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.

There’s nothing else like Melatonin. This is a gorgeous rhythm game about dreams and the meanings within them — but even if you don’t want to read into it, there’s so much to enjoy in its challenging rhythm-based levels and pastel-coloured hand drawn art. Even if you find it tough, it’s an experience worth sticking with. You won’t regret it.

Rhythm games are one of those difficult fields to navigate in terms of balance. On the one hand, a majority of the players will want to have the core elements properly presented: good soundtrack, solid mechanics, and an appropriate difficulty curve. There’s a reason that Pop’n Music maintains a good following even to this very day, and it’s fantastic execution of music with reflexes. This is all w...

Melatonin is a rhythm game from Half Asleep that offers something we haven’t seen in the genre in some time. Featuring a twenty-something dozing on their couch, drifting off to sleep and dreaming of menial and abstract ideas, it’s highly conceptual. Then basing bite-sized rhythmic levels on these ideas, it’s up to players to make their way through these songs, maximising their score. Feeling more ...

Despite its lack of musical cues and somewhat varying difficulty levels, Melatonin’s suite of challenges is a delight for rhythm game fans and it’s so satisfying to nail that PERFECT. It doesn’t fill the Rhythm Heaven-shaped hole in the Switch’s portfolio, but instead it creates a dreamy new space filled with cotton candy colour, energy, and, most importantly, fun.

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 ex...

Melatonin is a rhythm game about dreams and reality merging together. Harmonize through a variety of dreamy levels containing surprising challenges, hand-drawn art, and vibrant music without any intimidating overlays or interfaces.

Melatonin works smoothly without any bugs and the controls feel crisp. The visuals are dreamlike, and the color palette is conducive to making people sleepy. With all the music to discover, it's kind of like an interactive album. Towards the end, it felt like just automatically pressing the space bar to the beat from level to level wanting to hear the next song.