Moonglow Bay Review: Hopeful Tides
When I think about relaxation, it’s a safe bet that elements such as sailing uncharted waters, coping with loss, or renovating an entire town aren’t topics that would enter my mind - let alone be synonymous with the term. However, the team at Bunnyhug Games have managed to change that narrative for me in their delightfully charming debut project, Moonglow Bay. First revealed at the ID@Xbox showcase earlier in March this year, Moonglow bay is a casual, slice of life, fishing RPG that sees players through a handful of stories within the eastern Canadian fishing town of Moonglow and its surrounding waters. Bolstered by bright voxel art and a soothing, sometimes even entrancing soundtrack, Moonglow Bay is undeniably cozy; comparable to a warm blanket you’d wrap yourself in or the hot drink you’d sip on a cold rainy day.
Story (Spoiler-Free)
Set three years after the disappearance and presumed death of your character's partner, grief and the resulting isolation have separated you from the community of Moonglow. Almost immediately upon starting, you’re met by your daughter, River. River ends up partnering up with you after giving you a fishing journal you once had plans to fill before the tragedy. Suggesting that you two restart the street food business you and your partner once had, you make your way back out to reconnect with the townsfolk only to find that the town has sunk into dilapidation thanks to their fear and rejection of the same water that once provided them with food, tourism, and a stable economy.
Moonglow is presented as a superstitious town that subscribes heavily to the myths and rumors that surround the waters of their bay. Upon realizing how endangered the town and the local wildlife have become in the absence of someone like your partner, whose dream it was to move here and live off and for the water, you and River set out to honor your lover’s memory by picking up where you had left off years before. With a new perspective, a desperate community, and the town’s centennial right around the corner, you set off to catalogue and preserve the diverse species of the surrounding waters in your journal, become the angler you always knew your partner to be while you rebuild the family business, and bring the town of Moonglow back to prosperity via compassion, cooking, and a little help from the friends you make along the way.
The concept of a rookie fisherman and his daughter facing the myths of their town's folklore is interesting. The addition of also facing their grief regarding their shared loss, however, is pretty damn compelling. Despite largely serving as the introduction to the game's mechanics, starting with my character in such a bleak space, having Rose inspire them, and then setting out to undertake these huge tasks had me rooting for the dad and daughter duo within the first few minutes of the game. Stepping out the door to take on the world but first having to learn the basics of fishing also put into perspective how daunting that task must be for them, and more importantly, how invested I became in undertaking the task.
Presentation
Despite the game’s story being catalyzed by death and loss, there’s a pleasant juxtaposition to that theme in both its art style and soundtrack. Presented like a diorama with its isometric camera view, Moonglow utilizes colorful voxel art that not only is a pleasure to look at, but really drives home that cozy, relaxed feel. That relaxed feeling and the fun of simply seeing familiar things modeled in voxel form becomes even more prominent as you start renovating and discovering the number of diverse types of fish and biomes as well. The creatures in the bay can range from all sorts of fish to crustaceans and cephalopods, but while many are based on actual species, Bunnyhug took the liberty of including some unique, fun, and silly species in the mix. My personal favorite catch? The wizardly Warlock Roll Fish. Silly and creative inclusions like this made casting for new species more engaging and all-around fun considering I never knew what I would catch. A stingray that resembles the cosmos? An eel masquerading as a pelican? This fun and light hearted approach to the wildlife adds a level of charm to the already heaping portion served constantly throughout the game.
While charming throughout, Moonglow Bay has its fair share of mysterious, adventurous, and even treacherous moments as you embark throughout the waters far beyond the bay. All of these vibes are captured perfectly by a genuinely captivating and diverse original soundtrack composed by Lena Raine. From the opening track aptly titled “Welcome to Moonglow Bay” which captures the inviting, relaxed nature of the overall experience, to “Toward Ivory Dawn” which captures the feeling of mystery and setting sail into the unknown, and “Carbon Eruption” which feels more like the score to an epic battle. Moonglow Bay is just downright enjoyable to look at and every track has an emotional quality to it that amplifies not just the overall experience but the moments and settings in which the tracks are featured. As far as aesthetics go, the team at Bunnyhug knew exactly what they wanted to capture and absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Gameplay
The gameplay loop in Moonglow Bay is a simple yet satisfying one, seeing the player go from exploring to fishing to cooking to selling. However, it’s the numerous small tasks and errands peppered in between these core mechanics that keep the experience from becoming rote. I found plenty to do around town to keep me busy, such as cooking specific dishes for townspeople to learn more about them, catching sand fleas to trade for bait at the local market to prep for a big fishing trip, or checking the town bulletin board to keep up with market trends and help community members out for quick cash. The boat shop and the tech shop around town also provide a fun aspect to the gameplay, allowing you to upgrade your ship in different ways like hitting it with a sonar to keep track of where large bodies of fish might be or installing engine upgrades and hull reinforcements for the more dangerous waters you’ll find yourself in. The local aquarium, which you’ll be filling with the new species of marine life you discover, also adds a satisfying ever-present task similar to the town restoration. The aquarium adds a unique layer of satisfaction to fishing and discovering new species, being separated into different floors that you can walk around inside of to view all the species that you’ve caught.
As you venture into new waters, whether it’s by fishing rod or net, you’ll be catching a large variety of marine life. However, certain species only respond to certain lures or bait, while certain rods are more equipped to deal with certain species. I often found myself running back into the cabin of my boat to make sure I was correctly equipped to take on whatever I was fishing for, or just rotating through lure and rod variations to see what all I could catch in whatever area I found myself in. There were also plenty of instances where I would specifically go out just to catch a large amount of a specific fish knowing that I could cook them into a dish that I could flip for a high profit.
The process of cooking feels like a game in itself. Whether the recipe calls for baking, frying, washing, filleting, chopping, or boiling, each step in the recipe is accompanied by its own micro-game, maybe spanning 30 seconds at max. The amount of steps for a recipe will vary depending on the complexity of it, as will the profit you can make from it. Though the more complex and profitable recipes can often be variations of base recipes, these are only unlocked by mastering the base recipe they stem from. For example, angels on horseback sell for a pretty penny, but to learn that recipe you must have made a specific amount of its base dish - grilled oysters. Recipes do however cost money to cook and, with that being said, I tended to opt for larger batches of less complex ones as they garnered a better return on investment. This allowed me to renovate my town at a quicker pace.
The town renovation is boiled down to simply paying a price and watching the building and its surrounding area go from broken and vacant looking to brand new. As simple as that may sound, the restoration of town is one of the most satisfying features of the game in my opinion, acting as a culmination of all the other actions you’re taking and a visual representation of the time you’ve put into the journey. Each building will cost a hefty chunk of change to restore, but as you start seeing holes patched, paint restored, newly planted trees on main street, and flags and banners stretching across light posts and businesses, making your way across town starts to deliver a sense of accomplishment. That sense of accomplishment is reinforced further once you restore the town hall and can access the investment and renovation meter. The investment meter tracks how much money you’ve put back into the town with milestones to hit that will give you rewards ranging from new lures to mopeds you can zip across town on.
Breakdown
Game: Moonglow Bay
Developer: Bunnyhug Games
Availability: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, Steam
Reviewed on Xbox Series X
Pros:
+ Simple, but varied fishing system
+ Stellar soundtrack
+ Extremely chill, fun, and satisfying gameplay loop
+ Diverse cast of characters to meet and get to know
Cons:
- Movement around unrenovated areas
* addressed in patch
Final Thoughts
Among its myths, mystery, and tragedy, Moonglow Bay is filled with an ocean's worth of endearing charm and is quite possibly the most relaxing thing I've experienced all year. The fun, creative designs within its voxel art are as easy on the eyes as its wonderful soundtrack is on the ears, and both evoke every mood and feeling that the team at Bunnyhug set out to capture in their first outing. The story of coping and healing is a heartfelt one, and while it may not tug on your heart strings too hard, it's done to a degree where you can still empathise not only for your character, but for the townsfolk around you and their personal stories as well. Simply put, Moonglow Bay is a delight. Whether you’re into fishing, voxel art, or are just looking for something to escape from the chaos of everyday life, Moonglow Bay is an adventure worth setting sail into.
Reviewed by Justin Hyde