I picked this up because I heard some really good things about it in the reviews and the dreamy aesthetic looked like it might be a nice relaxation-type game and let's just say, I was in need of some relaxation at the time. Both of these expectations fell a little flat, but not entirely.

First, the title and aesthetic are because the theme of the game is that all of the levels are different dreams the protagonist is having. They're often quirky, surreal, and abstract. The dreamy look to everything and the general lo-fi tracks used for every level were somewhat relaxing, but it is still very much a rhythm game and while I didn't find it especially hard most of the time, I didn't find it particularly relaxing either, even when it was fun and I was in a groove.

Second, I'm not sure what the hype was about the game. I'm not a major connoisseur of rhythm games but I've played a good number since getting a VR kit (note, this isn't a VR game, to be clear), and this one most importantly didn't feel like it had nearly the replayability factor of others. The game is divided into five nights, each with four levels that are an entirely different simple rhythm game, followed by a "remix" that forces you to alternate between the different games of that night in quick succession in one song. I did find several of the games quite fun and really satisfying, so there was good stuff in there, but honestly, the best content was mostly in the first night and with a few exceptions, most of the other games were just okay. Altogether, it took me about 3 hours to finish all the nights and complete the game. I didn't bother going for any perfect scores but honestly didn't feel too inclined to (especially as the timing windows felt a little too strict). This is mainly because perhaps the biggest issue is that while it's neat they have so many different mini-rhythm games in this one game, each one really just has one song and a couple different difficulties. It's not like your typical rhythm game with the same basic concept pushed to the limits with a full soundtrack. Even my favorite games were not something that'd really be fun to play over and over since it's always the same song and same patterns.

Lastly, I liked the music and found it fit pretty well with the games and sound effects, but there really was very little variety. It's all lo-fi electronic tracks for every song. While I think having running themes can be cool for the game and I didn't find the songs themselves objectionable, I'd really like a bit more variety in the music for a rhythm game.

For what it is, I think Melatonin is an alright game for a bit. I didn't love it but I appreciate some of the innovation that is there. I wouldn't rank it super highly as a rhythm game but there are certainly worse games out there.

Just finished playing through melatonin and it was so disappointing. Everybody keeps talking about it like it's a great 'rhythm heaven'-like game full of personality, but in the end you're left with a boring and forgettable experience full of levels that all blend together, all featuring music that fits none of them.

Let's start with the good parts. The presentation is amazing. The hand-drawn animation is fantastic, and the game follows the pastel aesthetic of dreams really nicely all the way through. There are little hints of a story in the game but with this being a collection of minigames it doesn't really matter that much. The gameplay is good too although it has a few problems. And at every point of the game, the music sounds good.

Now here's my problem with this game: Every single song in the game is a chill lo-fi beat. Every. Single. One. No matter what the level is about, in this rhythm game you're exclusively playing to elevator music. Now, this wouldnt be a problem in other games, but when you're trying to make a compilation of different and unique mini-games, the worst thing you could do is having them all blend together by making every level sound the same. And the more you keep playing, the more you realize this. Towards the end every level starts to sound the same and it gets so boring. I had to power through until the end to see if the game had anything else to offer (it didn't).

The levels in this game are actually very interesting. They range from simple stuff like browsing social media, to more fantastic stuff like shooting aliens on a space ship, to more serious stuff like one with the main character burning old photos. They're all cool ideas for minigames, and every single one is distinct from every other minigame in the collection. And yet, you could swap the songs between any of these levels and I don't think anybody would realize. The level design in this game isn't too great either, the whole chill vibe of the game makes it so there's a lot of parts where the player isn't doing much (like that one section in Desires where you're just holding the space bar for like 10 seconds without doing anything else)

I'll also say that the game relies way too much on visual cues for its stages, which is exactly the one thing rhythm games shouldn't do (except for games like Osu and Guitar Hero i guess). Yes it has many different audio cues to tell you which action to perform while you're playing, but just like the rest of the game, they're so chill that they blend with each other, resulting in a game where it's better to trust your eyes and treat the audio cues as part of the song instead.

Melatonin does feature remixes at the end of every night, just like rhythm heaven at the end of every section, and most nights are based around the same thing (night 2 is holding the space bar, night 3 is arrow keys). However once you get to the final remix these different control schemes all clash so you end up with a really uncomfortable and totally non-intuitive experience.

The game also has a few issues with the timing, it feels way too strict so even if you think you're right you dont really hit the notes perfectly. At first I thought it was a skill issue on my part but I've seen a lot of reviews on steam complaining about this so yeah, I guess it's actually a problem with the game lol.

The developers at Half Asleep have achieved the impossible, and created a rhythm game where the music doesn't matter. It really is a shame, because the game is really well-made, with an amazing aesthetic and good sounding music... but it does nothing to use either the music or the levels correctly, and in the end you're left with three hours of music that sounds the same with levels that are wildly different. I really wish i could've liked this game, but everytime I think about it I can only think of how little I remember. 4/10

Group Discussion Podcast:

My Final Thoughts:

Melatonin is a breath of fresh of air, and such a nice change of pace. I know I’ve said this before, but thank you ShaiShen for nominating this game. It feels like a palette cleanser, the last couple of games we’ve played for VGBC and on our own time, have not been the smoothest game experiences ever… so I am glad that Melatonin was a game that we could all experience.

The art and animation is visually appealing and calming to look at, and the smooth lofi beats working together with the animation and audio queues is just peaceful and soothing to listen to. I love this game.

And as much as I love this game, I can still see places where it could improve - linking the narrative together a bit more, a bit more post game content (give players more reasons to come back for more). A few more songs would have been nice. Variation stages to the game. A bit more clarity with the visual and audio queues on some levels, the Money level for instance, it could have had a different coin flip noise, maybe left hand was a nickel, and the right hand was a quarter, or perhaps the lighting sound could have indicated a dollar was dropping instead.

But overall, I had an awesome time with this game, and I definitely see myself turning it on from time to time to play it and to relax.

I give Rhythm Heaven Melatonin Night Time Medicine, a 7.5 out of 10.