Back in 2018, 11 Bit Studios and Digital Sun dared to ask the question, 'What if, between saving Hyrule, Link ran a little shop?' The result was Moonlighter, a brilliant little dungeon-crawling, shopkeeping roguelike with a dash of Zelda in its DNA. Well, this eShop beauty is getting a sequel — albeit one that isn't confirmed to join its predecessor on Switch.
Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault was revealed in last night's PC Gaming Show, showcasing the return of the monster-hunting shopkeeper, Will, and a new 3D twist on the formally top-down pixel art visuals.
We still don't have a lot of information on this one yet, though the publisher has confirmed that it will bring back the "winning formula of dungeon-crawling exploration, action RPG combat, and shopkeeping" — and, come on, that's a niche that we haven't seen enough of in the last six years.
The game is set to launch at some point in 2025 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. As we say, that line-up doesn't include Switch, but given its predecessor's popularity on the eShop, our fingers are crossed that the Nintendo hybrid might make the cut at some point — who knows, maybe even a 'Switch 2' release could be on the cards.
We had a great time with Moonlighter back in 2018, stating that it "hits a sweet spot somewhere between satisfying swordplay and nitty-gritty economic sim". Let's hope the sequel makes the jump when it arrives next year.