Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley - Review
As someone of a semi-Scandinavian origin, I have a real affinity for Moomins, the roots of their design, the ethos of the stories and the general tone of the characters and environment of this world. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to play the game.
Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is one of the gentlest games I’ve ever played. It is a pure delight, capturing all of the witty, whimsical fantasia of this beautiful world, instilled with a gloriously heartfelt environmental message and it just revels in this delightful atmosphere and tranquil tone.
I guess this game is a lite puzzle/adventure game - it’s not too dissimilar from your classic point and click adventure games. You play as Snufkin, Moomintroll’s best friend who returns to the Moominvalley one Spring following the hibernation of the Moomin family but his friend is nowhere to be seen. You then play your way through several scenarios, collecting various things to help all the different characters in this world, and try and foil the plans of the park keeper to bulldoze and convert the natural landscape.
A key mechanic you have in the game is being able to play instruments - although all you need to do is hold down a shoulder button to play the instrument, nothing more complex than that. But you need to level up the influence of your songs by gathering inspiration by frolicking in nature and coming to the aide of wildlife. You start with a harmonica, but you then collect a flute and a drum, and you need to have your inspiration at a certain level and have the right instruments to get past various obstacles which is the game’s way of gatekeeping and guiding your progress.
There are classic stealth sections to play in the game as well when you come to sabotage the various parks that have been built, hiding behind bushes and creating diversions to distract the park guards. It’s an incredibly dated mechanic this, and one that is now incredibly frustrating when it’s rolled out in modern games, but fortunately the challenge in this game is so low, that it’s never an issue to be honest!
The writing in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is beautiful, the dialogue is very true to it’s source and is just lovely, and as is the Moomin’s way - nothing is ever shouted at you, which is always refreshing when watching a primarily children’s cartoon, which are usually aggressively loud and obnoxious, but here, it’s all so gentle and harmless, and I love it!
Something that also helps in this game is the music.
Sigur Rós - ( )
The incidental music throughout the Moomins game compliments the beautiful artstyle and animation and creates this sense of tranquility that you don’t often get in games, outside of something like Animal Crossing. But I had a real surprise when the game is bookended with Sigur Ros tracks from my favourite Sigur Ros album, which is ( ). And even Nora twigged on the music in the opening - Oooh it’s Untitled #1 which probably says more about my indoctrinating-parenting style than it does about her alters and brightness!
All in all, Moomins is a delightful game. It’s not challenging, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not fun to go through the motions and solve the gentle puzzles and interact with this world. The only thing that I think would elevate it is if there were voice acting in there - because I tried to play the game with Nora, but having to read out all of the dialogue because tiresome for both of us and she lost a bit of interest, so she happily dipped in and out as I played through the game on the sofa on my SteamDeck and enjoyed when I came across a new character or animal or instrument. But also - if the voice acting wasn’t absolutely perfect it would entirely run the risk of derailing the beautiful atmosphere of the game, so it’s not a huge criticism.
A lovely, gentle game that feels like a breath of fresh air from your hometown!