Solo developer Aleksandr Tiupin’s Master of Luna is a turn-based fantasy 4X built around city development, spell research, and tactical army battles. It entered Steam Early Access on September 12, 2025, and is available on PC; now I’ll give you some details.
You take control of a Sleeper, a dormant deity trying to reclaim their former power. Each has their own backstory and magical arsenal. The setting is a world of permanent twilight, where dreams and memories have tangible power, with pixel-art landscapes dotted with ruins and mystical artifacts.
Expansion starts with exploring the world map, capturing neutral towns and places of power, and raiding monster lairs.
Gold, mana, and rare resources support your economy and the recruitment or summoning of stronger creatures. Spell progression runs alongside that expansion: inscribing new spells eventually unlocks more powerful magic. Exploration therefore feeds both your military development and your growing spellbook.
Army encounters happen on hex-based maps featuring hero spells and creature-specific attacks that shape how you approach each fight. The strategic and combat layers share a consistent interface, with tooltips explaining important information.
Units are designed around relatively small ability sets, keeping the emphasis on when and how those abilities are used.
Reducing repetitive management is another stated priority. Tiupin is aiming for fewer armies to move and shorter waits between turns, avoiding the need to repeatedly end turns just to fill progress bars.
The emphasis is on limiting routine administration while keeping attention on the campaign’s economic and military decisions.
Development has also expanded the exploration rewards and magic system. Lairs can contain spells or imprisoned creatures, while update 0.14.0 added the Shadow Realm as a new realm of magic, with 16 spells, three additional Sleepers, three hero steeds, and four heroes. That update also allowed lairs to hold spells unavailable through the normal Inscription ritual.
A free demo is available on Steam. The Early Access plans call for more creatures, heroes, factions, and spells while retaining the existing exploration, town management, and combat systems. No full release date on the horizon, but for sure one to follow and wishlist. Below is the gameplay trailer.
