Ever since the release of the iconic Stardew Valley, and the almost ridiculous amount of success it enjoyed, it feels like a ton of indie developers have been trying to capture that same lightning in a bottle. Unfortunately, more often than not, this has had a tendency to result in games that are content to try to copy everything that made it a success, often then playing with the theming or a limited number of tangential details, but lacking in the same degree of care and quality that made Stardew so successful. While, at a glance, you could easily try to reduce Moonlight Peaks to simply being “Goth Stardew”, if you’re willing to give it some time I think the game is able to turn that insult on its head into what would more appropriately be a compliment.

The first thing I’d say is that while I’ve seen many variations on this formula, and some have even gone with some sort of fantasy elements, this is the first I’ve seen embrace more gothic theming. Given that I have a daughter who loved the likes of Monster High and a variety of Disney villains, this feels like it has managed to capture that same spirit of fun lurking in the darkness. Vampires, werewolves, and witches can be fun and friendly, even if not every character you meet in town will fit that bill in terms of their personalities. Everyday crops and more real world things to build are replaced by ones that would feel more at home in a Spirit Halloween, and while you could argue that these changes are mostly cosmetic, the infusion of that same spirit seems to be everywhere in the game, giving it a refreshingly different feel in a sea of titles that feel far more redundant.

Now, if your goal is to seek out a game in this general vein that’s out to do new things, and break some sort of ground to help the farming sim space to evolve, you won’t really find it here. Outside of its inventory management and tool selection being on the more easy and convenient side, for the most part this does feel like a rethemed variation on a popular theme more often than not. If you’ve played a great number of Stardew’s less successful competitors over the years though, what you’ll see is that Moonlight Peaks manages to do it far better than the majority of them. It isn’t just the change in theming though, it’s also in the quality of the writing, the satisfaction of coming back on a daily basis to play the way you’d like, and playing in a space that doesn’t feel dull and listless. Then, if you happen to consider Halloween to be one of the most wonderful times of the year to boot, it should prove to be even more satisfying.