Not every roguelike needs to justify its loop, but the ones that stick with me the longest often do, and I think Moonlighter 2 (alongside its predecessor) may have one of the best ones yet. Poor Will and his friends haven't just had to flee the town they called home in the first game, but have to pay rent in their new refuge. In the world of Moonlighter, your reason to complete multiple runs is simply because it's your job to do so, and you better be ready for the rise and grind of working hard.
Though for Will that involves swinging swords, spears, and bigger swords to smash in the heads of aggressive fantasy creatures while hoovering up loot (should've been called Henry instead of Will), there's still something wonderfully relatable about the whole situation. At the end of the day, we all have to pay rent. Moonlighter 2 understands that economies are a vital part of any game's design where you buy and sell your way to improvement, and solidifies that concept as a core part of the roguelike.
