It may very well be obvious to say, but I enjoy video games. I know, shocking that a “games journalist,” (who makes too many phallic jokes for his own good) would like the medium he covers. However, part of the job is to know about tens, hundreds, or thousands of games at any given time. Sometimes there is an overlap on these games, from similar games for developers, similar design, the occasional “We’re not X game, honest. We’re just everything it is, but not. Don’t send lawyers,” and my prevailing stupidity.

Something about Moonlighter always reminds me: “Oh, I have that ga– No, I don’t?” There is something about the artwork and overall aesthetic that is similar to something else. Though I never know what; as I can’t think of another game where you run a store while going through a rogue-like/lite, in a dungeon crawler manner, that has pixel art. There are also no other games really that feature RPG mechanics like this. While I did moonlight as a dancer in the Moulin Rouge‘s dungeons, I cared more for the RPG side of things in my short time.

There’s an English dark-comedy show from the very early 2000’s called Black Books, so-called for the owner of a small book shop, Bernard Black. To give you a short synopsis of the man, he’s a work-shy sod, one that hates all of humanity (including himself), and is a bit of an obscure character. I wonder why I sympathize with this character who hates every time-wasting tosspot in his store. Nonetheless, I did try to please all of the lazy gits stumbling around the store, picking up my wares; for them to shrug off the prices and put down the vines.

This is where I think dancing in the moonlight falls short: The rogue-like/lite mechanics have been done to death. We’re not going to see anything fresh on randomly generated dungeon-crawling for a little while. However, the shop owning could have been fleshed out a bit. It is a nice idea, though I could have preferred a deeper puddle to high dive into. Once you’ve logged the perfect price to sell all your useless tat from the dungeon you are currently on, it is time to relearn what people want from the second, third, and forth. Or at least, so I am told.

You see, because there are two games this week, I am left without the proper time to go dumpster diving into the slow-paced world of Moonlighter. On the whole, I found the dungeon crawling a little generic, the fighting lacking (very early on), and the running of the store to be the old adage of: “As wide as an ocean – deep as a puddle.” I’d recommend it if you are looking for another rogue-like/lite to fill your library.

The second game in the Epic Games store, 11 Bit Studios double bill is This War of Mine. If you would like a deep and well-thought-out review of this one, I’d suggest checking out David’s review here. However, if you want a short overview of the first hour or two: This War of Mine is a horror game, my kind of horror to be exact. While other opinioned internet types would swear that Five Nights at Madame Tussauds is the fecal matter sandwich, I’d rather look at the horrors of the human condition. I don’t want to inflict a condition upon myself, we’ve already established I’m a work-shy type, and I don’t want to clean that up.

Extenuating metaphors for pooing one’s self aside, This Little War of Mine is to horror what the Nintendo Switch is to my toilet frequency. It is long, suspenseful, and could splash something up your plans like a heavy turd. You see, This War of Mine knows what horror is. Horror is the uncertainty of the thing you know is going to happen, but never comes until you have forgotten it was ever there.

In This War of Mine, you are tasked with keeping some people alive. This sounds simple until one of the idiots gets a paper cut while filing through the rubbish. They are the wet paper bag in the, “you couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag” metaphor. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t get hungry, tired, sick, and generally become a nuisance to your well-laid plans. Nonetheless, you have to send them out at night to find food, scrap, or anything of value.

This is where Hogan’s Heroes shines. Early on you are faced with ransacking old schools that are empty, looting the dead, and at most fighting some New York rats for some pizza. Then, later on, you are faced with putting your people into harm’s way to collect from the living. You are also asked by others isolated by the war to help their situation. Here you have to decide whether or not you will help for a small risk-reward percentage, or continue to isolate yourself from other humans. To say it again, this is true horror, the horror of the human condition.

Moonlighter and This War of Mine are both available for free over on the Epic Games store. If you are under the age of 18 and your account is under a parental lock you will only be able to pick up Moonlighter. However, if you are over this age rating you can pick up both for free. I highly recommend picking up both as they are both worth your time in some way or another.

Though, we look forward to what comes next week. As it is yet another double bill, however, not an indie double bill. This second helping of making my life a Misery (pun intended) will feature Alan Wake, an episodic story-driven game that sniffs the cracks between Stephen King’s typewriter keys like a dog sniffs bumholes. The second is Ubisoft’s For Honor, an action game that doesn’t understand Knights, Vikings, and Samurai are from three separate periods in time.

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