Reviews / 4 January 2023

Quick Review: Melatonin

Is Melatonin here to fill that Rhythm Paradise shaped hole in our hearts and Nintendo Switch catalogue?

The debut title from indie studio Half Asleep, Melatonin is a lo-fi, pastel coloured rhythm game that tells the story of a person and their dreams. Each night of sleep offers a range of different dreams to vibe to, with beautifully crafted visuals and pleasant tunes. The game definitely feels inspired by Rhythm Paradise but Melatonin thrives without being a direct copy, offering it’s own take on the genre with its unique aesthetics and challenging minigames.

Every dream you enter starts with a tutorial showing how to play through the dream, highlighting what buttons will need to be pressed, and what visual and audio cues there will be in the level. Each dream is unique, and is inspired by a different tasks the main character would enjoy or takes part in on a daily basis, such as going shopping, playing video games and browsing their mobile phones. These dreams give a small insight into who the main character is, but that is about as much as a story the game offers.

Personally I found some of the dreams to be harder than others, with some lacking the musical cues needed for you to pick up the timing perfectly. One of my favourite things about Rhythm Paradise was being able to play the game with my eyes closed, but I found doing that in a lot of the levels in Melatonin very tricky. You can make things a little easier with the accessibility settings and you can toggle the visual ticker and metronome, which can help you focus a bit better.

Despite the varying difficulty in levels, Melatonin’s challenges are a delight and with over 20 levels spread across 5 chapters, the game is short but sweet. If you are looking for a rhythm game to help scratch that itch and enjoy dream-like music and aesthetics, Melatonin could be the game for you.