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Moonscars is too punishing for my bloodThis 2D Soulslike left me howling (and not in a good way)
This 2D Soulslike left me howling (and not in a good way)
I had hoped to bring you a proper review ofMoonscarstoday, the new 2D Soulslike from indie studio Black Mermaid. But alas, both time and its ferociously difficult combat have got the better of me, so you’ll have to settle for some impressions instead. This isn’t simply a case of drinking the ‘git gud’ kool-aid either. While I’ll hold my hands up now and say thatSoulslikeshave always been a bit of a challenge for me, I feel like I’ve been making some pretty good in-roads into the genre lately, and after falling in love with Moonscars' reveal trailer earlier in the year during theHumble Games Showcase, I really, really,reallywanted to like this one. Sadly, it’s become increasingly clear that Moonscars does not like me very much, and maybe even hates my guts a bit - which is ironic, considering how many organs I’ve chucked at its feet over the last week and a bit to appease its hungry dread moon.
I still absolutely adore the look of Moonscars. Its moody, dark apocalypse and ruined stone fortresses immediately call to mind the ornate detail of later Castlevania games, while its possessed knights and eldritch monsters are like the estranged 2D cousins of FromSoft’s Eldenborne menagerie. The clay-borne warrior Grey Irma also cuts a striking figure as the game’s main protagonist, too, with her long white hair creating a stark contrast to her gloomy surroundings.
Moonscars - Release Date Trailer | Humble GamesWatch on YouTube
Moonscars - Release Date Trailer | Humble Games
You also have magical witchcraft abilities attached to the triggers, but these might as well not have existed for me, as your magic bar also governs how much you’re able to heal - which I was doinga loteven early on. Landing hits will regenerate your magic bar, but it does so quite slowly, and the spells you acquire first require a surprisingly large chunk of magic available in order to use them. More often than not, I’d start fights with it completely empty (having used it all to heal myself at the end of the previous scrap) and then have to spend what little I did manage to claw back to heal myself again.
It’s a similar, if rather less forgiving rhythm to yerHollow Knights and the like, and it’s probably something I’d have eventually found a groove with over time if it wasn’t for Moonscars' damned blood moon. For whatever reason, the moon is a sentient being in Moonscars, and constantly demands demon blood to stay sated. Die too many times and the moon becomes starved, which in turn sends every single enemy into a frenzy that makes them that much harder to kill. It’s like the game is deliberately punishing you for being bad at it, and it’s this I found to be its most gruelling aspect. You can offer up ‘glands’ you find to appease the moon’s insatiable hunger and turn the world back to normal again, but the moon bar at the top of the screen will always tick down faster than you’d like - even when you think you’re doing well.
