Summary
A new creature-collecting life-sim game calledMoonstone Islandhas just been released on Steam, and it has garnered some great reviews so far. The Studio Supersoft-developed and Raw Fury-published title looks to be a cross betweenPokemonandStardew Valleywith perhaps a bit ofSlay the Spiremixed in.
Moonstone Islandwas flagged early as agame thatPokemonandStardew Valleyfans should check out, and early reviews seem to reflect that sentiment. While Studio Supersoft is relatively unknown as a developer, Raw Fury has published indie hits such asDandara,Call of the Sea, andSablejust to name a few. The cozy life sim is certainly popular among indie developers, but players have arguably yet to see a game that blends in so many different mechanics from popular franchises like this.
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Recent Steam releaseMoonstone Islandincorporates the nostalgic pixel art and life sim elements ofStardew Valleywith the monster collecting and battling of thePokemonfranchise.Moonstone Islandhas also drawn comparisons to the top-downLegend of Zeldagames as well as the deck-building indie hitSlay the Spire. The game just launched today on PC and is announced to be coming to Nintendo Switch sometime before the end of the year. At the time of this writing,Moonstone Islandis maintaining an 84 Top Critic Average score at OpenCritic.
Critics virtually across the board are praisingMoonstone Islandas a solid entry in the ever-increasing collection ofStardew Valley-like games, but this one features a more adventurous open world with over 100 islands to explore. In addition to the new elements it introduces to the life-sim genre,Moonstone Islandlooks to keep many of the fan-favorite hallmarks of a good cozy game like farming and plenty of romance options.
The race for second place in the monster-collecting genre has been ongoing since the late ’90s, butMoonstone Islandlooks to insert itself into the conversation when it comes tothe best games likePokemon. UnlikePokemon, however, some of the monsters captured inMoonstone Island(referred to in-game as “Spirits”) help with various aspects of farming, fishing, collecting, and exploring. There are 66 monsters to capture at launch, each of which provides players with advantages both in and out of battle.
Also unlikePokemon, the monsters fight using playing cards somewhat akin tocritically-beloved deck-builderSlay the Spire. With all the different influences apparent inMoonstone Island, the game could have very well ended up being an ambitious title with a few too many underdeveloped ideas, but early reviews suggest that fans were right to get excited about this new cozy sim.
Moonstone Islandis now available on PC and is slated to release on Nintendo Switch sometime in 2023.
