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It’s not easy, though, especially as you pass through the various rooms of the dungeons, stuffing loot into your backpack, you’ll soon run out of space. The loot is what you’ll need to stock your shop to make money, upgrade your various weapons or buy new ones, and eventually fulfill requests submitted to you by the Rynoka townsfolk. But thanks to the constant demand of the Rynoka villagers, you’re always kept on your toes - fiddling with prices and learning quickly from your mistakes as someone walks off very happy with an absolute bargain, yet again.īut, it’s the quest for loot that keeps the wonderfully habitual perpetual gameplay loop moving on though, away from the fact that it’s that kind of wholesome adorable art style that makes you want to buy a tonne of merch. While that might sound dull, it’s actually that kind of wonderful, brain-soothing mediocrity that Stardew Valley excels at, what with all that crop gathering, watering and animal feeding. But you’ll also be restocking shelves, working the till and making sure no-one runs off with your wares while your back is turned - pesky thieves. During your hours as a shopkeeper, you’re in charge of setting prices for your goods, listening to the reactions of the customers and then adjusting them accordingly, like some kind of inflation simulator.
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It’s here that Digital Sun’s game plays out as a kind of management sim, more akin to something like Theme Park World or Theme Hospital than you might expect. Instead, you play as a chap called Will, who spends his days running a little shop in a town called Rynoka, which is actually the titular Moonlighter. This brand new title developed by Digital Sun and published by 11 Bit Studios is the kind of game that ticks all your Stardew Valley boxes and then some - aside from the fact it’s actually got nothing to do with farming whatsoever.
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