I come home after a long day of work and I go into a nightly routine before heading to bed. I do a little bit of homework. I drink something nice, like orange juice or green tea, maybe. I play a little bit of a game. I go to bed, listening to a YouTube video that I only catch parts of before falling asleep. Lately, I’ve fallen into a game that slips in nicely with that daily routine.

Ritual of the Moon is a meditative game written and designed by Kara Stone with a team of collaborators, including the likes of Ice Water Games, who provided me with my copy. You play as a witch that has been exiled to the moon after being sold out by her lover. She spends her days on her lonesome, contemplating her past and life on Earth, taking time to meditate and watching meteors go by. Unfortunately, these meteors hurtle toward the Earth on a daily basis, but thankfully, the witch can divert them with her powers. The problem is: are they deserving of salvation?

Much like my own life, Ritual of the Moon follows a strict routine, set over 28 real-life days. You start the game gazing out toward the Earth, with the witch offering a small comment. Then you retreat into her magical sci-fi abode to meditate at an altar. You pick a number of items in a certain order (which turns into days-long memory games) and then draw out a shape in the stars. It is all quite simple, but with how it fits into my own life, it’s comfortable. The witch’s routines are mine, we do the little things we want to do before we rest. The ethereal music by Halina Heron and Maggie McLean plays as you draw out the constellations and feels therapeutic while making for a reflective experience.

And of course, there are the meteors. You can hurry outside and click-and-drag on a meteor to divert it from Earth… or you can stand by and let it hit, or speed it up yourself. The small bits of dialogue you get over the days of playing paints the witch’s situation as unjust, so you may think that hurting the world back is a justified response.

Whether she sits in quiet contemplation and moves on or openly wills the destruction of those that wrong her, the routine must be followed. If you skip a day, a meteor will hit in your absence, with the cold reminder that doing nothing is as bad as doing it yourself. Ritual of the Moon demands the daily ritual, demanding that you take a stance yourself, lest it makes the decisions for you.

Ritual of the Moon costs $12 on itch.io and $16.99 on Steam. The game has six unique endings based on the temperament you build up over 28 days.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.