Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Moonscars has a interesting and engaging story, but other lore videos are too long and srs, so here's my quick summary of the story.
Spoiler free review:
Moonscars is a metroidvania, and is the first game I've played in a while where I was not too excited about the gameplay but stuck with it because the story kept me wanting to know what was happening, why the world the way it was, and honestly just really got invested in the main character.
For the combat, I would compare it most directly with Blasphemous, but a lot more fast paced and a lot more jank. I think I tried to parry too many things that were better off being dodged. Just because you CAN parry something, doesn't mean it's the best option. Though I will say that all the combat mechanics are really great. The whole moon phase system where you can get plunged into hard mode if you die at certain points is like Demon's Souls world tendency, but better. It's just a simple hard mode, on or off, with benefits to XP and money gain, but you can turn off any time by spending a pretty common item. The spite system is also really great, slowly adding in harder enemies the better you do, but rewarding you with temporary upgrades. The skill tree and the way healing is treated are all cool as well.
The art style is where this game really shines. It's such a cool smearing style to the game sprites, it's very visually pleasing. All the special moves looks absolutely amazing, it's a joy to watch. And as I said, the story was actually interesting for once. I've been playing so many games with silent protagonists that it's so refreshing to have a main character that has a personality that you can get invested in. I wanted to know why she was the way she was, I wanted to help her find out what happened, and save who was left in the world.
So yeah, I'd give the combat in this game a 6/10, art a 10/10, and story a 9/10. If you're fine with jank combat in a metroidvania, and you've already played Blasphemous, I'd recommend this.
Songs:
Sunny Villa - Spyro Reignited Trilogy Soundtrack
Creepy Vibes - David Fesliyan
Endless Motion - Bensound
Moonscars has a interesting and engaging story, but other lore videos are too long and srs, so here's my quick summary of the story.
Spoiler free review:
Moonscars is a metroidvania, and is the first game I've played in a while where I was not too excited about the gameplay but stuck with it because the story kept me wanting to know what was happening, why the world the way it was, and honestly just really got invested in the main character.
For the combat, I would compare it most directly with Blasphemous, but a lot more fast paced and a lot more jank. I think I tried to parry too many things that were better off being dodged. Just because you CAN parry something, doesn't mean it's the best option. Though I will say that all the combat mechanics are really great. The whole moon phase system where you can get plunged into hard mode if you die at certain points is like Demon's Souls world tendency, but better. It's just a simple hard mode, on or off, with benefits to XP and money gain, but you can turn off any time by spending a pretty common item. The spite system is also really great, slowly adding in harder enemies the better you do, but rewarding you with temporary upgrades. The skill tree and the way healing is treated are all cool as well.
The art style is where this game really shines. It's such a cool smearing style to the game sprites, it's very visually pleasing. All the special moves looks absolutely amazing, it's a joy to watch. And as I said, the story was actually interesting for once. I've been playing so many games with silent protagonists that it's so refreshing to have a main character that has a personality that you can get invested in. I wanted to know why she was the way she was, I wanted to help her find out what happened, and save who was left in the world.
So yeah, I'd give the combat in this game a 6/10, art a 10/10, and story a 9/10. If you're fine with jank combat in a metroidvania, and you've already played Blasphemous, I'd recommend this.
Songs:
Sunny Villa - Spyro Reignited Trilogy Soundtrack
Creepy Vibes - David Fesliyan
Endless Motion - Bensound
