Moons Of Darsalon Review: Moon Shot (PC)

Out now on multiple platforms, developed by Dr. Kucho! Games and published by Astrolabe Games, Moons Of Darsalon is a 2D Retro-inspired indie-platformer where you must rescue lost miners on the titular moons of the planet Darsalon. You will jump, shoot, jetpack, shout, and blast through thirty challenging levels to save as many Darsanauts as possible from a hostile environment and their own stupidity. And ensure they get to their base to play their PS4, or do other quirky things.

Moons Of Darsalon feels like a cross between Lemmings, Abe’s Odyssey, and Pikmin, with a little Lunar Lander and JET PAC thrown in. I will say that I feel that, for the most part, it manages to make that combination work. Offering a nice challenge and a well-programmed band of computer comrades to lead to safety. Well, provided you are playing on the correct difficulty level. Because one of them can make them so unfathomably dumb they make Lemmings look like rocket surgeons. But I’ll discuss that later.

Moons Of Darsalon is available now on PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Story – Laughing Emoji

Much like many of the games of the era that it seeks to replicate Moons Of Darsalon is light on story. A fact that doesn’t bother me though I do wish there was more story within the game itself to at least contextualise what you are doing. In this title, you play an astronaut of some description who must rescue stranded Darsanauts who got lost during their mission to mine on the moons of Darsalon. So you will travel from location to location trying to save them. Emphasis on the word “Trying” there, but more on that later on. Moons Of Darsalon does feature some flavour text here and there which is fun enough for what it is. But it isn’t all sass and quips!

The Darsanauts have a unique sense of humour.

Some of this in-game text will give you a hint about the health of the Darsanauts as you go along. With them letting you know how close to death they are. Which is a fun feature. Aside from this, there is text on the loading screens that adds flavour too. These screens (at least in presentation) were heavily inspired by the Commodore 64 and microcomputers of that era. There isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the story and writing of Moons Of Darsalon for this review. The UI does everything it needs to, with everything presented clearly. And in a way that is easy enough to read. Nothing feels too out of place or absent. Well, aside from the fact the the exit/reset level option is within the options menu rather than on the main pause screen. Which is an interesting choice.

Gameplay – Rescue Ranger

And now the fun part of any review, it’s time to talk about Moons Of Darsalon‘s gameplay. I will be blunt. It can be a bloody fun time. Providing one of the most innovative and fresh-feeling gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time. Sure, the title has a clear gaming lineage that refers to here and there; Lemmings is one of the most obvious titles it shares traits with. Especially when the terrain alteration starts to come into play. Your job here is to guide the Darasanauts to the level exit. Avoiding any aliens that might want to kill them and any deep pits that they might plunge down. The controls are fairly intuitive; I’ll admit that I had scepticism at first, but it feels a breeze to play before long.

Moons Of Darsalon’s controls are rather intuitive.

New items, gameplay mechanics, and challenges are evenly dished out across the title’s thirty levels. Naturally, some are easier than others. Some levels can be a joy to play, and others I never want to play ever again. For a game that is a series of escort missions, I have to say that the developer has done a great job in ensuring that Moons Of Darsalon is as mechanically sound as possible. And there is a supreme level of craft here which must be commended. The difficulty level can be hard as nails, but more often than not it’s in a way that is fair and makes you want to keep trying. Even if you need a swear break and a cup of tea now and again.

Mr. Bad Guy

However, I have two major issues with the gameplay of Moons Of Darsalon. Firstly is that when I was doing my playthrough for my review I couldn’t help but find the respawning aliens to be, well, cheap to say the least. There are two ways they can spawn in. One from objects that you can destroy to stop them from spawning. And the other from off-screen or some point on the map that you can’t. I have no issue with the idea per se. But given how short the timer can be on the off-screen/invisible ones it can turn some sequences into a mad rush that isn’t as fun as it should given how long some levels can be.

Some levels can end up rather close, at least when I play!

Truth be told the game is challenging enough. And I don’t feel adding the cucumber-shaped aliens was needed. As the levels are great fun and complex enough. Each with a great challenge or new twist to look out for. From waterfalls (which are honestly rather well done) to terrain that you can’t build on without the right chemical. But the aliens at times can feel a step too far. And maybe for the sake of having a couple less some levels would feel smoother. This isn’t helped by the “Adaptive” difficulty setting. This system (seemingly) will make the game more difficult the better you are doing. In theory that should make for a fair challenge and a degree of replay value as you get a chance to see how differently missions play out. I say “in theory” as this difficulty setting can be infuriating, and not in a fun way.

Where Are You!?

You see, rather than making the game itself harder mechanically, it seems to make the AI of your side dumber and harder to control. When Moons Of Darsalon’s AI system works, it works fantastically! With the crew that you have to save following you and going exactly where you want them to. Sure, there will be times it will do something stupid like climbing up into areas it can’t climb down from, or leaping to their death. However, in the Adaptive setting, there comes a point where they just won’t listen to what you say; they’ll only follow you part of the way. Or they won’t wait and will wander off. And at a certain point, they won’t jump or climb no matter how small the gap may be.

I turn around and next thing I know he’s jumped up there!

There is only a certain point you can accept you need to “Git good” before it feels like the game is going out of its way to not function. Whereas when you use the Fixed difficulty there is still a fair challenge. Oh sure, some levels are far harder than others; It feels like the difficulty starts to spike in the later levels. And the odd bug here and there can complicate things. However, those are things that can be easily patched. The Apative difficulty less so, and is a challenge I don’t want. Regardless I must say that Moons Of Darsalon‘s gameplay can be fantastic. At its best, it is one of the best and freshest games I’ve played in a while. But bugs, strange spawn points, and the AI for the darsanaut’s having career-ending brain farts can frequently hold it back.

Graphics & Audio – Moon With A View

As mentioned in the opening to this review Moons Of Darsalon is a retro-inspired title. However as has become clear in my time on this website, what that translates to can vary wildly. For titles like Corn Kidz 64 and Psuedoregelia, a more deliberate attempt has been made to stick to the original look and feel of classic platforms. Whereas titles like The Eternal Castle take visual and audio cues and features from a classic machine but reinterpret them in a more modern way. And Moons Of Darsalon feels like it is in that latter camp. It’s clear it is trying to replicate some visual aspects of the Commodore 64 (and other micro-computers of that era) even if that is mostly limited to level transitions and colour pallet options.

Still, there can be no denying that the title is a labour of love to titles of that era. The Bleeper soundtrack is honestly great, and whilst the visuals are more C64-inspired than being a translation of them (honestly they feel more Amiga era than C64 to me) they are still presented. And more importantly, they are easy to read; with a game that can be as complex as this having environments where it is clear where you are and what you are doing is more than welcome. Also, a bonus shout goes to the voice synthesizer that chimes in whenever you save someone or do anything of note. It all helps it feel more of the moment. Even if it all feels rather recent.

Ay Eye? 

So now comes the point in the review where we must address the elephant in the room with Moons Of Darsalon. The title features AI-generated artwork, and how much of a hard sell that is for you is up to you. Yes, I’m breaking modern video gamer critic tradition by not lecturing the reader. I’ll be blunt, I’m not a fan, and I find the AI art here to be ugly and out of place; it bears little real resemblance to game artwork of that era. Let alone in-game art. Why it is here I don’t know, especially seeing as you can opt out and have the original artwork if you so wish. This honestly makes the decision to include it in the first place baffling to me, as they already had the artwork made for it!

I’m not a fan of Moons Of Darsalon’s AI art.

The option to switch out to the original art is a fair compromise. I honestly think that the original artwork has far more character and personality about it. As far as the presentation of it is concerned the AI art is the only real downside. The art and graphics otherwise are grand. And there are plenty of options to help present it in a way that may be more comfortable for you. And the music, again, is fantastic. It’s always a thrill to hear a track you haven’t heard before come in. Quite honestly I’d be shocked if I find a game with a better soundtrack than this by the end of this year. Which is apt given the developer is a well-seasoned House music DJ. All in all, the presentation is great, save my one big issue with it.

Moons Of Darsalon was reviewed on PC. Game key was provided by JF Marketing & Communications For Video Games.