Moonlight Sculptor is a Brand New Mobile MMORPG

Over the last couple weeks I’ve seen you guys mention your excitement for the new Moonlight Sculptor MMORPG.
This is a video game adaptation of the popular South Korean light novel “The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor,” of which I know absolutely nothing about. So I went into this with a pretty open mind, and absolutely no expectations.
Now I do want to note before we go any further, that the developers reached out to me to sponsor an introductory look at the game, and that’s what we’re here today to do. Take a look at the first several hours of the new Mobile MMO.

To start things off, I want to note that you can create a pretty cute looking character. I mean seriously.. look at that face.
You’re also given the option of choosing your class. You have the Warrior, the Mage, the Archer, the Paladin, and the Alchemist.
As soon as you’re done selecting your class, you’re thrown into a very Anime-esque world, filled with environments you’d expect out of a game like this.
The world looks and feels very aesthetically Anime-inspired, from the characters, to the areas you move around in, to the abilities you utilize.
I opted to go with the Mage, because… well, if you’ve been watching me for any length of time, you’d know that I’m a Mage at heart. I have a burning passion that swells from deep within me that requires I utilize all manner of elements to wreak havoc upon my enemies.
And I find mages annoying to kill when I play melee. So that’s.. yeah. My main reason for always going Mage in games. Now you know.

One of the issues I find I come across in mobile MMOs is their lack of substance. You’re kinda just.. thrown into a world and auto-play your way through it.
There’s no narrative to captivate you. That’s something that I never ran into in Moonlight Sculptor, as there is a surplus of story to propel you ever forward. And honestly, that’s probably to be expected, given this was based off of a popular light novel.
The narrative leads you all over the world, and is the main driving factor behind the game, which is a refreshing change of pace, but isn’t all that there is to do within the game.
You have other PvE options like Daily Dungeons, the Twisted Abyss that unlocks at level 40, and the Chaotic Entrance.
Daily Dungeons have 4 different difficulties, with each difficulty being locked behind their own entry-level requirements. Each day has their own dungeon type as well, with as an example, Tuesday being the Lunarium Dungeon, and Thursday being the Essence Dungeon.
This removes some of the otherwise tedious repetition found within games like this and presents players with a fresh sense of things to do each day.

Gear acquisition is about what you’d expect, as is enchanting. You use scrolls on weapons and armor, upgrading them, increasing the statistical bonus given by the item. You can dismantle gear you either can’t use, or don’t have any use for, obtaining useful materials.
Leveling provides a little more than is traditionally found in MMOs these days, with players receiving stat points that they can distribute into stats like Strength, Intelligence, Agility, providing bonuses to damage, survivability, and a variety of other benefits.
This allows you to kind of.. play your own way. Build your character how you want. Although admittedly, I don’t see players really experimenting too much with it as you’re going to want to either maximize your damage, or survivability depending on your role.
I went glass cannon – pumping everything into Intelligence for that juicy magic attack boost. This allowed me to, so long as I kept up to date with my weapon, 1 to 2-shot the vast majority of enemies I’d encounter.

If PvE and combat isn’t your thing, though, then Moonlight Sculptor offers players the option of just sitting back and relaxing. Yes, sometimes we just need a moment to chill, collect our thoughts, and ponder what kind of curtains would match the carpet in our home.
Yes, there is player housing in the game. You’re introduced to this feature early on, and are given a few initial pieces of furniture with which to decorate, and can unlock plenty more as you continue to play the game.
While I’m no expert – I’ve seen the kinds of homes you guys come up with – I feel like I didn’t do terribly with what I was given to work with.
You’re also given a variety of other life-skills, such as fishing – which admittedly I’ve never been a fan of. Either in video games or in real life. I’ve mentioned this many times, but my grandfather, and even my brother were ardent fisherman.
That’s all they did. And they’d take me out with them and have me sit in a boat all day watching a fishing rod. Yup. That was my experience with fishing and one of the main reasons I hate it to this day.
Suffice it to say, there’s a lot to do. Decorating your home, fishing, crafting. A multitude of different dungeons, several raids – with raids, much like dungeons, being unlocked as you continue to level. Arenas, duels. Activities to suit every type of player.

Moonlight Sculptor is a mobile MMO with a very cute Anime aesthetic. It utilizes a combat system that requires you cycle through enemies manually, adding an additional layer of activity to what is otherwise the norm in the genre.
The world is large and segregated, meaning there are small loading screens disconnecting regions from one another, reducing the general stress that the servers would encounter.
There’s a lot to see, and there’s a lot to do.