Melatonin Review (.Aeto)
My feelings towards Melatonin are ambivalent. On one hand, it is very well presented, showcasing a lot of love and care in its development. However, the gameplay itself felt somewhat uninspired and overall too easy.
When comparing this game to the Rhythm Tengoku/Rhythm Heaven series, the gameplay feels somewhat lacking. The player-actions lack variety and, more importantly, hindered my ability to achieve a flow state. While some levels, like "Dream about Desires" and "Dream about Stress" came close to achieving that state for me, the majority of levels required me to actively pay attention to audio-visual signals, which disrupted my flow. Contrasting "Dream about Nature" with Rhythm Heaven Gold's level "Crop Stomp" highlights this difference clearly. In the Hard-Mode of "Dream about Nature", my attention was solely focused on listening for audio cues instead of feeling the rhythm, which left me unsatisfied.
Another aspect where Rhythm Heaven excels is in its Remix levels. In Melatonin, the different segments feel disconnected, lacking the seamless transitions found in Rhythm Heaven. Rhythm Heaven often introduces a new mechanic in one segment and follows it up with the next segment building upon it. This kind of connection is absent in Melatonin.
Additionally, I found the content of Melatonin to be a bit lacking. It took me just over 2 hours to beat every level on Hard, even with collecting at least two Saturn Rings (?). Considering the game's price of 15€, this feels a bit steep.
Another minor nitpick is that I was not able to rebind my controller buttons. This might not sound necessary on first look, however I played this game with an Arcade layout controller, where due to the button-layout of fighting games the R button is to the left of the L button. I did some custom rebinding with Steam Input, this feature should be in the main game however.
I believe Melatonin has the potential to be a great game. Its visuals and sound design are fabulous, and I appreciate the story that players can interpret from the character's life. It effectively represents the anxieties of modern life. However, it falters in its gameplay, which is unfortunate.
With reservation, I recommend Melatonin. It certainly has its strengths, but the gameplay sadly did not meet my expectations.