Compare Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault vs Total War: WARHAMMER III – Lords of the End Times

The branching node map clearly communicates routes and rewards, but at least one returning player feels it disconnects the sequel from the exploratory dungeon feel of the first game.

The larger opening flyby improves orientation by showing the surrounding theater and giving players a clearer sense of where threats are located.

Tresna's dimensional-nexus concept and varied inhabitants are appealing, but the world does not always inspire attachment. Some returning players also miss the grounded charm of Rynoka.

Immortal Empires is praised as an exceptional digital realization of Warhammer Fantasy, especially once apocalyptic events and post-crisis recovery reshape the world.

Quality-of-life improvements such as visible base prices, quick pricing, and easy-to-navigate interfaces make the sequel much smoother to manage than the original.

The Glottkin’s consolidated mechanics panel is clean and convenient, but the broader ten-year accumulation of systems has made parts of Warhammer III’s interface harder to parse.

The Endless Vault objectives work especially well when they double as gameplay goals and narrative milestones, giving progression a clear structure.

Lore-driven objectives, quest battles, and revised victory conditions give campaigns stronger direction than simple territorial expansion. A few objectives still feel repetitive or underdeveloped.

Small side quests are enjoyable and give the town useful optional goals beyond the main Vault progression.

Quest battles are a highlight, offering memorable set-piece encounters that fit the featured characters and reward campaign progression.

Effects and small vocalizations keep the world from feeling static even without extensive voice acting.

Nagash’s mixed undead roster creates a slightly jarring blend of vocal styles, especially when shifting between zombies, spirits, and Vampire Coast units.

Spending time improving Tresna provides a satisfying, calmer counterweight to dungeon combat and helps the two halves of the game stay balanced.

Nagash’s specialized settlements add meaningful faction identity, though capacity rules and settlement restrictions can feel a little clunky.

The sparse vocalization is a weak point for one player because Will sounds noticeably younger than expected.

The alternate Boris performance is praised as excellent, even if the decision to split voices between modes is questionable.

Shop controls are streamlined and quick-pricing features help, but console inventory management can still feel clumsy when moving many relics individually.

Complex systems such as Nagash’s necromancy screen and Black Pyramid can be intimidating to navigate. The depth is appealing, but the presentation is not always immediately readable.

Potion progression feels overly restrictive to one returning player because basic capacity must be slowly unlocked through a skill tree.

Nagash’s Black Pyramid is the standout progression tree, offering an enormous number of useful, branching upgrades. Its depth is exciting but can be intimidating.

The move to 3D brings higher-quality character and weapon animations, with exaggerated swings and readable motion that add personality.

One elite Empire unit may be held back by awkward attack animations that appear to hurt its battlefield performance.

Loading is one of the most consistent complaints, particularly on Switch 2. Stage transitions and repeated shop entries can feel long enough to interrupt the game's otherwise strong rhythm.

Loading is modestly faster, complementing the larger technical improvements in Update 9.0.

Frame-rate stability is one of the main technical concerns, especially on Switch 2 and Steam Deck. Docked Switch 2 can be stable, and a later patch reportedly brought dungeon combat much closer to a consistent 60fps.

Campaign-map performance is much steadier, with high settings holding frame rates in areas that previously caused dips.

Several players encountered crashes on Switch 2 and PS5, including an earlier progression-blocking boss crash. A later Switch 2 patch report says that major crash problem was fixed.

Update 9.0 is notably stable in extended play, with one long-form tester calling it among the most stable patches they had used.

The story works as a light framework for the systems and has some strong opening ideas, but several players find it thin or secondary. The ending receives especially sharp criticism for losing momentum and payoff.

The expansion adds welcome story structure without abandoning the sandbox. Lore-tailored goals and small narrative beats make campaigns feel more purposeful and memorable.

There are many meaningful ways to improve Will, the shop, inventory, and weapons, but the volume of upgrade paths can cause choice paralysis and some expensive upgrades feel too subtle.

The Black Pyramid offers a huge range of useful upgrades and synergies, giving Nagash unusually flexible long-term development.

The alternation between intense dungeon runs and calmer selling sessions creates a strong rhythm. Long loading and a weaker final third can undermine that pacing later on.

Nagash’s later progression can slow sharply as Mortarchs, heroes, and high-tier content sit behind lengthy requirements.

Enemy sets, relic rules, perks, and gameplay modes provide strong variety early on, but the three-biome structure can wear thin when the campaign asks for repeated runs.

Four very different lord campaigns, large unit additions, faction reworks, and new endgame scenarios give the package exceptional breadth. Variety is one of its most consistent strengths.

Challenge runs, endless modes, and New Game Plus give dedicated players plenty to pursue after the main story. The main caveat is that some of this endgame can feel like more of the same gold grind.

The revamped End Times are a major success, turning the late game into a real crisis with invasions, scripted objectives, world changes, and climactic battles. They give long campaigns a much stronger reason to continue.

Challenge is highly context-dependent: some find normal mode punishing, others find later runs too easy, and several praise the risk-reward once they learn the systems. The wide difficulty selection helps smooth those differences.

The strongest campaigns pair demanding openings with satisfying late-game power, and the new crises can genuinely threaten a mature empire. Some encounters are punishing, but that challenge is usually treated as a strength.

The dungeon-run, loot, sell, and upgrade cycle is the game's biggest success. It repeatedly produces a strong 'one more run' pull even for players who notice grind or story weaknesses.

Nagash meaningfully changes the usual campaign rhythm, while some Glottkin and Thanquol systems can fall back into familiar or menu-driven routines. The best campaigns feel substantially refreshed.

The sequel generally preserves Moonlighter's defining shop-and-dungeon identity while modernizing it, but the magnitude of the changes may alienate players who specifically wanted more of the original structure.

The new campaigns strongly capture their Warhammer identities, from Nagash’s undead power fantasy to Thanquol’s scheming and the Glottkin’s Nurgle hybrid design. Thematic execution is consistently praised.

Turning carefully prepared relics into large profits is deeply satisfying, but expensive upgrades and numerous money sinks can make early progress feel tight or overextended.

Nagash’s economy and resource caps create meaningful decisions, but early income and scarce Necromantic Energy can feel restrictive. That tension adds strategy for some players and grind for others.

Permanent upgrades, run perks, shop growth, and Vault milestones create a deep progression loop that is hard to put down. Early costs and the sheer number of paths can sometimes slow momentum or cause choice paralysis.

Progression is strongest when early vulnerability grows into major late-game power, especially for Nagash. Some resource gates and Thanquol’s waiting-heavy schemes can slow that momentum.

Some bugs remain in the full release, but they were not severe enough to erase the overall enjoyment for the player who highlighted them.

Bugs remain one of the expansion’s clearest weaknesses, including broken Masterplans and scenario issues. The release feels less buggy than some prior DLC, but rough edges can still interrupt campaigns.

Branching dungeon routes create meaningful tradeoffs, with temporary disadvantages and reward choices making path selection feel consequential.

Thanquol’s schemes and narrative pop-ups make decisions feel consequential, with plans able to pay off, backfire, or reshape the next move.

Biomes are visually distinct and full of personality, with different regional looks and combat spaces helping the 3D presentation feel substantial.

Campaign-map terrain receives noticeable visual refinement, including more detailed mountain regions.

The game continues introducing different challenges and surprises as the Vault advances, helping objectives feel less static.

The four lords pursue notably different goals and power-building paths, helping each campaign feel distinct rather than formulaic.

The sequel adds meaningful new systems, but some players feel its modern roguelite structure borrows too heavily from genre conventions and lacks the first game's distinctive identity.

The expansion contains genuinely fresh systems, but some individual units and Boris-specific additions feel too close to existing designs or outright reskins.

Environmental hazards and biome-specific objects add welcome tactical options, letting players knock enemies into traps or use stage elements offensively.

Devastation, corruption, and faction conquest visibly alter provinces and can even reshape climate, making the campaign world feel more reactive. Some AI-driven transformations can become too dominant.

The cel-shaded 3D makeover is widely praised as colorful, charming, and a natural evolution, though a minority still miss the first game's whimsical pixel art.

Bespoke character and mount designs fit the setting well and give major additions a suitably dramatic Warhammer look.

Rather than simply polishing the original, the sequel meaningfully rethinks its structure with 3D combat, relic puzzles, and deeper run-based systems.

Nagash’s faction design and the world-changing End Times systems push Warhammer III into genuinely new territory. Not every lord is equally inventive, but the expansion as a whole raises the mechanical ceiling.

The core package can feel polished and absorbing on PS5, but aliasing and technical roughness on Switch 2 keep the presentation from feeling uniformly finished.

The package shows substantial effort, but bugs, uneven lord depth, and old-versus-new faction disparities keep it from feeling fully polished.

Combat is one of the sequel's clearest strengths: fast, responsive, and satisfying, with stronger build variety and combo flow. A few players still find it either overly brutal or somewhat shallow compared with specialist roguelites.

The new lords and units add enjoyable tactical options in battle, with the Glottkin standing out for their flexible mix of spellcasting, durability, and melee pressure.

Relic rules can become convoluted as new biome mechanics stack up, and a misplaced item can be costly. The systems get more enjoyable once bag space and familiarity improve.

The DLC is demanding for newcomers, particularly Nagash and Thanquol. Dense menus, layered resources, and opaque mechanics can overwhelm even experienced players at first.

Tresna's villagers are described as a charming supporting cast that helps make the hub enjoyable to revisit.

Nagash and Thanquol are the standouts, with a broad lineup of lords and heroes adding meaningful variety. Boris is consistently seen as the least distinctive member of the group.

The four main weapon styles feel distinct and satisfying, with clear strengths and tradeoffs. Some players want a wider selection, and a few builds can feel overpowered.

Stormfiends are powerful without completely invalidating existing weapons teams, preserving useful roles for older ranged options.

Across formats, the game is repeatedly described as fun, addictive, and difficult to put down, even by players who have clear complaints about repetition or story.

Most of the new campaigns are highly enjoyable, with Nagash, Thanquol, and the Glottkin drawing especially strong enthusiasm. Boris is simpler, but still lands as fun for many players.

Enemy patterns become learnable, but at least one player found some attacks unexpectedly hard to read until those behaviors were memorized.

End Times diplomacy can create convincing temporary alliances, but campaign AI remains inconsistent. Nagash can dominate neighboring factions too aggressively, while allied AI sometimes collapses during crisis scenarios.

The sequel's shop, combat, relic, and progression systems interlock unusually well, giving a simple premise much more depth than it first appears to have.

The expansion succeeds most when its faction systems reshape familiar races: Nagash’s undead network, Thanquol’s Masterplans, and the Glottkin’s hybrid mechanics all create distinct strategic identities. Some simpler systems do not reach the same depth.

The colorful sci-fi/fantasy blend creates a sweeping, epic atmosphere that helps each region feel distinct.

The apocalypse feels tangible once invasions begin and provinces are devastated. Persistent destruction gives late campaigns a much stronger sense of urgency and scale.

The main experience can comfortably run into the mid-20-hour range or longer, while completion goals and endless modes can push total playtime toward 40-50 hours without exhausting players who enjoy the loop.

Reworked short campaigns offer a satisfying objective arc without requiring an enormous time commitment, while the new endgame supports much longer runs for players who want them.

The overall 3D presentation is widely considered attractive and modern, although Switch 2 image clarity and larger-screen presentation draw some criticism.

The campaign map looks cleaner and more refined after the update, with visible improvements to several regions.

Late progression is a recurring concern: repeated gold targets and revisiting the same dungeons can make the second half feel grindy even when smaller upgrades keep progress moving.

Nagash’s late unlock requirements and resource gates can become grindy, especially for players who want Mortarchs and high-tier content quickly.

Lighter movement, clearer attacks, and the new 3D combat presentation make the moment-to-moment action feel more immersive.

Narrative pop-ups, cinematics, devastation, and changing world states make Immortal Empires feel more reactive and story-driven than before.

Mechanical onboarding is generally strong, with complex shop systems introduced gradually. Story onboarding is less consistent, and newcomers may miss context in the brief recap.

Campaign flybys and Boris’s more familiar Empire structure help ease players in, but tooltips for deeper systems still need clearer explanations.

Performance is serviceable on stronger hardware but uneven across platforms, with stutters, frame drops, and loading issues still visible. Post-launch Switch 2 patches show meaningful improvement.

Update 9.0 brings substantial technical gains, especially faster turn processing and smoother campaign-map performance. These improvements are noticeable even without benchmarking.

Music reception is mixed: some praise energetic dungeon tracks and cozy town themes, while others find the score forgettable or noticeably weaker than the original.

Dynamic music changes help sell major world-state shifts and reinforce the scale of devastation.

Run variety, permanent upgrades, endless modes, and New Game Plus produce strong replay appeal, with several players still chasing another run dozens of hours in.

Different lord mechanics, branching upgrades, optional endgame scenarios, and cross-faction unit additions give the expansion exceptional replay potential.

The mix of campaign length, replayable runs, and post-game content is repeatedly seen as strong value, with the shopkeeping system alone called worth the price of admission.

Standalone character access can unlock Immortal Empires at a low price, while the full bundle delivers a large amount of substantial campaign content for its cost.

Difficulty choices are a clear strength, with easier settings making the shop-and-dungeon loop more approachable and hardcore modes available for players who want higher stakes.

Aiming the gun with the stick and firing with the trigger feels more natural than the alternative control setup.

The isometric viewpoint keeps fights readable even when enemies begin to crowd the screen.

Boris’s voice setup feels unnecessarily split between two performers. One performance lands well, but using separate voices across modes comes across as a missed opportunity.

The story gives its cast some witty moments, but one player found it difficult to become attached to the characters.

The interdimensional setting supports a broader mix of character designs, which is seen as a welcome expansion over the first game.

One returning player specifically misses the first game's checkpoint-style dungeon mechanics after the sequel's structural overhaul.

Power creep is present, but the new factions generally feel better balanced than feared. A few broader balance issues remain around individual campaigns and units.

Co-op loses some narrative elements and parts of Thanquol’s Masterplans, so playing with friends does not currently deliver the full campaign experience.

AI-controlled Nagash can become disproportionately dominant in his region, wiping out nearby factions early and narrowing who remains to fight later.

This is one of the fullest-feeling Warhammer III expansions, especially when paired with Update 9.0. A few missing characters and dated older factions keep it from feeling completely definitive.

Crafting can feel underwhelming because many options are different versions rather than clearly better upgrades.

Dialogue is often witty and occasionally singled out as genuinely great, adding charm even when the broader story remains light.

The ending is a major weak spot for one detailed critique, with the built-up drama and emotion falling away at the conclusion.

Enemy variety is a consistent combat strength, with distinct visual designs, behaviors, and world-specific opponents keeping encounters interesting.

The node-based dungeon structure sacrifices some of the free exploration returning players liked in the original. A few players want more room discovery and environmental puzzles.

Being able to warp back to Tresna at any point is a welcome convenience that lets players bank loot instead of being forced into a bad fight.

Switch 2 handheld play can be enjoyable and visually appealing, but town and crowded-fight slowdowns keep it from being consistently smooth.

The expanded campaign flyby gives useful context about nearby factions and likely threats, making unfamiliar starts easier to read.

Large visual indicators, bright colors, and readable telegraphs make combat information easy to parse during action.

Relic quality, curses, status effects, and dedicated material storage turn loot into a strategic system rather than simple collection. This is one of the sequel's most praised upgrades.

The bundle structure and individual lord purchases are flexible, but the return of pre-orders drew criticism as an unnecessary step backward.

Movement is generally lighter, tighter, and more responsive than before, though one player wishes the dodge came out a little faster.

The Vampire Counts recruitment overhaul is a major improvement, making unit access and lord development feel more thematic and purposeful.

Immortal Empires remains highly flexible, letting players rewrite the End Times, reverse famous outcomes, and pursue very different campaign stories.

Selling relics remains distinctive and often extremely satisfying, especially with perks, pricing feedback, and furniture bonuses. Some players find it less engaging or less deep than the expanded dungeon side.

The villagers can be charming, but the supporting cast is uneven; one critique says many residents feel defined mainly by their transactions with Will.

The unit additions are overwhelmingly strong, with Stormfiends, Ulric troops, undead monsters, and Nurgle units filling useful battlefield niches. Some reskins and redundant units keep the roster from being uniformly excellent.

Devastation and corruption visibly transform the campaign map, and Nagash’s wastelands are especially striking. These effects make faction impact easy to see.

Character interactions can be witty, charming, and well written, but the prose supports a deliberately light story rather than a deep narrative.

Bosses can be mechanically richer and fun to fight, but some designs feel weaker than the original and a few invulnerability phases are annoying.

Dungeon runs use a simple node-based structure that is easy to understand and satisfying for players who prefer focused roguelite runs.

The underlying multiplayer potential is appealing, especially around revised Books of Nagash, but several story systems do not integrate smoothly with multiplayer campaigns yet.

Immortal Empires remains an enormous, impressive sandbox, though its scale can dilute direction and Nagash’s starting position can distort the regional campaign too quickly.

Backpack management is a standout feature, turning every chest into a spatial puzzle about curses, quality, and value. It is deeply satisfying when mastered, though some players find later combinations too convoluted.

Controls are consistently praised as tight, simple, and responsive, helping both movement and combat feel fair even during demanding fights.

The bundle offers unusually strong value for committed Warhammer III players, with multiple substantial campaigns and broad cross-faction benefits. Even individual lord packs can be worthwhile depending on faction preference.

The scale of Update 9.0 breaks compatibility with major overhaul mods such as SFO until their developers rebuild against the new version.