Melatonin is a nice rhythm game from an online game developer Friv2Online about how far dreams can take us. We tell in the review whether it is worth attention or is it better to take a nap for an hour or two instead.
Melatonin is a hormone called the "sleep hormone": it is produced mainly at night and promotes better sleep. The game is called the name of this hormone for a reason: all its action takes place over several nights, and the player travels through the dreams of the protagonist.
Having gone into the arms of Morpheus, the protagonist sees dreams on various topics: shopping, relationships, dreams, fantasy, future , past, and so on. In each of them, he performs some actions: for example, a date dream is a smartphone screen , on which a guy swipes offers in search of romantic interest, and in a dream about technology, he plays a video game, reflecting the alien invasion.
That's all Melatonin has to offer in terms of storyline - a set of themed levels and short cutscenes in between that tie the nights together. The content of dreams reveals the character and interests of the protagonist, but you should not count on a deep story.
However, hardly anyone goes into a rhythm game for an interesting scenario. Much more important here is the gameplay component, with which the project is all right. Each dream level is a test where you need to press buttons to the beat of the music so that the character performs actions - grab pizza , shoot at enemies or jump on social network icons .
The melodies are different, but with the same four-bar basis, in which all the actions fit. These can be pressing and holding keys, which are accompanied by certain events on the screen: they hold down the button - the rocket has accumulated a charge, released it - it took off into space . And all in the same style.
Sounds simple, and it plays too. You can completely turn off hints and be guided only by your musical ear, sense of rhythm and character's actions. Or add a visual cue to the display that will tell you exactly when to press a particular key. It all depends on how hard you want to challenge yourself.
The game is quite picky to the gamer in terms of timings. Hit the split-second key sooner or later than you need to, and you'll fail. Therefore, it is not easy to score the coveted three stars for the best result in the test. Especially if we talk about the increased difficulty, which opens after completing the level on normal difficulty. And if you want to play at your own pace, you can use the mission editor.
Melatonin leaves a pleasant aftertaste. The game does not make excessive demands on the speed of reaction, but it does not promise an easy walk: the difficulty of the tests is perfectly balanced so that the gamer does not lose interest in the gameplay. The melodies are catchy, and the visual design entertains and surprises with minor details. The simple and user-friendly interface allows you to quickly jump into the challenge, so the project can be used for a short break during work or study to get a little distraction and clear your head.
