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Moonglow Bay

Moonglow Bay

Bunnyhug · released Oct 26, 2021

AdventureCasualIndieRPGPCPlayStation 5, PlayStation 4Xbox Series X, Xbox OneNintendo Switch

Embark on a journey as a rookie angler in Moonglow Bay, fulfilling your partner's final wish. Team up with friends, family, and neighbours to hone your fishing skills, nourish relationships, and restore a remote town's fractured community in this slice-of-life fishing RPG!

69
VGC Score
Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Patch Notes - Update 1.1.12.0” (2y ago)

67%
At launch
67%
Steam all-time
67%
Press
78%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)6730
All-time Steam reviews67%65378
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)78%73325
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Apr 11, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 325 total reviews in window · weighted 150.8 up / 41.7 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (39)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 60
    trust 79May 20, 2024

    Moonglow Bay failed to hook me, but as the debut game from a small studio, it's a solid enough start overall for the subset of gamers who haven't yet had their fill of titles like this. I hope the team can tighten their focus and gameplay mechanics for their next release.

    read full review ↗
  • 65
    trust 75Feb 28, 2022

    Moonglow Bay is a frustrating one, mainly because we wanted to love it so much more. It tries a lot of new things with varied success, focuses on a few core gameplay systems that we wish were a little more engaging, all while telling a story about loss and community that's a cut above in its genre. It's just a shame that a few major glitches and pacing issues really hold it back from reaching its full potential. With Bunnyhug still hard at work with fixes, we just hope it gets closer to that apex we wanted to see it reach. Bunnyhug has a lot to offer, that much is clear. And if you can see your way through the storm to witness the beautiful dawn that waits for you at the end of the game, Moonglow Bay is well worth a visit. Just be warned: The water might be a little choppy in the meantime.

    read full review ↗
  • 50
    trust 75Apr 9, 2024

    We really wanted to like Moonglow Bay. It has the bones of a great fun cosy game: collectibles, a heartwarming story, fishing! Unfortunately, between the bugs, bland characters, and unnecessarily frustrating boss battles, the meat is a little thin. We enjoyed collecting the fish and restoring the town for a spell, but even the fun quests didn't have the compelling pull of many other games. If you really love fishing in your cosy adventures, this could be worth dipping your toe in. But if you're just in the market for a cosy game, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 73Dec 15, 2021

    Bunnyhug’s Moonglow Bay is a fantastic fishing RPG that embodies the idea of slow-moving, intentional living, and is great for anyone who is in dire need of some calm and chill vibes. The game is not without flaws, but overall it is an inviting experience for anyone missing the bygone days of the River King series.

    read full review ↗
  • 77
    trust 70Apr 11, 2024

    While it lacks a bit in structure and direction, this fishing adventure does have some charm

    read full review ↗
  • 40
    trust 70Feb 13, 2023

    A super-calm mix of fishing, cooking, business management, and town-restoring RPG, Moonglow Bay is a decent idea that wasn't executed that well, and is thus very boring and repetitive. It also struggles with making you care about anything. Players do things just to do them, with the tiniest sense of progress possible. Take your fishing rod and fish somewhere else.

    read full review ↗
  • 40
    trust 69Apr 9, 2024

    Moonglow Bay has a lot of promise; it’s easy to spend hours with it when it’s working properly. But when it’s not, it turns into a nightmare you don’t want to revisit. The cosy vibes of the gameplay, fun characters, and enjoyable fishing and cooking mechanics don’t make up for fundamental errors with the game that really mar the rest of the experience.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 69Nov 5, 2021

    A fantastic casual fishing/cooking/life sim game marred by a myriad of quality of life issues.

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    trust 67Nov 7, 2021

    Moonglow Bay is a fun and relaxing game that I found very rewarding to play, there's a huge variety of things to do in this game so I never get tired of it. Every day I play I can't wait to go back and see what monster-sized fish I manage to catch and see what kind of new dishes I get to create in the kitchen.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 65Oct 28, 2021

    There's not an ounce of badwill in this game, and no matter what minor irritations I may have, it's a very wholesome, relaxing and gorgeous experience.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 63Oct 26, 2021

    Moonglow Bay tells a tale of a quaint town, with people afraid to go into the sea mixed with a story about grief. But, it also has lots of feel-good themes of resilience and community spirit. While the game could do with a little more work in some areas, it is still an enjoyable game to play. And the icing on the cake is, yes, you can pet Muffin the dog as many times as you want to!

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 63Nov 1, 2021

    Moonglow Bay offers is an escapade to a seaside fishing town, but at times, it gets a little fishy.

    read full review ↗

…and 27 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. Steam Cloud Save!
    Apr 29, 2024
  2. Patch Notes - Update 1.1.12.0
    Apr 11, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  3. ✨ Patch 1.0.8 is here ✨
    Jul 14, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  4. Patch 1.0.7 out on Steam with more to come
    Jun 15, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  5. Moonglow Bay is now playable in Japanese!
    Jul 27, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  6. Update 1.04 now rolling out for Moonglow Bay!
    Feb 8, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  7. New Major Update 1.0.3 is here!
    Dec 14, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  8. New Patch Incoming!
    Nov 3, 2021significant · resets scoring window