From defending bases to attacking adventure. A top-down action RPG, Last Moon certainly feels like it will be a grand adventure. Developed by Sköll Studio, a small team from France, Last Moon channels both classic and modern adventures with its design. Thanks to Yogscast Games as part of the Tiny Teams Festival, I’ve been given a code to offer my thoughts on this game.

Corruption has spread through the land. And to the moon. The If tree, which brings life to the world, now feeds it with the same corruption which has taken root within. A lunar knight is brought forth from the lunar crystals that have encased many people across the world. That lunar knight, the little ember that they are, is all that stands between the destruction of the world and its moon.

Playing as that lunar knight, Last Moon introduces things quickly. With a sword and shield in hand, and a companion spirit who wants to see how far you can go, the journey begins. Attack, dodge, and block are all part of the combat here, though future weapons will change that block for another ability depending on the nature of it. Campfires restore health and set the respawn point for when all life is lost.

Entering a forest, that combat gets its first test, where lunar glow is also introduced. Defeated enemies drop lunar glow, which fills a meter. Fill it fully, and the ability to heal is primed. Choosing when to use it is vital, as being hurt is still possible as it powers up. Enemies also drop gems on defeat, which is the currency of the game. In this demo, it has little use until the end.

This forest introduces more than just the combat, with a few puzzles to solve to get through to the next area. These are easy enough to understand. Move a boulder, find and defeat an enemy, activate switches. Later on these become a bit more involved, especially where treasure is concerned. Treasure usually means finding a rune, which grant various powers. Though not all you can find be active at once, so it’s a case of using those suiting your style.

Other items can be found in chests, such as lunar fragments. These can increase health, but only with multiple and only with the right person. Through the journey of the forest, it’s likely the sword and shield has levelled up. It is the weapons that level up in Last Moon, which also have skill trees. The demo only provides a small look at such, and also caps the level to 3 per weapon.

Upon reaching the village of Selene, it seems everyone has vanished from it. But for one, trapped in lunar crystal. Freeing that person using the corrupted moon essence, the way to the first dungeon, Uldar’s Well, is also opened. Within that dungeon, the first boss awaits. Very early on, in fact. Pattern memorisation is key, along with good use of the combat skills. With it defeated, the true dungeon begins.

Things are tougher, here. There’s a lot of branching paths, with some areas not yet open until an entire section is completed elsewhere. Enemies cluster in groups even more than in the forest, but this never feels truly unfair. Campfires are also spaced quite fairly, though it might not seem that way if accidentally missing one. As I did. Should really have looked at the map.

Upon exploring, that map gets filled in. It marks any important things, such as campfires, automatically. And it is partly this map, but also just from where I could go, that shows how much more there will be to Last Moon in terms of abilities with its full release. Paths that cannot be traversed, symbols on the floor marked on the map. And a heavy weapon that is unable to be picked up close to the weapon’s master who is saved.

I’ve enjoyed the small section of the game this demo allows playtime of. So much I’ve gone through it more than once. The ease of which I can use combat upon so much time spent with it is great. I’m very much interested in seeing just how combat changes up with the addition of new weapons, new runes, and permanent increases in stats such as critical chance.

And even the exploring. There’s many side paths that hold interesting puzzles with great rewards at the end of them. I want to see just how creative Last Moon can get with them. There’s a lot of systems that all work to create a compelling action RPG, which is why I could easily give it a recommendation when Last Moon releases sometime in 2025.

The Tiny Teams Festival is a celebration of games developed by small teams. This year running from 8-15/August, the festival once again is highlighting games both new and old, and even those yet to release. Check it out on Steam, and find yourself a great game from a tiny team.

Images Taken From:
Last Moon | Steam