A story-driven adventure by Christopher Lee that plays as if you were watching a film in a cinema.
MoonStreet: The Playable Movie is a story-driven adventure by Christopher Lee. According to the developer, it is a pixel-styled 3D game set in Astro, a retrofuturistic city, where scientist Keith Klipper and his robot companion M.A.X. investigate abductions and power outages. Here is what I found in the free demo.
Atmosphere and Story
The setting is what grabbed me first: a retro, cyberpunk-flavored city full of detail, with many objects to interact with and plenty of characters. The game follows a story, in the spirit of the classic LucasArts adventures.
There are also several side interactions along the way. You can help people, or talk to a woman at a bar, which gave me a tip I could not verify in the demo. Doing random tasks for strangers earned me a little money. It is a good touch that makes the world feel rich and alive.
Difficulty and Guidance
You choose between two difficulty modes:
- Action: Full fights and quick enemies.
- Story: Mostly puzzles and conversation.
Fights are short either way.
There are also three guidance options:
- Friend: Your companion reads the crowd for you.
- Crowd: You follow the crowd and the rumors.
- Path: A finder shows the way.
The Tab key always shows it. I did not notice much difference between them in the demo.
The Movie Theater Presentation
The game’s best idea is how it presents itself. You can play it as if it were a film: the camera pulls back a little and the screen becomes a movie theater, with a row of audience members watching your playthrough. It even works when you pause. You can hear the audience clearing their throats and coughing, and during one longer dialogue I heard someone sleeping.
I eventually turned the cinema mode off, because in some interactions the screen became blurry.
🍿 Want the full movie night experience? A popcorn maker is the perfect companion for a game that turns your screen into a cinema.
The Load menu follows the same idea. You can go back to specific points in the story and play them again, like automatic checkpoints, and you choose them from a menu of film frames, like the projection booth of a cinema. New Game is also inside Load, at the start of the film frames. The idea fits the concept, but it is risky: my first reaction was frustration, because I could not find New Game in the main menu.
Voices and Soundtrack
The voices are well characterized. M.A.X., the robot, has real presence and is charismatic. The game warns that the voice recording is still in progress, so the demo may not reflect the final audio.
The soundtrack evoked sax and piano, like old noir jazz. I cannot tell exactly which era it points to, but it fits the setting.
🎧 Noir jazz sounds better with good audio. A pair of comfortable headphones brings out the sax and piano in the soundtrack.
Final Thoughts
Even in a short demo, I wanted to keep following the adventure of the two protagonists. The cinema concept is clever, but the blurry screen and the hidden New Game option show where it can still improve. If you like story-driven adventures with a retro look and a lot of personality, MoonStreet is worth a try.
Steam: MoonStreet: The Playable Movie
Images courtesy of the developer.
Disclosure: the developer contacted QG Reloaded and provided press material. I played the free demo only, without a press key, and this post was not paid for.
As an Amazon Associate, QG Reloaded earns from qualifying purchases.
