At long last, Moonlight Peaks is out in the wild. The highly anticipated farming sim puts a unique, supernatural twist on classical mechanics. That’s part of the charm, but it does mean that some elements of the game work differently from what you might be used to. I’ve been playing farming sims since my earliest gaming days, and even I had a few questions while I worked my way through year one. Lucky for you, I’ve already struggled, so you don’t have to.
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I’m here to break down 5 of the most important tips to keep in mind during your first year in Moonlight Peaks. From mechanics that work a little differently to things I wish I’d known sooner, this guide is here to help you sail smoothly through your first year on the supernatural farm. As for making sure you get the tiny Witch Hat from Snek’s shop? That one is just up to pure luck, I’m afraid.
5) Faster Movement is Coming… You Just Need to Unlock Hellkitten Form
If you’re as impatient as I am, you no doubt started wondering how to get around faster almost immediately. Not to worry! While there’s no traditional sprint mechanic in Moonlight Peaks, or a mount as far as I’m aware, you can unlock faster movement. It’s tied to one of your magical transformations, specifically the Hellkitten form. That’s right, you will be able to turn into a cute kitten just like the one that lives on your farm.
The Hellkitten transformation lets you spring across the map much more quickly than walking around. It’s unlocked as part of a story quest relatively early in the game. Specifically, you’ll need to complete the “Dinner Party” main quest bringing together the Logan and Ambrosia families. As part of the events at this unlikely gathering, you will uncover your latent ability to turn into a Hellkitten. Once you do, you can hit the L button on your controller and select the Hellkitten image to turn into a tiny, quick cat and sprint around to your heart’s content.
4) Fixing Your Broken Wand is Tied to a Story Quest
Look, we’re here for the magic of it all. And while being a vampire is great, casting spells and brewing potions is a core part of daily events in Moonlight Peaks. As the child of Dracula and his witch wife, you are both a vampire and a spellcaster. It’s just that the wand in your tool wheel is a little bit on the broken side. That means you won’t be able to buy new spells from the Webb of Wonders or use magic until you get it fixed.
Given that it’s a magic item, you can’t get your wand fixed at Ridge’s carpentry shop. Instead, you’ll need to get to Luna’s “The Magic of Crops” story quest. Fixing your wand is a key part of this quest, which means you won’t unlock magic until you get here. So don’t be like me and wander around town trying to find a shop that can fix your wand. It, and your ability to cast spells, will be available in good time.
3) Certain Foods Work Better Than Others to Restore Stamina
One of the biggest frustrations early on in Moonlight Peaks is depleted stamina. That stamina bar goes down quick when you’re chopping trees and sowing crops. And you might notice that many of the foods you can cook up early on only restore 2 or 3 stamina points. That’s hardly enough to make a dent in your daily activities, and it can be really frustrating. Because you’re a vampire, you’ll need to prepare or buy specific dishes in order to actually restore stamina.
In general, recipes that use Blood Grapes or Blood Tomatoes will work better than others. Fish and magical crops are also key ingredients in vampire-friendly cooking. As you progress in the story, you’ll unlock a new cookbook full of recipes for vampires. This will help make it easier to keep your stamina up as you tackle daily farm tasks.
2) Follow the Sparkles to Unlock (Or Avoid) Cutscenes
If there’s one thing (besides the slow loading screens) that drives me crazy with Moonlight Peaks, it’s cutscenes. Don’t get me wrong, the cutscenes themselves are very cute and add a lot of depth to the characters. But they tend to pop up when I’m in the middle of something else, transporting me randomly across the map. Thankfully, there is a way to see where you’re likely to step into a cutscene.
If you open up the map in Moonlight Peaks, you’ll see a sparkle icon on areas where cutscenes can be triggered. This can help you check to see if you’ve got new content or friendship events on a given day. And if you want to take those Vampsters to their cave without getting interrupted, you can also use this to avoid a cutscene until you’re ready for it. In my experience, this isn’t foolproof, and sometimes a cutscene will trigger without an icon. But I do find it helpful to plan my days in Moonlight Peaks.
1) Many Features Won’t Unlock Until Late Game, So Don’t Stress
A lot of farming sims offer up the full core gameplay loop by the end of year one. In my experience, that just isn’t the case with Moonlight Peaks. This game is a slow burn, with many features unlocked slowly over time. That means you’ll see things like those ripples in the water and wonder what they’re for, but the answer may not arise until much later in the game. Much of the content is tied to quests, so it won’t unlock until you hit the right point in the story.
Even if that feels a bit weird, I think it’s ultimately a good thing. It saves more fresh content for the endgame. But it also means this isn’t a game you can rush. So if you’re wondering why you can’t catch bugs yet, how to transform into a bat, or when you’ll meet that secret character you saw on Reddit, worry not. Chances are you just need to get further in the game for the right story quest to unlock that feature.
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