Moonlighter Is Free to Keep on Steam Until August 9 - Grab the Beloved Dungeon-Crawler Before Moonlighter 2 Arrives

Overall Assessment

The draft is in strong shape. It follows the approved plan closely, lands within the target word count, and reads with a natural journalistic voice. The deadline is consistent throughout (August 9, 2026 at 10am PT / 12pm CT), the official quote and Steam review statistic are used effectively, and all hyperlinks point to official or storefront sources as required. The main issue is a structural violation: the title contains an em dash, which is explicitly prohibited by the style guide. A handful of smaller refinements would tighten the piece and bring it fully in line with the brief.

Strengths

• Strong hook in the opening paragraph that balances value ("keep forever") with a clear sense of occasion.
• Excellent conclusion. The heading "The Vault Opens September 2, but the Free Door Closes August 9" is specific, evocative, and tied directly to the sequel's theme. The final line ("sell swords or swing them") gives the piece a memorable closer.
• Good use of supporting evidence: the official announcement quote and the roughly 1,200 "Very Positive" Steam reviews are well-placed and properly hyperlinked.
• Clean section structure with short paragraphs that are easy to scan.
• Body text is otherwise clean of em dashes, en dashes, and double hyphens. Compound hyphens in words like "dungeon-crawling" and "shopkeeper-with-a-sword" are used correctly.
• The plan's context elements (Frostpunk publisher reference, Recettear comparison, Between Dimensions DLC, console/physical release details) are all incorporated without bloating the article.
• No other news websites are cited, and the only references are official sources and storefronts.

Areas for Improvement

1. Title em dash violation (critical). The title reads "Moonlighter Is Free to Keep on Steam Until August 9, Grab the Beloved Dungeon-Crawler Before Moonlighter 2 Arrives." The em dash directly contradicts the style guideline that prohibits em dashes, en dashes, and double hyphens. This must be fixed before publication.
2. Missing ### subsections. The brief calls for "## for main sections, ### for subsections." The draft uses only ## headings. Adding a couple of subsections would more fully satisfy the formatting requirement and improve scannability, particularly in the longer sections.
3. Intro could lead with the deadline more sharply. The urgency is implicit in the first paragraph but the specific deadline (August 9, 10