A beautiful lyrical game, but unfortunately an all too simple and rudimentary one.
I enjoyed my time trotting around the valley playing instruments to the flora and fauna of an evening. It was relaxing, wholesome, and calming. If you find pleasure in such games this will be perfect for you. If you equally are familiar with the characters of this land - even better. The art style is faithful to Jansson’s work and the occasional musical interlude from Sigur Rós is always welcome to my ears. I only wish there was more of it.
The passing stealth levels are as basic as possible. There is no real challenge or alternative way of approaching the task. That is not uncommon for adventure games yet they do tend to have a steeper puzzle element to allow for it. Melody of Moominvalley has none. You are tasked with collecting the odd item here or there but it’s nothing more complex than go to point B and back to point A. I recognise the game is largely for kids however and in that sense it offers a quaint and pleasant experience for the short time it maintains, but there could have been a lot more here. For example, let us read Moominpappa’s manuscript or compose the odd tune ourselves on the harmonica? It’s not a great deal to ask.
Oddly for such a simple game there are framerate issues on the Switch even when docked. This is now so common with every new release I barely raise an eyebrow these days, alas it’s worth noting. Equally I can’t really comprehend why there are so many loading screens - it is far from an expansive map or highly detailed visual experience. Couldn’t you have masked these loading points behind something? It all feels quite unthinking.
If you enjoy the sublime atmosphere of Moomins then you will undoubtedly enjoy your time in Moominvalley, as I did. It’s only somewhat disappointing there really was so little to do. You can finish the entire adventure in 3-4 hours I would imagine.
I enjoyed my time trotting around the valley playing instruments to the flora and fauna of an evening. It was relaxing, wholesome, and calming. If you find pleasure in such games this will be perfect for you. If you equally are familiar with the characters of this land - even better. The art style is faithful to Jansson’s work and the occasional musical interlude from Sigur Rós is always welcome to my ears. I only wish there was more of it.
The passing stealth levels are as basic as possible. There is no real challenge or alternative way of approaching the task. That is not uncommon for adventure games yet they do tend to have a steeper puzzle element to allow for it. Melody of Moominvalley has none. You are tasked with collecting the odd item here or there but it’s nothing more complex than go to point B and back to point A. I recognise the game is largely for kids however and in that sense it offers a quaint and pleasant experience for the short time it maintains, but there could have been a lot more here. For example, let us read Moominpappa’s manuscript or compose the odd tune ourselves on the harmonica? It’s not a great deal to ask.
Oddly for such a simple game there are framerate issues on the Switch even when docked. This is now so common with every new release I barely raise an eyebrow these days, alas it’s worth noting. Equally I can’t really comprehend why there are so many loading screens - it is far from an expansive map or highly detailed visual experience. Couldn’t you have masked these loading points behind something? It all feels quite unthinking.
If you enjoy the sublime atmosphere of Moomins then you will undoubtedly enjoy your time in Moominvalley, as I did. It’s only somewhat disappointing there really was so little to do. You can finish the entire adventure in 3-4 hours I would imagine.