Moonring

I'm in love with this game. I feel like a child playing again in my old computer.

Moonring is a free turn based RPG set in the strange world of Caldera. We play as a Dreamless character who can explore the world, talk to people, fight enemies, trade, sail between locations and decide what we actually want to do. It has a very old school RPG design, but there is a surprising amount of freedom in how we approach the game. The exploration is probably the best part. The world is hand designed, but the dungeons change whenever we leave them or die, so exploring them does not feel completely predictable. We can wander around, find new towns, discover secrets or simply head somewhere because we are curious about what is there. The combat is simple but has more depth than it first seems. There are over 100 different enemy types, and positioning, equipment and our choice of abilities can make a big difference. The 35 Gifts from the Gods are especially interesting because their effects can change depending on the moon phases, which gives us another reason to think about how we build our character. There is also quite a lot to do outside of normal combat. We can sneak past enemies, trade, sail around the world and get into ship battles. There is also a hidden magic system and plenty of mysteries to discover, so the game does a good job of making exploration feel like we are actually finding things rather than just following a list of objectives. The presentation is very different from most modern RPGs. The bright pixel art sits against very dark backgrounds, which gives Moonring a really distinctive look. It is quite minimal, but the style works because the lack of detail leaves us to imagine a lot of what the world looks like. The dungeon synth soundtrack also fits the atmosphere really well. The biggest problem is that the game can be confusing at first. There is very little handholding, and we are expected to explore and figure things out ourselves. That can be great when we discover something interesting, but there are also moments where we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing or where we should go next. The old school design can also feel a little too slow sometimes. We spend a lot of time travelling, reading dialogue, managing equipment and exploring without having something exciting happen straight away. The combat is not complicated enough to carry the whole game by itself either, so a lot of the enjoyment comes from being interested in the world and discovering things. Overall, Moonring is a really good free RPG with a huge amount of freedom and a very distinctive style. The exploration, changing dungeons, combat and strange world give us plenty to discover, while the lack of handholding can sometimes make the game frustrating. It is definitely not for everyone, but as a free old school RPG, there is a lot here and it feels much more ambitious than the price suggests. Rating: 7.1/10