Supernatural life and farming sim Moonlight Peaks is here to bewitch cozy gamers looking for a different flavour. On paper, it sounds perfect for Nintendo Switch 2, but how does it fare on the hybrid console?
Despite finding a sizable audience on Steam, Moonlight Peaks is the kind of game that favours handheld play, which is why I’m guessing a lot of players will choose the Nintendo Switch 2 (or 1) Edition over the alternatives. Of course, it’s also Steam Deck verified, but I’ve only had access to the Switch 2 version for this article.
Moonlight Peaks Switch 2 performance
Moonlight Peaks on Switch 2 holds 60 FPS consistently in docked mode, but visibly struggles a bit in handheld play. Overall, it seems developer Little Chicken had a conservative approach to resolution (more on that below) and also chose to keep the framerate uncapped. There are reports of the game managing to go above 60 FPS with the right TV settings, but I haven’t been able to confirm such claims. In-game, it offers no graphical settings/modes.
While the experience holds well above the 30 FPS zone in all scenarios I’ve come across so far, handheld play doesn’t offer the silky smooth framerate of the docked experience. There are some marked, frequent slowdowns, especially when traversing the town, but the slow-paced gameplay isn’t disrupted.
Perhaps slightly more annoying is the matter of load times. Mind you, Switch 2’s SSD still keeps them briefer than on Switch 1, but they’re fairly abundant (essentially every time you enter an interior) and can pile up quickly if you’re rapidly moving between different locations. 5 seconds repeated 10 times in a short period amounts to almost one minute of lost game time, and considering that other similar life sims barely have any stops, this is worth looking into.
Moonlight Peaks Switch 2 graphics
Moonlight Peaks on Switch 2 is a pretty game in its own way. The simple graphical presentation is elevated by a clean and well-defined art style that turns familiar cozy elements into spooky-themed ones. It’s the sort of game that feels perfect for the Halloween season. Across handheld and docked play, the visual presentation remains the same.
Even the image quality (click on each of the screenshots above) remains almost identical when switching modes. If you really pay attention, you’ll notice there’s a slightly jagged look vs. smoother edges thing going on with the method of anti-aliasing or upscaling the game uses, but it’s clear the internal image resolution and settings barely change.
While this is good for the presentation of the game, especially on the console’s smaller screen, it also explains why there are some performance dips in handheld play. Considering the difference in screen size, the handheld mode could deal with a deeper cut to the internal resolution in order to claw back some of the lost performance, but it remains to be seen if Little Chicken will act on that recurring bit of feedback.
Moonlight Peaks Switch 2 content & unique features
Moonlight Peaks on Switch 2 is a single-purchase premium game with no DLCs at the time of writing. It’s slightly more expensive in its Switch 2 Edition, and Switch 1 players can level up with a paid upgrade pack.
As for platform-specific features, there’s nothing that makes this version of the game special. It works out of the box fine, looks good, and runs mostly great. Motion or touch controls weren’t considered, it seems.
As someone who’s not big on cozy life sims (but moderately enjoys them), I’ve found Moonlight Peaks a charming time so far. Its simpler approach to the genre’s traditional mechanics and systems might scare away the diehards, but I’ve actually enjoyed its more relaxed pace and focus on vibes and single-player over a deluge of interwoven elements.
As a port, the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition does the minimum you’d expect: It looks and runs better than its Switch 1 counterpart, and that’s it. It’s a good thing to have with every game, and there are no complaints here beyond the fact it’s not a free update given its limited glow-up. I only wish for a couple of updates that can clean handheld performance up with realistic changes.
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