Heavily armed Lemmings.
Author’s Note: Moons of Darsalon appears to use AI generated art for some of the large loading screen graphics. These can be disabled by switching to “original art” in the options menu. I have not adjusted the score based on its inclusion but feel it is worth highlighting in advance
Imagine the classic puzzle game Lemmings but one of the lemmings has a jetpack and a gun. You’ve got the basics of Moons of Darsalon. Taking influence from Lemmings not just in gameplay but in graphical style as well, Moons of Darsalon is an inventive and charming puzzle game with a fair amount of jank around the edges.
The goal of each stage is to rescue stranded astronauts and bring them back to your base. To do this you’ll platform through an alien landscape and make use of any tools you can find along the way. Once you meet up with a survivor they’ll begin following you, but you can also use the directional buttons to issue them various orders (follow me, stay, go left, go right). Aiding you on your journey are various pickups. A jetpack will allow you to soar across the map, though it is important to remember that the people you save won’t be able to follow you with anything more than a basic jump. You’ll find several different kinds of guns, both to create and destroy. Using these will allow you to burrow through certain types of ground while also creating bridges for your less agile followers.
While the stages themselves are all well designed, I did find that platforming in Moons of Darsalon always felt awkward. One move you’ll learn early on is a sort of mantle for hoisting yourself up ledges by double tapping the jump button. I was never able to get this to trigger reliably, often having to take multiple runs at what were clearly supposed to be basic platforming scenarios. The addition of the jetpack makes this less of an issue, but anytime I did need to simply run and jump the controls felt loose and unresponsive.
One area in which Moons of Darsalon absolutely nails it however, is in its presentation (AI generated loading screens notwithstanding). While there are a surprising number of graphical options, the default intended look is clearly that of a early 90’s PC game. Everything from the simple characters, to the detailed but low color environments is perfect. All of this runs great on Switch and looks sharp both docked and handheld.
Moons of Darsalon has some rough edges, but its charm and level design is usually enough to shine through. This is a game that builds upon a lot of old ideas, but manages to make them feel incredibly fresh. While it can trip over itself now and then, the end result is a memorable and fun puzzle experience that feels truly out of time.
