Lunacid is a dungeon crawler very deliberately evoking King's Field and Shadow Tower. With a close to identical combat system, PSX style graphics, a dark moody atmosphere reminiscent of Fromsoftware games and an experience focused around exploration and discovery.

It's also one of my new favourite games of all time, but more on that in a moment. Just know that I recommend this game as enthusiastically as I could ever recommend a game. And if you wish to have the best possible experience untainted. Stop reading here, and play it yourself, I guarantee you won't regret it, no matter who you are.

Since Lunacid is such an easy game to recommend, for that reason I will keep detailed analysis of it's systems and design light. It takes direct and visible influence from a multitude of games, not just King's Field but even La-Mulana or Morrowind. But the thing that makes it stand out is that it seems to have an extremely good understanding of why it's influences were successes. It repeats all their victories while avoiding any mistakes and puts the pieces together into a simply beautiful and fresh experience. One easily enjoyed by both veterans with experience in the genre, and newcomers who're still finding their footing.

It's also a game with meaning, it's not just existing to fill a niche left unattended by the lack of first person fantasy RPGs. It has an intent to it's story and design that meshes so well with the rest of the gameplay that I'm hesitant to say anything more than that out of fear of spoiling it for people.

I will say, that while the base game is fully accessible to newcomers. Many of it's finer details and references will be lost on those newer to gaming overall. It has enough respect for the player to ask for some gaming literacy and not handhold, as well as having some moments that will only hit as hard as they do if you happen to be familiar with some classic titans of the genre. However, these are far from dealbreakers, and while I can't say with certainty, their novelty may remain fresh and simply be seen as innovative to those unfamiliar. But that's perhaps better discussed in some editorial about the game's design and story, as opposed to a review.

In the past, I've often said that "if you've played X game, or want a game that does Y, you owe it to yourself to play this." In this case, I want to extend that recommendation further. If you play video games regularly, in any fashion beyond being the most infrequent, noncommittal type of player on the planet. You should play Lunacid. It's utterly fantastic and will absolutely give you something to appreciate.

Lunacid is a dungeon crawler very deliberately evoking King's Field and Shadow Tower. With a close to identical combat system, PSX style graphics, a dark moody atmosphere reminiscent of Fromsoftware games and an experience focused around exploration and discovery. It's also one of my new favourite games of all time, but more on that in a moment. Just know that I recommend this game as enthusiastically as I could ever recommend a game. And if you wish to have the best possible experience untainted. Stop reading here, and play it yourself, I guarantee you won't regret it, no matter who you are. Since Lunacid is such an easy game to recommend, for that reason I will keep detailed analysis of it's systems and design light. It takes direct and visible influence from a multitude of games, not just King's Field but even La-Mulana or Morrowind. But the thing that makes it stand out is that it seems to have an extremely good understanding of why it's influences were successes. It repeats all their victories while avoiding any mistakes and puts the pieces together into a simply beautiful and fresh experience. One easily enjoyed by both veterans with experience in the genre, and newcomers who're still finding their footing. It's also a game with meaning, it's not just existing to fill a niche left unattended by the lack of first person fantasy RPGs. It has an intent to it's story and design that meshes so well with the rest of the gameplay that I'm hesitant to say anything more than that out of fear of spoiling it for people. I will say, that while the base game is fully accessible to newcomers. Many of it's finer details and references will be lost on those newer to gaming overall. It has enough respect for the player to ask for some gaming literacy and not handhold, as well as having some moments that will only hit as hard as they do if you happen to be familiar with some classic titans of the genre. However, these are far from dealbreakers, and while I can't say with certainty, their novelty may remain fresh and simply be seen as innovative to those unfamiliar. But that's perhaps better discussed in some editorial about the game's design and story, as opposed to a review. In the past, I've often said that "if you've played X game, or want a game that does Y, you owe it to yourself to play this." In this case, I want to extend that recommendation further. If you play video games regularly, in any fashion beyond being the most infrequent, noncommittal type of player on the planet. You should play Lunacid. It's utterly fantastic and will absolutely give you something to appreciate.