Melatonin

Melatonin feels like a gorgeous love letter to long-time fans of the Rhythm Heaven series. Despite it being rather brief, the fact that every rhythm game has its own Hard Mode with a more challenging set, alongside the ability to create your own beatmaps, checks all of the boxes. If you’re looking to chill out and unwind from the sensory overload that some of its contemporaries have, Melatonin’s pastel colors beautifully represent relatable daily life and manage to form a great relaxing package that truly deserves noteworthy attention.

The narrative isn’t heavy-handed and lends itself to interpretation, but — not spoiling anything — the conclusion is satisfying, even if it’s not explicit. It’s a busy time for players trying to figure out their “best of” lists, so I hope no one misses out on Melatonin.

Melatonin is a short but kind experience, a hint of melancholy and a splash of retro vibes. It’s less about the challenge (though it's there for those who seek it) and more about chilling out to some cool tracks across some fun levels, with accessibility that should be applauded.

Calling Melatonin a chillwave Rhythm Heaven is both accurate and not descriptive enough. Its structure is roughly the same, but its pastel palette, soothing soundtrack, and loose-yet-cohesive approach to storytelling give it its own unique flair. Melatonin may only be a 1 – 2 hour romp through dreamland, but if you really savor its playful art style, brain-melting music, and easily-mastered mechanics, it can quickly become a bedtime routine of its own. And, after popping some melatonin myself, a level or two of Melatonin before I snooze sounds lovely to me.

Melatonin delivers challenging gameplay and creative, hand-crafted visuals. Combined with a chill soundtrack, this game will relax your soul even as it tests your skills.

Melatonin is a great entry in the rhythm genre. A good mix of 20 high and low concept levels makes for a tight-knit experience that is short-lived but also doesn’t outstay its welcome. The music is undeniably very catchy, with the beats still lingering in my brain following the completion of the game. A better tutorialisation of the custom level creator and easier level section method would’ve aided the experience just that little bit more but ultimately it doesn’t matter. Melatonin is a well-presented rhythm game, featuring concise and gorgeous pastel art and smooth gameplay that will never tire or injure the player. Accessibility options only bolster this further. If subsequent rhythm games follow suit, then the rhythm genre remains in very good and very passionate hands.

The game's first half in particular demonstrates real clarity of vision. [Issue#380, p.123]

Cleverly-orchestrated, if sadly a little on the abrupt side due to its short run-time, Melatonin‘s way with visuals is matched only by its delightful and genuine sense of challenge across its myriad of rhythm encounters. A shame then that despite a more than solid foundation, the game doesn’t go out of its way to fully explore its concept — the absence of other time signatures the most notable exclusion here. Even so, what it may lack in some true wealth of ideas, developer Half Asleep make up for, to sufficient lengths, in this ongoing series of mind games with its player. Drawing them in, aiding them, suggesting said scenarios have been solved, to then shake things up and catch them off-guard time after time. A trick, though repeated, that rarely gets old thanks to some cunning creativity and way with visuals, Melatonin is a satisfying if short distraction you’ll adamantly want to prove won’t get the best of you.

Is it fair to compare indie project Melatonin to the big-studio polish of Rhythm Heaven? Perhaps not. It doesn’t quite reach those heights, but what it manages is well-executed. And, well, it’s not exactly like we’re getting flooded with games in the genre right now! So we’ll appreciate the oasis in the desert.