MoonRN

Break SpaceBreak Space Ace

Al

Dave

Mpk

MOONRN Snauts Free Mpk's Review You know what's great? Skipping stones across a lake. I don't care who you are - you'll not beat the satisfaction of getting a bunch of little hops out of your carefully selected stone. Flat, but not too flat. Not too light, fits nicely in the curve of your index. Swing back, whip it aaaand SKIP... SKIP.. Skip..SkipSKip skipskipskiskip. Plop. Awesome. But - that record breaking stone? That perfect selection that just drew a gasp from some gawking kid? It's at the bottom of a lake now, you idiot. You threw it away! So it is with video games. You look for a good one, try a few duds - and every now and then there it is. The skipper. So you play it and love it and then it's done. All that's left is to write a little review with a laboured intro and move along. MOONRN, you see, is a game about skipping across a lake. Or, more accurately, about skipping lightly across moonbeams as they sparkle on a lake. It's also Moon Run spelt wrong, you see. Set in the kingdom of Mondlauf ( Moon Run in German, monoglots ) on a magical night when the moon's rays solidify the water just enough that a brave and nimble person can skip across the water. It's not easy, oh no, but there's a marvellous prize awaiting, so off you go. The game is a not-quite-endless runner game with a single button to jump. And, as you'll need to figure out pretty quickly, double-jump. The moon illuminates patches of water that you can run on, and you'll need to get your timing just right to move between them. The levels are short, and with just 20 of 'em it's not a long game as such, but you will need quite a bit of practice to get through. You start with an infinite-lives practice mode available, as well as the regular 5-lives mode. Beat that, and you'll unlock a mode where you only get one life. Beat that and... well, let me know if you manage it. This is the 4th games from relative newcomer Snauts, who excels in making simple games look great. The game uses a small colour pallette to pick out the moonlight platforms, which zip along at different speeds, while the simple stick figure has an impressively characterful gait. Movement is super-smooth, and the control super-responsive, as it needs to be. It sounds great too, on 128k machines at least, with a classy up-tempo tune to encourage you to keep your socks dry. What's most impressive though, is the design of those few levels. There's a real progression in difficulty, but each has a clear identity, its own gimmick that you need to get to grips with. Not a jump is wasted, and it delivers a superbly economical gameplay experience. A cracking start to 2025 and one that, unlike your favourite stone, you'll be able to rediscover afresh every now and again.

"you'll need to get your timing just right"

A jaunty little wave to start the level

Moondance? Marvellous night for it I'm sure.

PRIOR ART Snauts burst onto the scene in 2024 with no less than 3 titles, each representing straightforward arcade titles with a strong visual style. Of those, the standout is probably Pulzar, a high-octane bullet-hell survival game. Grazers is an interesting action update to the Horizons tape Foxes & Rabbits, and Zlalox is a challenging overhead skiing game.