Moonscars Reviews

Moonscars is ranked in the 56th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10.0
Oct 11, 2022

If the difficulty didn't go up every time I died or I could activate checkpoints without having to fight a clone afterwards, it might be a different story, but I don't appreciate being punished for doing inevitable things (dying, saving). Did you find Hollow Knight and Blasphemous too easy? If so, Moonscars may give you the challenge you crave. For the rest of us? It has limited utility.

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5.7 / 10.0
Oct 2, 2022

With so many similar and far superior games out there, it's tough to recommend Moonscars with its tedious game world and annoying gameplay. It does some things exceptionally well, though, but these aspects definitely don't make up for all of its shortcomings.

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6 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2022

Moonscars is not a bad game, but it struggles from its mediocracy and overall uninspired nature to find its footing in a genre with many more interesting and noteworthy games to choose from.

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6 / 10.0
Sep 27, 2022

Moonscars is a deep, dark tale about what makes us human in our darkest times and how we persevere. When it works, it really works and was some of the most fun I had playing 2-D souls-like in recent memory. But it is riddled with balancing issues and loses touch on what makes Souls-likes fun in the name of difficulty.

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6 / 10
Sep 27, 2022

With better game design choices and no hard crashes – Moonscars would be a great addition to the 2D Soulstroidvania genre. It’s hard to enjoy the bleak aesthetics and the rich lore of the world when the game doesn’t let you finish it however. The combat is fresh yet familiar but every mechanic outside of that isn’t really needed. But this may be one to perserve with, if you need that Souls itch scratched.

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60 / 100
Sep 28, 2022

Despite how pretty it animates and how unique it looks, [Moonscars] punishing gameplay isn't for everyone.

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6 / 10
Sep 27, 2022

Moonscars has a lot of promising ideas. Unfortunately, the threadbare plot, questionable level design, and odd execution of mechanics hold it back.

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65%
Jan 18, 2023

Moonscars offers an engaging level of challenge, however it suffers from a few unfortunate bugs and questionable design decisions.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Oct 11, 2022

Moonscars is an entertaining 2D action game with an approach that mixes soulslike, metroidvania and roguelite elements.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2022

If you've played any other Metroidvania game, you can easily pass this one up. It means well, and Grey Irma is a beast, but with a convoluted story and characters you will never care about, dying over and over is probably the best part of the game. Beautiful game. Questionable story. "Every death makes you stronger." goes the tagline. I question where the strength actually goes. Slash, slash, dodge.

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6.8 / 10.0
Sep 27, 2022

Moonscars is really close to being a great game. The combat can be stupidly fun, the animations are fantastic, and I loved the story and music. Balancing issues with the death penalty and a too stringent adherence to older Dark Souls mechanics inevitably lead to immense frustration. I still think it’s worth at least checking out and seeing if it can hook you with its occasional glimpses of brilliance.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 27, 2022

Ultimately a failure to stick in the imagination is my main criticism of Moonscars. Had this game come out a few years earlier I would almost certainly be more favourable to it, but as it stands it feels a little too familiar to other games I’ve played extensively, and with not quite enough going for it to make it shine. It’s a blast to play, and the combat feels great, but when there are so many other games with that and great character, and great story, and great world-building, so there’s just not quite enough to drag me back in.

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70 / 100
Sep 27, 2022

If you are interested in a tough soulslike game where you do, very gradually, become stronger, a soulslike where you really don’t want to be hit because you’ll be pummeled within seconds, and that healing ability also makes you weaker! Then Moonscars is a game for you. It’s tough, it’s bleak, but don’t expect it to be nice to you.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 22, 2022

Black Mermaid understood the ideas that made the 2D Soulslike genre successful and added new mechanics that reflect its own identity. If it didn't have flaws like story being too messy and combat having balance issues, it could have made its mark among the best examples of the genre.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Sep 28, 2022

Whether you’re into challenging Soulslikes or sprawling Metroidvanias, there’s a lot to like about Moonscars. Its atmosphere is thick thanks to its moody visuals and soundtrack, while its moment-to-moment gameplay is utterly engrossing once it has its hooks in you. If you’re up to the task and can accept that the experience won’t always feel fair, this is a game well worth sinking some time into.

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3.5 / 5.0
Nov 27, 2022

Moonscars is a good debut by Black Mermaid with some unique ideas and missed potential. The gameplay is fun and engaging but some mechanics feel a little unbalanced and in some cases can even forget about them and still finish the game. The story is well written, especially the dialogues but the lore and character building lacks enough depth to feel close to them. Overall the story and art style of the game is forgettable and this made the sound editing and music of the game lose their power and therefore feel shallow.

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7 / 10
Oct 11, 2022

Moonscars is a dark and punchy 2D action adventure that tweaks the Soulslike formula just enough to make it worth jumping into yet another entry in this most overstuffed of genres. The combat here is super slick stuff that's meticulously animated through the game's exquisite pixel art style, there are a ton of cool skills and weapons to get your hands on, and the world and its enemies are thoroughly well-designed. It's a shame, then, that this Switch port currently suffers from fairly consistent frame rate issues, because beyond a few difficulty issues here and there, it's pretty hard to find fault with what Black Mermaid has served up. Let's hope this one gets a performance patch for those stutters.

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Sep 27, 2022

Moonscars won't set the world alight, but is a decent enough time for soulslike fans.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 27, 2022

Moonscars is an intentionally bleak adventure in an unforgiving world, but players who seek a genuine challenge will certainly find it here.

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7.4 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2022

Moonscars is a video game that knows what kind of atmosphere it wants to create, how to create it and how to dance on those notes from the first to the last minute of play. The combat system is simple but satisfying and, although it needed more attention from a technical point of view and the story does everything to keep the player away (at least in the first hours), the adventure manages to entertain from start to finish.

Review in Italian | Read full review