In recent years, there has been an uptick in the popularity of life and farming sims like Stardew Valley as players find themselves longing to retreat to their farms after a long day to grow crops, style a home, and maybe find everlasting love. Moonlight Peaks is a new indie game by Little Chicken Game Company that delivers all these features—and more—with a blood-sucking twist. Players can make all their cozy vampire life sim dreams in this new title.
Game ZXC spoke with game director Yannis Bolman and art director Mia Boas all about the vast amount of features and mechanics in Moonlight Peaks and how their game sets itself apart from other life sims on the market.
Moonlight Peaks Offers Players a Life Sim Experience with a Blood-thirsty Twist
While many life and farming sims feature similar mechanics and are easily comparable, with some being downright clones of Stardew Valley, Moonlight Peaks offers a unique twist on the classic paradigm. In Little Chicken’s newest project, players take on the role of a young vampire who runs away from home after an argument with their parents. The player character’s father, the infamous Count Dracula, wishes for the player to carry out his legacy as a feared vampire, but the player character feels that times have changed, and it’s time to live out their own life how they want. The game includes much of the expected gameplay for a life sim, but life as a vampire means many of those mechanics also come with a new twist. As Boas explained,
“To me, it stands out from other life sims by embracing all things supernatural. We really want to create a magical universe where everything goes … It's not just about daily activities, it's about discovering secrets, forging relationships, and engaging in heartfelt conversations.”
Day to day—or rather night to night—life will vary for everyone, but one way Moonlight Peaks shakes things up is by situating the daily lives of players in the dark. Players do control a vampire after all, so this setting is crucial to Little Chicken’s desire to “embrace all things supernatural.” Additional vampiric abilities help set the game apart from its counterparts by offering new gameplay features and spins not commonly seen in the usual life sim tropes. Players will be able to transform into a bat and traverse the world around them, for example.
Other abilities include spells and craftable items that will help make tasks like farming more efficient for players while also offering some surprises along the way. Boas also tells Game ZXC the team is particularly proud of the dialogue and relationships within the game. Rather than superficial conversations about the ongoings of the town, Moonlight Peaks gives players multilayered dialogue that changes as the player develops their relationships, uncovers secrets, and has deep conversations.
“Spells in the game serve as tools to provide various boosts and effects to optimize farming efficiency, for example by speeding up crop growth. Spells can also have effects outside of farming, such as improving fishing success or granting temporary bonuses to the player's abilities.”
With the expansive catalog of life sim games out there today, they can begin to blend together into a mass of friendly neighbors, farms, and family disputes, but Moonlight Peaks distinguishes itself as a stylish game with a creative twist on an old framework. Its unique world and spin on classic mechanics make it a great choice for players who love the genre but are tired of seeing the same thing redone again and again.
Moonlight Peaks is available to wishlist on Steam.