Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review deep dive

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault left early access on September 2, and the Moonlighter 2 reviews agree on the part that matters most: the loop of raiding dungeons at night and selling the loot by day is as addictive as ever. Where they split is on everything wrapped around that loop. The jump from pixel art to 3D, the story's ending and the early access baggage all divide critics who otherwise like the game.

The short answer: it sits at 80 on Metacritic for PC and Switch 2, and most reviewers call it a clear upgrade on the 2018 original. The lower scores come from people who miss what the first game looked and felt like, or who hit bugs.

Moonlighter 2 review scores: 80 on Metacritic

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is developed by Digital Sun and published by 11 bit studios. It launched in early access in November 2025 and hit 1.0 on September 2, 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2, priced at $29.99 on Steam.

Metacritic lists it at 80 on PC (9 critics, none negative) and 80 on Switch 2 (8 critics), with the PS5 version at 77 from 6 critics. OpenCritic's Top Critic Average is 83, with 81% of critics recommending it.

You play Will again, the shopkeeper hero of the first game, now in a new village called Tresna. By day you run the shop, set prices and upgrade gear. By night you dive into randomized realms to fight monsters and haul relics home. The view is now 3D isometric, relics stack perks that feed both combat and sales, and packing your backpack is its own spatial puzzle.

What critics love about Moonlighter 2

The loop. Almost every review, high or low, comes back to how hard it is to stop. Finger Guns calls the loot-and-sell cycle "as addictive as ever," and GameSpew says it's "a gameplay loop I can't get enough of." The Big Lead's 100 argues the two halves are "so much deeper than the first game, and that makes them even more compelling."

The shop got the biggest upgrade. Game8's Aaron Bacabac (84) points out that the perk system now reaches into shopkeeping, so perks can push sale prices up sharply and the shop matters as much as the dungeons. Vandal praises an inventory system "that rewards spatial planning." Even CGMagazine, the lowest score in the chart, says the shop "is still the best part of the game."

Most critics also like the move to 3D. Game8 calls it the "single-most design-defining move" of the sequel, because it lets combat and dungeon layouts use a whole new axis. Nintendo Life's Ken Talbot (8/10) calls the result "a bigger, bolder sequel," and Nintendo World Report says the 3D style suits the mix of sci-fi and fantasy biomes.

Where Moonlighter 2 reviews split: the 3D shift and the ending

The same art change is what the skeptics push back on. CGMagazine's Marcus Kenneth (6.5/10) says enemies "blend more into environments, and rooms start looking interchangeable a few floors in." His verdict is blunt: it does what the original did, "slightly slower and slightly less crisp." GameSpew likes the game but also misses the charm of the pixel art.

The ending is the other sore spot. Game8's review headline says the game "paid for near-perfection with its ending." Bacabac writes that the finale feels "less like an ending and more like just another day at the shop." Finger Guns (7/10) is less bothered, because in its view the story was never the point, though that's hardly praise for the writing.

Then there's the early access question. Finger Guns docks points because the 1.0 update added less than expected for people who played in early access, while noting that anyone coming in fresh "is getting a deal." Nintendo Life lists unpredictable loading times between levels as a con. CGMagazine lost a 40-minute run to a crash on PS5, and Nintendo Life reports dropped frames in handheld mode on Switch 2 while docked play held above 30fps.

"Very different from the game before it, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault is nevertheless a compelling roguelike adventure." Kim Snaith, GameSpew

Should you play Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault?

Yes, if the shop is why you played the first one. The consensus is that the dual loop is deeper, the shop finally pulls its weight, and there's a lot of game here for $29.99. Game8 counts more than 10 hours of story across six realms and nearly 100 items, plus a New Game Plus after the final fight. It's a good fit for roguelite fans who want something calmer between runs, the way Mewgenics gave roguelike fans a strange new home earlier this year.

Wait, or pick your platform carefully, if performance matters to you. PC and docked Switch 2 get the fewest complaints. The PS5 score is the lowest of the three and includes CGMagazine's crash reports, and Switch 2 handheld play still had slowdown at launch.

Temper your expectations on story. Critics who wanted a big payoff didn't get one, and GameSpew warns the standard difficulty is tough before your build comes together.

If you followed the game through early access, the question is different. Finger Guns found 1.0 closer to a big update than a new game, which is the same finish-line problem we wrote about with Subnautica 2's early access. Returning players get less new content than fresh ones.

It's the kind of loop that eats evenings in 30-minute chunks, so it helps to keep notes on builds and prices as you go. We log runs like this in Perthro with a short note on what worked, and it makes coming back after a break much easier. For more on putting your own verdict into words, see our guide to writing a video game review people want to read.

Sources

• Metacritic: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
• OpenCritic: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
• Game8: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review
• Nintendo Life: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review
• CGMagazine: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review
• GameSpew: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review
• Finger Guns: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault review
• Steam: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
• Wikipedia: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault