METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN
Game
Game2023Published by indie.io
LunarLux
Developer CosmicNobab Games
Experience a sci-fi action-adventure RPG on the Moon in the year 30XX! Join Bella in a story of science, truth, justice, and trust, as she travels the silver globe to find a way to save humanity from Comet Coda! It's time to unleash your Lux! From the Steam store page
271 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 2, 2026 · last updated Oct 7, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
93
LovedLoved
175 positive · 13 negative
95% range 89–96%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 175 | 13 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
83 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
425 of 446 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Overwhelmingly positive with praise for its combat and music, despite some balance issues.
Players overwhelmingly praise LunarLux for its fun combat system, which blends turn-based action with minigames inspired by Mega Man Battle Network and Undertale. The soundtrack and pixel art are also frequently highlighted as standout features. [4][14][20]
However, some critics note balance problems, such as overpowered skills and a punishing rank system that can hinder progress. A few also find the story predictable or the gameplay repetitive over time. [5][7][35][36]
Praised combat system · music · art style · inspirations from Mega Man Battle Network
Criticised balance issues · punishing rank system · predictable story
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 271 · most liked firstMay your Lux shine forever bright LunarLux is a flawed gem of a game. I personally liked it enough to clear the main game and much of the current postgame content, but there are more than enough problems for me to give a negative review, if only so prospective buyers can know what they're getting into. The Good + The art and music are very good. There's some minor audio balancing issues with some BGM being much quieter than the rest of the game, but that's about it. + The core battle system…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 55.9h (100% achievement, finished the game) Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (~4 achievements). Optional Achievement(s): Yes (~28 achievements). Difficult Achievement(s): No. Intro LunarLux is a turn-based RPG with some action elements. Fights are turn-based, but attacking and defending are done through minigames. Attacking is mostly done like Paper Mario where you need to press a button at a certain time, while defending is more varied based on the enemy attacks. Pros: - Varied…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Since LunarLux just released on Switch, I figure it's a good time to repost my old 2022 art of a plushie concept of Bella Grey (the main character in the game) I had to draw a fumo version too, of course!
unlabelledView post →I picked up Lunar Lux while it was on sale w/ Coromon as a bundle. Admittedly, I was going to just tag this in the bundle and say, 'maybe later I'll play it.' After finding myself between games, I decided to try it out. Easily my best boredom choice in a long time. I love this game. I love the story, the art, the combat, the characters. I really am impressed with this game. Easily one of my favorite games this year. Enough gushing, time to actually talk about the game. This game is inspired…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A game I voice in drops next month and I'm super excited about it. September 25th check out LunarLux! I voice the anti-hero!
unlabelledView post →This week's winner is.... Me FINALLY beating LunarLux and THEN we dive into the N64 style game Cavern of DREAMS! Thursday or Friday will change depending on Blooper's work schedule so we can do a collab of sorts! SEE YA THEN! www.twitch.tv/dooper
unlabelledView post →After playing Metaphor: ReFantazio and going through its constant heavy and often depressing messages and themes, it sure is nice to play something that’s a little bit of a lighter experience all around. No overtly racist characters, no race to become king, and only minimal socializing with characters who have horrifically tragic backstories. It was also refreshing not to have a game take up a billion years of my life (I promise, the 40 hours I have on LunarLux are mostly from me keeping the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're a fan of Megaman Battle Network/Starforce, It's kinda like if you took those games grid based arena, and made a turned based RPG out of it with some QTE's. It's not a bad combination, and there's some good time to have with this title. The story is alright, but it's predictable as hell, the characters are likable though. By far the best part of this game is the soundtrack, lots of great songs, clearly a lot of love went into it. My only big gripe is the game is a bit too easy, I only…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LunarLux is out on the Switch today! If you still haven't gotten a chance to play this game (or want to replay it), it's the perfect opportunity to get your Lunex Warrior gear back on and explore its fun world! There's a VERY familiar duck in it, too... 👀 www.nintendo.com/us/store/pro...
unlabelledView post →I think this game is best enjoyed if you put yourself in the mindset of when you were just a kid playing on your GBA. The music and artwork are great, try not to think too hard about the story, and let what makes it good take over. The combat is fun and unique, but could use some balancing. There's a skill that does massive damage at the cost of health. You could use that skill, or you could use one of a few other skills that do just about the same or even more damage for less SP and no cost…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has enough little things to like, but some of the larger issues quickly get annoying, like failing to get a perfect rank instantly puts you behind the curve by giving you fewer rewards. That's ... borderline tolerable for roguelikes with short runs, but for a big JRPG type game where you will constantly be punished for the rest of the game for not S-Ranking everything, it's like telling you that if you don't get a no-hit, you should shut the game off and reload instantly to not waste…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did you know that LunarLux is still one of my favorite stream playthroughs of all time? Did you know that I'm FINALLY uploading the rest of the VODs on YouTube? Check out the most recent part, featuring the first part of the Loogi cameo (THAT'S ME!) in the game 👀
unlabelledView post →Decent game with a lot of Megaman Battle Network (MMBN) references. If you're looking for something like MMBN, Music is ok to decent and gameplay while odd is workable. It is rather short but also sweet. I would recommend it but there are a few issues to keep in mind: * All fights will take at least a minute or longer * This game has horrible balancing of "chips" and most are ok to bad. With only a few being useful late game/higher difficulty. * You will never have enough resources to level…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Happy second anniversary to #LunarLux! The game released on 25 September 2023. I made an AYAYA chibi of the main character Bella Grey to celebrate! ✦ Total time: ~7 hours
unlabelledView post →LunarLux has a pretty good battle system, great music, decent visuals (including a great UI), and generally likeable characters. Unfortunately it also has bad game balance where many of your skills are outright useless and late game enemy difficulty is based around enemies having rapid attacks that are impossible to react to and you have to just learn via trial and error how to deal with them (in addition to some wonky hitboxes on a few particular enemies), it's full of references to other…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've finished this game and absolutely loved it. The science fantasy setting, the neon retro aesthetic, the turn based/action hybrid system, the nice chiptune music, all of it is great! This game references lots of other media, all the time, possibly to a fault. Especially Undertale. I would recommend this to Undertale fans, especially if its the battle system and the overall message that you liked. I hope there's a sequel, there seems to be a setup for a sequel. Maybe one that stands on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cameos and references and Easter eggs, oh my! From LunarLux, reviewed on episode 86 of our podcast!
unlabelledView post →BIG YAP STREAM NOW! Yakuza Kiwami 3 (+ Yaoi Gaiden), LunarLux Eternity, Fat Bear Week, and even more! Oh yeah, and we'll play some Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, too! Thanks SEGA for the game key! LIVE NOW! @ twitch.tv/theluigiguy 🦆
unlabelledView post →A sleeper hit for sure! Honestly wouldn't feel out of place as a GBA game in it's prime. A lot of folks say it's like Mega Man Battle Network, and the vibes are there but it's a fair bit different. If you like any anime by studio trigger the character designs will definitely resonate, but the story is solid, music is bopping and the character interactions are actually hilarious and well written a lot of the time. Looking forward to a sequel with some refinements cause the games got the making…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do you recognize this lady? That's right, she's Bella Grey from LunarLux!! She will appear in my game SoftWar for a small cameo event <3
unlabelledView post →Writing immediately turned me off, it's very simple and cliche. The combat started out interesting, but got tedious super quickly as everything takes forever. You also get rewards based on how well you do in combat, which they've decided just means don't take damage, and that makes everything take even longer because you have limited shields to block attacks and replenishing them takes a turn so you're just sitting there waiting for an opening to attack. I died in a fight because I was zoned…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lunarlux’ influence is clearly Mega Man Battle Network, but it’s mostly visually as far as I’m concerned. The structure is rather akin to a traditional Jrpg and the battle system is turn based with some action elements to keep things interesting. What’s more impressive is how the game carves its own identity. The are some quirks with the gameplay that make it stand out (the way level up is handled, how you make your skills stronger, the amount of party members, the bonus you can add to your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I didn't expect this game to be good. I purchased indie.io pack in humble bundle, I was aiming for the other games This game looks very cheap from the screenshot and videos but it's actually far better than that This game is pretty close to rockman battle network but with some twist The gameplay is a combination of turn based and action, you choose your action and then you will have to dodge the enemies attacks realtime The story is good, character is good, gameplay balancing is meh but still…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lunarlux for sure. ☺️ It's an indie RPG mostly inspired by Mega Man Battle Network and StarForce that takes on the moon! With a fun female protagonist and a vibrant cast of characters, it's a shame this one is often overlooked. It's also a shorter game, roughly 10-15 hours-ish.
unlabelledView post →LunarLux is a nice little action RPG, it wears its influences with pride. It has some growing pains but shows a big promise for any potential future games the developer creates. It has some areas for improvement in my eyes. Some are small but add up over time, I didn’t experience anything major during my time with the game which is always a lovely thing to see. As for what I feel could be improved.. - The pause between area transitions honestly feels pointless, it simply delays you being to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a nice lil game. It's a Japanese style RPG more or less, of the indie variety. I wish we saw more this solid in the genre, as well as really long ones, but that's obviously hard to do in the indie scene. Anyway though, the battle system is fairly original in a number of ways. However, the developer obviously has a lot of inspiration from the Mega Man Battle Network series, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The battles are actually turned based unlike MMBN, but it does have some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such an underrated gem. A neat turn based battle system, where in your turn you have a variety of attacks with different styles (but in time you will learn to use the best stuff only *cough*Stun Granade*cough* ), but when defending... you have a mix of Undertale soul dodge mechanics and Megaman Battle Network grid dodge... which fits so well with the turn based battles. And also, the music goes HARD during the boss battles, I think every boss has it's own theme, which is pretty cool for an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like a mix between Megaman Battle Network and Undertale, with a splash of Ratchet and Clank for good measure. The animations are pretty spot on, the music is great, and I am digging the art style.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lunar Lux is a solid 10-20 hour experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome. It has lovely GBA-like pixel art, pleasant music and nice SFX with a feel-good story that would feel right at home in any typical action adventure anime. I would also like to give a special mention to the little descriptions and bits of dialogue that pop up when you interact with literally ANYTHING in this game. Some of them are interesting and others are genuinely funny. Combat is kinda like someone took…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Inspired by Undertale, Mega Man Network and a touch of magical girls, this is actually better than ONE of the games it got its inspiration from. Mega Man Network, I remember reaching a certain moment in the game that reminded me of the street light puzzle in MMN and... this game is so much better than all MMN combined? The only downside is that most attack need some input minigame before you attack and many of the are a bit of a hassle, so I just stick to the easier ones.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The combat system is very fun, the variety of attacks is nice and its quite hard to dodge every attack. Most of the minigames for the players attacks are pretty easy with few exceptions. My first playthrough was on legend mode and i highly reccomend you dont do this, if you want a good challenge do hard mode, legend mode doesnt play around, early on youll have to no hit most fights since enemies will one shot you along with having much more health. Hard mode is alot more fair while still…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game play is a bit dull and the grinding is harsh but it's still a really great game. The music is phenomenal, the graphics are really nostalgic. The battle mechanics are interesting, I really hope the game gets a better polish in the 2nd one. Melody is cute af ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I backed this game on kickstarter and I am happy to say the game is good. The combat is fun and the difficulty is not high making the game a very smooth experience. Glad to have supported it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →༺ SCHEDULE ༻ ۞ finally getting in that PSO sesh i've been promising for a while! ۞ starting a new game: LunarLux! a very pretty rpg w/ cute robot companion & hint of MM Battle Network. excited! ۞ the usual FFXI here & there :3 note the evening times are now 5pm PST instead of 4pm!
unlabelledView post →Great game: combat is fun, characters are easy to like, and their banter feels natural. I really like that there is no random over-world encounters / trash mobs. All combat (so far) has been driven by the story, with occasional easy-to-avoid over-world encounters that don't relate to the story. The pixel art in this game is beautiful too!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game that I'd struggle to recommend to anyone; there are faults that are simply too large to ignore that ruins my experience. Some of the things could probably be addressed with some updates, while other more sweeping changes in the game are unfeasible. To start with, the good parts: The art on display is really good. The pixel art is plenty of pretty and the character portraits have a lot of emotions to them even if they are a bit stylized. There was no point when I played this game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If Studio Trigger made a game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is excellent but niche, and not without problems. I’m only a few hours in, but I’ll update as I go. WHAT’S GOOD: * Ungodly soundtrack, seriously. Like Pokemon but with modern production values. Strong melodies, interesting chord structures, a bit jazzy. * Retro GBA vibes, fantastic art. Exactly what it says on the tin. * Interesting combat system, yet not overcomplicated. Setup a pool of “support abilities” and choose one of three randomly selected with each attack you make. * Puzzle…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're a big fan of Megaman Battle Network/Star Force series, you maybe interested in this. This game is heavily inspired by Battle Network/Star Force (shorten to MMBN forward). The combat is the one thing that is not completely like MMBN. This game is a turn based combat system. You have a set of attack skills that you can pick, each one cost a certain amount of SP which is your mana system (can be replenished during battle). After that you can pick a 1 of 3 random support skills pulled…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is CRIMINALLY underrated. Wonderful pixel art, fleshed out world, lovable characters, good story, fun combat it's got everything. This game should be topping the charts, and I almost missed it! Get the word out, this game needs to be played!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LunarLux is an absolute delight. It took me about 23 hours to 100% the game, and I can pretty confidently say that I enjoyed just about every single portion of the experience. For one, it's got a neat battle system with a lot of viable strategies, options, and a genuinely rewarding and open progression system for developing and powering up your skills. The primary story isn't necessarily going to knock your socks off, but honestly, I find more that the individual stories and relationships…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A better Space Traveling RPG than Starfield
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →you like slaying murks, don't you? Week 2 of blawnkmas continues with more LunarLux!! tonight @ 6:00pm PT!! and GIVING AWAY the next copy of the game at the end of stream! twitch.tv/blawnk art by @johnnycloverleaf.bsky.social!
unlabelledView post →This Indy Game has stolen my heart Streaming Lunar Lux on Twitch #vtuber #LunarLux twitch.tv/red_joker100
unlabelledView post →what if simon the digger was a pink-haired girl
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting game that takes a lot of inspiration from many different sources (Megaman Battle Network, Undertale, every indie JRPG). Combat feels initially extremely varied but over time a lot of your options get replaced by choices that are just objectively better, and I felt like by the endgame my Active Skill choices were largely the same over and over. This is heavily mitigated though by the fact that enemies have a lot of different attack patterns which forces engagement and attention.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This week on birb thing I might just be a tad addicted to Palworld. So if I ever finish anything early, I'm playing palworld Today I'm playing Peak with friends! I promise not to panic this time! LunarLux! GOOD GAME more palworld And Necrophosis, looks F#@&d up
unlabelledView post →Pretty good game. Engaging combat. Decent writing. Plenty to explore without having to grind. I think my only real complaint are a few button mashing sections.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A pretty solid game, the script writing is entertaining and the combat is actually REALLY fun. The are actually a ton of small funny moments that I enjoyed(talk to rocks, trust) I am not done with the game so I dont know how the story will end up but so far so good. It has references and homages to Megaman Battle Network and Starforce that i also appreciated It can be a bit childish sometimes but maybe im old and jaded now haha. So far 9/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LunarLux This was a nice charming game that the team made I love the art style if you are a fan of battle network and Starforce this is it and I can tell the developers are huge fans, I'm a bit mixed on the battle system itself but its decent for what it is because some bosses did feel frustrating.
unlabelledView post →Excellent music, graphics, and gameplay. Story and characters are only okay though - it had a promising start but becomes a bit cliched later on.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Indie devs, small-size (less than 1gb), top tier gameplay & BGM Really love how you can learn skills or get them from quests. Ditto with the combat's prompts, shield, and dodging mechanics which I feel are well implemented. These parts elevates the usual laid-back turn-based mechanic into something lively and fun. Its duration seemed short however and the game feels more story than roaming and defeating monsters. Nonetheless, it is still a very good game that, to me, exceeded expectations.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →༺ SCHEDULE ༻ ۞ hitting level 30 in FFXI and starting on a bunch of new tasks, including getting advanced jobs! ۞ tying up some loose ends in LunarLux post-game. if that goes quickly, i may play something else afterwards
unlabelledView post →Do you like Mega Man Battle Network/Star Force? Then boy has this game got some great news for you!! Combat is similar to those games, but still unique. Story is very heavily scifi, even more than Star Force, about humanity living on the moon. It's also somehow even more anime than Battle Network and Star Force. It's the first game since Star Force ended that just... FEELS like playing Battle Network again. Love this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →we beat LunarLux last night! nice game! i think i’m gonna do a stream of some post-game stuff next week. i bought the OST and saw a song title that seemed to *maybe* imply something about the post-game… don’t look at the OST song titles if you don’t want spoilers!!!
unlabelledView post →I honestly couldn't be bothered to finish this, even though the final act is all but done. It's just so by the book. Not a single surprise. Nothing original. Combat is only passable at best.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lunar Lux is a love letter to the Megaman Battle Network series featuring action assist turn-based combat. Using your abilities triggers a minigame to enhance their damage (in most cases), and similarly, enemies have around 3 attacks that can be blocked or avoided, some of which activate an Undertale-like minigame where your "heart" avoids the enemy projectiles. While I found there were way more abilities than necessary, it still offers a nice variety for you to play around with, especially in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game isn't awful but combat is more a bunch of QTEs than anything. It gets boring very fast. Story isn't the worst but its incredibly predictable and i've zoned out after the 3rd area you go to. I can't bring myself to finish this because while it takes inspiration from many areas, base combat alone doesn't draw me in enough. The game is just too easy yet I can see combat time scaling super high later in the game because of the way health is starting to scale. I'm not saying I WANT the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS is Megaman Starforce 4. I am very happy with it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note: I have 100% completion. The Good: - Fun combat system. It's not perfect (see below), but it's generally very good. The game won't waste your time with random encounters: all fights are unique and on the map (or through story), which means that almost all the fights of the main game are engaging. Very similar to Mario RPGs and, for dodging certain attacks, Undertale. - The ability to burn shields instead of dodging is perhaps subtle but also perhaps the best part of the combat system. -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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