Ave, a young knight in training, hails from the peacefully idyllic Starfall Village. Peaceful, that is, until she finds it threatened by logic-defying, nightmarish creatures. While attempting to protect her home, she’s defeated by one such monster only to be brought back from the brink by Lune, a mysterious being known as a Starfarer. Together, the two embark on a perilous journey to uncover the truth behind what’s going on and hopefully find a way to stop it. Ave and Lune certainly have their work cut out for them in the isometric Soulslike action RPG Lunarium, but their emotional tale is one truly fit for the stars. Can their newly born bond and friendship forged-in-fire save their world?
Lunarium is a stunningly gorgeous game, both visually and narratively. The gameplay is polished and well rounded, though if you aren’t as adept at parrying mechanics in particular, there’s now a Story Mode option included in the game’s settings for those more interested in seeing the compelling tale’s conclusion without facing as much of an arduous challenge. To be honest, I’m not too adept at parrying myself, and it took me several attempts to surpass some of the challenging boss battles spliced throughout. However, learning the exact mechanics and strategies to overcome such harrowing trials is a key aspect of Lunarium, and there’s an inherent sense of satisfaction and accomplishment once accomplished.
As Ave, beyond simply slashing away at foes with your sword and dodging and parrying as though your life depended on it (it often does!), Lunarium‘s gameplay relies heavily on your partnership with Lune. Lune not only brings vital, if limited, healing to the table, but she also provides ranged support when needed through her arrow shooting. Properly deflecting and parrying blows helps to quickly raise a foe’s stun meter, at which point Lune can unleash a powerful stun assault, leaving them open for further punishment from Ave. Their partnership dynamic is cleverly woven into how you approach fights.
Ave and Lune can rest and restore health at benches strewn throughout the various realms they travel to, which also allows them to teleport to locales they’ve uncovered. The most important location of this type is the Sanctuary, where you can craft various equipment to help you in your quest, raise plants to gather materials safely, and even unlock new skills on the skill tree, as well as Starfall Village. In this idyllic hamlet, Ave lives with her grandmother alongside her younger twin shopkeeper siblings.
You can purchase new items from the twins when needed, upgrade Ave’s sword Junonia when you have the right materials to do so by visiting Ave’s swordmaster, and see new story events that unlock every so often. Currency, crafting, and skill points share the same pool in Lunarium, so having them in abundance is vital to maintaining gear and keeping Ave and Lune strengthened. Fortunately, you can find abundant enemies that drop the shards needed for all three.
Ave dons cloaks throughout the game that grant her special advantages in battle, which can be fashioned on the loom in the Sanctuary. Finding the right materials to further upgrade the cloaks also strengthens their effects, giving a unique edge in combat beyond just skill sets. Lune can also add embroidery charms into the cloak that further boost stats or grant passive abilities to the pair, similar to equipment accessories. As you travel Lunarium‘s different areas, you also uncover special shards that increase your health and resonance pools once you acquire the correct amount of them, offering further incentive to explore as much as possible.
From an action RPG standpoint, the gameplay in Lunarium is well implemented and ultimately enjoyable thanks to the robust skills and stat boosts available to uncover and the different attack patterns that the bosses and common enemies possess. Manipulating night and day cycles, traversing through a hellish landscape by racing from safe point to safe point, there’s a unique variety to each area you uncover that’s well-thought-out and makes the journey all the more memorable. Even most branching off paths eventually lead back to safe areas in a truly brilliant display of game/map design.
The biggest critique I have with Lunarium is that I did feel as if Ave moves quite sluggishly, especially before gaining stat boosts and the like. It was almost like fighting in molasses, though I did end up getting the hang of the controls and didn’t notice the slowness as much later on once I was focusing more on simply dodging, parrying, and keeping on my toes.
Visually, the hand-drawn 2D graphics that populate Lunarium are truly breathtaking to behold and help it stand out. The character designs and artwork are also equally gorgeous. The UI is easy to navigate, and the game works phenomenally well on the Steam Deck with a controller layout. The story unfolds through visual novel-esque cutscenes and journal entries written by Ave’s own hand and in her delightful character voice. In these scenes, the English localization is decently conveys emotion, and is being updated regularly to further improve its presentation. Then, the soundtrack is emotive and fits the atmospheric, haunting mood brilliantly.
The largest strength of Lunarium is easily the bond between Ave and Lune, both narratively and gameplay-wise. In that regard, I feel this beautiful ARPG largely succeeds in what it sets out to tell. Even with the game being admittedly difficult, especially in light of my inability to effectively parry much of the time, I had genuine fun with it. I felt so much as I uncovered its various story beats and watched the two heroines grow together. For what it does well, Lunarium is a compellingly insightful action RPG with Soulslike elements, and it certainly deserves to be viewed as a shining star of the indie ARPG scene.
