placement matters, not just what you pick up. Some relics need to be placed next to certain items to unlock their full value or effects. It turns your inventory into a small puzzle you’re constantly solving during each run, making loot collection feel more important and rewarding.
  
  
• Shopkeeping: Still One of the Best Parts | One thing I really enjoy in Moonlighter 2 is the shopkeeping. You go into the dungeon yourself, fight for every item, and bring it back to sell in your store. It makes the whole system feel far more meaningful. When you’re back at the shop, selling items becomes its own little minigame. You set the price for each item, and customers react with a simple emoji showing whether the price is cheap, fair, good, or too high. There’s also a “perfect price” that gives you the best possible profit, and finding that sweet spot feels really satisfying. You also have a full skill tree for your shop, plus modifiers that grant bonuses during big sale days if you manage your store well. Some customers even show up asking for specific items and will pay extra for them, which is a nice boost.
  
  
• The Village of Tresna | The moment you return from a dimension, the village gives you a quiet, cozy feeling, as if the world keeps moving whether you’re there or not. The village is full of small details that make it feel alive: lights, sounds, purposeful buildings, and people going about their routines. Nothing feels empty or lifeless. Even simple actions like preparing gear, improving your shop, or upgrading your pack feel natural because the village is built around helping you grow. Every time you come back to Tresna, you feel a sense of progress. You see upgrades, new options, and little changes that remind you that you’re building something over time. It becomes a place you look forward to returning to, a space where you can take a breath, manage your items, and plan your next adventure.
  
  
• From Pixel Art to 3D | A lot of people loved the pixel art from the first game. It was cute, charming, and gave Moonlighter a lot of personality. I miss that style too, but the new graphics are impressive in their own way and really expand the world. Moonlighter 2 moves into full 3D, and it feels like a natural evolution for the series. The environments are colourful, bright, and full of life, while the characters and monsters all have smooth animations that make Moonlighter 2 feel more modern. This new style fits the larger world and the idea of traveling through different dimensions.

Mixed & disliked!

• Weapon Progression | The weapon system in this game feels a bit off. You don’t really have a clear way to raise your base damage between runs, so most of your power comes from random perks you find during a run. This means your damage depends heavily on RNG, more than it should. If the game doesn’t give you good perk nodes, your whole run feels weak. And even though roguelikes always involve some randomness, here it feels excessive. It would be better to have a more stable way to grow your weapon damage over time.

• Aim Assist and Gun Targeting | The aiming system needs a lot of work. When you’re trying to hit something, the game doesn’t always aim where you want. Sometimes it targets a completely different enemy even though you’re clearly pointing at your intended target. In busy fights, flying enemies are usually the real danger, and they should be the first ones you shoot down. But the auto‑aim often locks onto the wrong enemies, like slimes or spike balls, which makes you waste shots and lose control of the fight. This makes aiming feel unreliable and unpredictable. A simple change, such as prioritizing flying enemies or giving the player more control, would make the whole combat system feel much smoother.
  
  
• Boss Fights Are Too Slow | The boss fights look exciting at first, but they quickly lose their appeal because of how slow they are. The bosses aren’t difficult, but the game keeps interrupting you from actually fighting them. They have shields and long periods where they can’t take damage, so even if you’ve built a strong loadout, you aren’t allowed to use it properly. Instead of letting you go all in and enjoy the power you’ve collected during your run, the game forces you to wait for specific moments to strike. You deal a tiny bit of damage, then the boss becomes invincible again, leaving you standing there watching and waiting. This happens for most of the fight, and it completely kills the flow and excitement.

How long did I play the review before publishing? 30 Hours
How long to beat the story? 10-13 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 29/38
How long to achieve 1000G | Around 20-25 Hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | Hades, Bastion and Rogue Legacy 2

CONCLUSION

Score: 80/100

Moonlighter 2 proves that running a shop can be just as thrilling as raiding a dungeon.

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is a fun and charming sequel that builds on everything the first game did well. Exploring different dimensions, managing your shop, and arranging your pack all feel satisfying and rewarding. The graphics are bright and modern, the village feels alive, and the gameplay loop keeps you coming back for more. There are some rough spots, though: boss fights can feel slow and boring, weapon progression leans too much on luck, and movement and aiming could be improved. Even with these issues, the game is already enjoyable in its early access state, and there’s a lot of potential for it to become even better.