''Moonring'' is a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

developed by Fluttermind. The studio is headed by Dene Carter, a veteran developer who had previously co-created the ''

Fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

'' series. Released on September 28, 2023 for

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freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

, ''Moonring'' is an open-world, turn-based fantasy evocative of the ''

Ultima Ultima may refer to: Places * Ultima, Victoria, a town in Australia * Pangaea Ultima, a supercontinent to occur in the future * ''Ultima'', the larger lobe of the trans-Neptunian object 486958 Arrokoth, nicknamed ''Ultima Thule'' Companies and ...

'' series. Upon release, the game received praise from critics for the effective imitation of classic role-playing titles and the scope and detail of its open world, exploration gameplay and narrative, with several publications naming the game as one of the best indie titles of 2023.

Gameplay

''Moonring'' is a 2D

in which players explore an

open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...

and

procedurally-generated In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated content and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. I ...

dungeons A dungeon is a room or Prison cell, cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An o ...

in the land of Caldera. The user interface is split between a top-down depiction of the world on the right and a menu on the left that displays a text-based logs of game events and player statistics. Events in the game are turn-based, with characters and enemies moving at the same pace as the player. Interaction and combat is undertaken by bumping into other objects or enemies. Health is managed with a system in which characters have a health bar and regenerating 'poise' that buffers against attacks before taking health damage. The game features a skill and progression system based on completing devotional tasks from five gods that represent a particular skill. Completing these tasks, such as discovering areas, defeating certain enemies or undertaking certain actions, awards the player points which can be spent to unlock skills and increase skill levels. Players can engage in

parser Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is a process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar by breaking it into parts. The term '' ...

-based dialogue with all non-player characters by typing in key words, with highlighted words in responses providing hints on dialogue topics.

Development

''Moonring'' was developed as a solo project by Dene Carter, a veteran developer who co-created the ''

'' series with

Lionhead Studios Lionhead Studios Limited was a British video game developer founded in July 1997 by Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson (British game designer), Steve Jackson. The company is best known for the ''Black & White (series), Bl ...

. Carter stated that the game was created as a "love letter" to his experiences with early role-playing and

roguelike Roguelike (or rogue-like) is a style of role-playing game traditionally characterized by a dungeon crawl through procedurally generated levels, turn-based gameplay, grid-based movement, and permanent death of the player character. Most ro ...

games including the ''

'' series, and hoped ''Moonring'' would recapture the spirit of that era. The game was released for free without prior announcement on

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

on 28 September 2023, with Carter stating the decision to release the game for free was because "Life is hard,

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

sucked, everyone's poor and stressed. I don't need the $300 this would make me: I'd rather take the goodwill." On 10 January 2024, Carter announced the game was in the process of being ported to the

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

Reception

Reviewers praised the game's modern reinterpretation of classic role-playing design, with several drawing comparisons to earlier games, including ''

'' and '' Wizard's Lair''. Eric van Allen of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' commended the game's "sense of devotion" to the role-playing genre. Critics also praised the game's scope and attention to detail. Describing the game's world as "complex" and "truly living" Nicholas Mercurio of ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' was a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published '' CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', '' Amtix!'' and other magazines. History ''The Games Machine'' ran head ...

'' highlighted the game's "immense" and "constantly-changing" map. Simone Tagliaferri of ''Multiplayer.it'' similarly lauded the game's "grandiose" concept, "vast" game world and "intricate" plot. Caelyn Ellis of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' noted the "epic scope" of the game, stating "there's a real sense of exploration as you learn about the world of Caldera, its history and the game's various systems and mechanics". Several publications cited ''Moonring'' in year-end best-of lists, with ''Eurogamer'' calling the game one of the best of the year. It was cited by Ellis as one of the five best games of 2023, noting that bug fixes had improved the game since release. Chris Plante of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' described the game as one of the year's "richest video game experiences" and best indie games of the year, highlighting the "creativity and scope" of the game and its ability to recapture the spirit of classic role-playing games.

References

{{notelist 2023 video games Fantasy video games Indie games Open-world video games Retro-style video games Single-player video games Turn-based role-playing video games Windows games Fluttermind games