Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Review – Roguelite Shopkeeping with a Clever Backpack Twist
I spent hours juggling loot, fights and price tags — Moonlighter 2 turns the shopkeeper loop into a satisfying roguelite with smart backpack puzzles, charming presentation and rough-but-promising early access performance.
Moonlighter 2 takes the cozy shop loop of the first game and folds it into a Hades‑style roguelite with surprisingly deep inventory puzzles. The Endless Vault and the backpack mechanics are the stars — even if the game still wears its early access scratches.
Core loop: pick a path through branching rooms, fight, collect relics and puzzle‑place them in a limited backpack before heading home to sell. Each biome adds its own relic mechanics (burn, shock, shields, etc.) so placement choices matter more than ever. The shop is back but now includes roguelite modifiers and a meaningful pricing minigame — good sales can unlock session perks that change how you play. Combat is tighter than the first game: four distinct weapon families, a gun for crowd control, backpack shoves to knock enemies off platforms and weighty melee hits. Bosses can be spectacular (some fights like Monte get cinematic praise) but a few gimmicks feel unfair until patched. Meta progression ties town upgrades, merchants and permanent vault upgrades to your earnings — investing in the village actually opens new gear and services. Expect polish to improve: Steam Deck and some PCs had stutters at launch but patches helped; balance, aiming priority and stagger mechanics are common community requests. Overall it’s a smart mashup of shopkeeping, inventory‑tetris and action‑RPG loop that already clicks.
Moonlighter 2 is already a clever, cozy and often thrilling sequel that rethinks the shopkeeper loop — worth trying in early access if you accept a few rough spots. Great foundations; the team seems responsive, so expect it to get even better.
Pros
- Inventive backpack puzzle + rewarding shop pricing loop
- Satisfying weapon variety and tactile combat moments
- Lovely presentation, town progression and Vault hooks
Cons
- Early‑access rough edges: performance and occasional stutters (Steam Deck reported issues)
- Some balance/targeting and boss gimmicks feel frustrating before tuning
Player Opinion
Players praise the atmosphere, backpack mechanics and the fresh shop options — many call the new dungeons and boss fights memorable. Criticisms focus on early access bugs, Deck/optimization problems and a few design choices (aiming, stagger, weapon/gun balance). If you liked the first Moonlighter or Hades‑lite runs with clever meta progression, you’ll likely enjoy this — but expect patches.