From the second I sit right down to take Moonlight Peaks for a spin, I’m enchanted by its dedication to the supernatural. As a substitute of a boring outdated mattress, I rise out of a coffin late within the night – I’m a vampire, in spite of everything. I’m instantly greeted by a three-eyed speaking cat. Once I go away my house, there’s a white-haired witch ready outdoors, ushering me forth right into a twilight-lit world.
It isn’t onerous to see why Moonlight Peaks attracts comparisons to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. It takes the basic cozy administration recreation and attire it in a Halloween costume, throwing a few distinctive mechanics into the cauldron for good measure. In my 30-minute demo, I dived into the magic and customization options that hope to separate it from the acquainted farming fare.
The titular Moonlight Peaks is a city stuffed with supernatural creatures, together with witches, werewolves, and vampires. You, Dracula’s baby, have moved in to show to your father that the undead will be extra compassionate than he thinks. Whereas dwelling in Moonlight Peaks, you take part on the town actions, help your self with farming and crafts, and achieve new skills as you progress via the overarching story.
Fiona, a witch who capabilities because the mayor in my demo, instructs me to verify my mailbox for a quest. Very first thing on the listing? Collect wooden, stone, and fiber. It’s acquainted, however one thing regular compared to the sport’s extra experimental options. The device wheel is simple to make use of and the quests are simple to view, so it’s not lengthy earlier than I’ve accrued the related sources to finish my first quest.
Whereas I hack away on the pure panorama, I’m additionally given a second to admire glowing inexperienced mushrooms, floating sprites that I promptly seize with my web, and wandering animals like my feline companion and a one-eyed cow. I additionally discover small notes within the grass, which train me extra concerning the city’s historical past (based by three main households; the standard fantasy lore).
Farming works equally to Stardew Valley, the place you plant crops in tilled dust throughout particular seasons and watch them develop after a set period of time. Nevertheless, as a result of you may have magic, you possibly can speed up their progress or improve them in varied methods – one thing you possibly can’t do in a extra real looking setting.
The magic isn’t only a gimmick. Moonlight Peaks leans into its spooky id with distinctive mechanics like potion-making and vampiric skills. Turning right into a bat permits you to zoom previous obstacles as an alternative of slowly lumbering round, as an example, and you’ll brew potions with supplies you discover scattered round. As a substitute of simply ready for a timer to tick down, although, you possibly can furiously mash buttons as an alternative – a welcome, time-saving change.
However after all, with any recreation like Animal Crossing, customization is among the greatest attracts. Terraforming, one thing you are able to do in Nintendo’s recreation to shift land into ramps and different landforms, isn’t current in Moonlight Peaks, but there are nonetheless loads of choices. Bushes, crops, arches, fences, lampposts, flowers, and extra stand out in my stock. You can too use premade templates to vary the skin look of your private home, and style your individual catalogue of themed furnishings. Only a fast take a look at the Steam web page offers you an eyeful of the sport’s vibrant gardens and witchy decor.
Contemplating Moonlight Peaks continues to be early in growth, I didn’t have loads of time to work together with the sport’s supporting solid. That mentioned, Moonlight Peaks clearly means to transcend the standard villager relationship that you simply expertise in Animal Crossing – sure, which means you possibly can date folks. I didn’t get to expertise what that appears like, however including in-depth relationships on prime of an already strong farming and customization system may very well be a game-changer for Moonlight Peaks (hopefully it’s extra in-depth than the surface-level dates we acquired in Fae Farm).
Moonlight Peaks is price enjoying for farming recreation followers who need a little bit sugar, spice, and the whole lot good. It places a significant spin on the usual farming system and visual effort into worldbuilding, however I’m not absolutely bought till it reveals me a little bit extra character growth. I believe we’ll see this one develop and enhance forward of its launch in 2026.