Recent reviews by alicia, sun's nemesis

This is a short but excellently written little mystery game. It has a really charming comedic tone and setting, but the mystery's the real deal and paced pretty well (and told a little unconventionally, too). I really appreciate the attention to detail, particularly in responses to different evidence, which helps keep the playtime consistently worthwhile and full.

It took me about an hour to complete and would probably take another hour to 100%, but as a single short story it felt 'just right' in terms of pacing, so I was completely satisfied. Individual pieces of the puzzle aren't difficult, but clues are trickled out in a particular way so that there's always something left to figure out. In that way, the game remains interesting but moves ahead steadily.

The standout is for sure Star Seeker, who is a complete rascal and super endearing. The dialogue in this game is great, if you enjoy this particular type of absurd and slightly sarcastic humour. If you like other witty detective games like Ace Attorney for their sense of humour/banter, you might enjoy this in particular. The art has a lot of personality and the game is generally polished.

A note on wizard crimes: the fantasy elements are pretty mechanical/physical in a way (D&D-esque), but the witchy flavour for this kind of game was pretty refreshing.

It's a simple clicker/idle game, but a very soothing and cute one. Really good for zoning out after a bad day. The point is less to optimise resources (since you hit a point of having enough currency for whatever you want relatively early) and more to decorate your park and collect the bunnies over time. So while there isn't a ton to do other than decorate and marvel, that's its selling point, in my opinion.

The dev updates every few months with cute seasonal decorations as well, which is to be commended. You can put Santa hats on your bunnies in the Northern Hemisphere winter, for example. :)

The sample screenshots show more creative uses for the decorations than what I came up with, which is embarrassing, but slowly filling my park up with decorations, thinking all the while about what would be the best for my bunnies, made me happy.

I'm not sure how well-optimised the game is, as a final note - I wouldn't say it's an issue unless you have a really old computer or are playing on a laptop, but maybe restart your PC before playing.

This is one of my favourite games of all time. I have no idea if it's as deeply enjoyable if you didn't use the internet in the '90s or early '00s, but I think that nostalgia isn't actually its selling point, though it's amazing as far as that goes. It does a fantastic job at faithfully recreating the feel of the time (in a fairly honest way, given the mostly lighthearted tone of the game).

Really, it's a terrifically-written and wonderfully warm tribute to 'people being people', and that's what I'll remember it for. The quests are surprisingly morally immersive, and the characters endearingly real. At the heart of Hypnospace Outlaw, other than a really joyful sandbox, is a really smart little detective/puzzle-type game that rewards the attentive reader/explorer/lore-hunter.

It's also teeming in Easter eggs - things to play with, things to discover and learn, things to change in the story, things to customise. I'd say it's one of the most intimate, personal games I've ever played.

It's very, very pretty - one of the prettiest games I've played as far as design goes - and has a great soundtrack, but it's a bit tedious (especially if you don't like platforming). The game world feels very empty, as far as characters and writing go; it lacks overt warmth. I hear it does get more interesting, and I could tell there was a plot developing, but I'm a few worlds in and finding it hard to keep going. It might have pressed more nostalgia buttons if I were into things like Habbo or Second Life.

It feels a little nihilistic and very reminiscent of '00s ideas about the internet, consumerism, gaming, maybe even too faithfully. The satire is a little on the nose, but some of the references are deep cuts. There are bugs that can effectively end your playthrough.

I think whether you like this wonderful game will come down to whether you like the game's style (which is really what merits the comparisons to Danganronpa, as well as some Suda51 games). It might be one of my all-time favourites as far as that goes - it just has an astonishing, and ambitious, amount of charm.

The highlight of this game for me was definitely exploring the vibrant and eccentric map and piecing together everything I could about the world (the world map is quite fleshed out and full of small mysteries). I also loved the retrofuturistic, vaporwave/city pop-inspired visuals and soundtrack, and I was amazed at how alive and real they made the game's setting seem. I couldn't get enough of the game's surreal boldness - aloof hedonism, which is key to selling its flavour of worldbuilding.

A strong sense of place, attention to detail, and exuberant idiosyncrasy make up for the flaws and missing polish noted by others (the platforming can be a bit clunky, there's some faltering in the trial segment, some weird use of voice lines, the story being enjoyable but not deeply suspenseful for mystery veterans). As for the comparisons, it's more like the evidence gathering part of Ace Attorney than the trial part. It is rough sometimes, but it reminds me more of games like VA-11 Hall-A and The World Ends with You (very high praise), which nail the feeling of a place in a particular time across the board.

I really recommend taking a chance on this game if the aesthetic seems at all up your alley, or you're looking for something that looks and feels pretty different.

Story: 10/10
Music: 9/10
Art: 7.5/10
Interface: 10/10
Longevity: 7/10


Writing consistently good and plausible dialogue is hard, but Sukeban Games nailed it. This game has some of the most compelling and believable characters in a visual novel in a long time; it's almost guaranteed you'll find someone to root for along the way, and there's plenty of incidental worldbuilding and lore to lose yourself in. It's a cute and often silly game, but it doesn't shy away from serious life issues like loss and not knowing what to do with your life; the protagonist, Jill, is particularly relatable in her mood swings and efforts to simply make it by and figure out what she wants and can reasonably expect from the world around her. She would not be out of place in the 2010s. Above all it's thought-provoking and sweet (without being saccharine or over-the-top), and often very witty.

It's always refreshing to find a good cyberpunk setting where the heroes are not larger-than-life mythical figures setting themselves against dystopian corporate antagonists, but instead relatable individuals dealing with day-to-day problems. If you've ever wondered 'what is it like for ordinary people in a dystopia?', you should play this game. There's also some really good sci-fi in here in here. Topics like AI mortality, tech ethics, and solipsism are dealt with naturally, as everyday concerns.

It's ultimately a pure visual novel, and things like the bartending mechanic are just substitutes for dialogue choices, but it works surprisingly well, particularly with the amount of endings and content unlockable in the game. A lot of it has to be worked quite hard for too, so attentive and caring readers will be rewarded, as in any good VN. Investment in nearly all the characters pays off. And there are quite a few characters, with a lot of variety and all of who have something interesting going on, so you'll never be bored. All characters were designed with thought and care.

In terms of what you'll get for your money, the story can be finished in 5-10 hours, although you might want to go back for endings and side content (it does have a NG+ mode). There's quite a lot of situational and unlockable dialogue; what this game is really remarkable for is how much high-quality content it squeezes in, and I've played it several times because it'd be a shame to miss any. Never does the game feel like it ignored your choices. You'll be sad to see this end, but the game gives you great closure on most character arcs.


The art style is exactly what you see in the promo images. It's charming, but if you're not into pixel art you won't find this game very pretty. I am, personally. I think it suits the game well and the characters easily transcend their two dimensions. I think that they're low-end isn't a bad thing; the game will run on anything, and there's quite a lot expressed through the pixels, which always look nice. A good and consistent art direction can make up for a lot.


The interface is easy to use, never clunky, and features a log of text (really important for a VN). Shout out to all the save slots as well. I encountered no annoying glitches. Most things are self-explanatory, and if not, you're told pretty quickly how to do it.


The soundtrack is incredible, with lots of songs that you can unlock, and a playlist function for your daily work; it's a cyberpunk-themed chiptune glory with lots of love poured into it and songs for every mood. I always felt engrossed by the music.


A really special game that touched me deeply. I'll remember this one always.

Would recommend to pretty much anyone who likes narrative games, cyberpunk/futuristic settings, AI, alcohol, dystopias and post-scarcity worlds, emotional games, and especially to anyone who played Read Only Memories.

Melody's Escape is a deceptively simple yet challenging obstacle-based rhythm game with a lot of potential versatility in playstyle. While still in Early Access, it has almost no technical errors and the developer is extremely active, so I would recommend it to people who enjoy rhythm games, especially people who are looking for a different type of procedurally-generated music gameplay. I am terrible at obstacle running games, but I have never ever found the platforming element of this game to be obtrusive or overwhelming because it integrates so well with the beat and feels so smooth on a sensory level.

The visuals are quite polished and clear, with a striking and elegant aesthetic; they are also easily modded and customised. The colours are rich without being distracting and can be altered both ingame and via a modding interface, and provide lovely implicit feedback for passing obstacles. The gameplay is rewarding immersively with the flow of the music and quite addictive. Melody's Escape primarily syncs to tempo and tests rhythm, beat awareness, and precision in timing, so it works less efficiently with noisy tracks, but its level generation otherwise handles most genres I have thrown at it quite well and has a good fallback method for dealing with offtempo songs.


Low BPM songs are as pleasing to play as high BPM songs, although they generally have fewer obstacles and the running pace is slower, and there are difficulty settings which treat songs with <150 BPM as if they had double their actual BPM for the purposes of level generation if that annoys you. Instrumentals and vocal songs work equally well.

While the strength of Melody's Escape generally lies in its concept and its simplicity, the game is easy to recommend because of its many difficulty settings. There are four preset difficulty modes with different input and then a custom mode which can be used to alter obstacle density, running speed, input timing window, and input methods, which gives the player the opportunity to emphasise the challenges they would like the most.

The four input methods in order of difficulty are one colour (the track is divided into segments of different running speed based on intensity of the song, and to pass an obstacle you must press or hold the associated colour key), all colours (all obstacles have their own individual colour assigned to them regardless of segment), colour or direction (solid obstacles -- jumping, sliding, diving -- require direction key input, either from the gamepad or using the arrow buttons, while colour orbs require their individual colour key input), and tandem colour and direction (passing an obstacle requires both the correct colour and direction key).

Monochrome play is relaxing and purely a test of precision, while tandem colour and direction play is a frenetic test of reaction timing and mechanics.

The sync with the track is quite good and failing to pass certain obstacles results in stumbling or respawning, so there is no way to actually fail a song as in other rhythm games which involve shooting elements, etc. The only real ingame objective that exists is to pass every obstacle (a perfect chain), but the game assigns ratings based on score and keeps track of your high score, so you can play as you wish on the mode that suits you best. This is why I have accrued so much playtime so quickly, because I found exploring the full potential of the game challenging and enjoyable.

Essentially, you get out of Melody's Escape what you put into it, which is hopefully a huge and diverse music collection. It is absolutely worth its current price and even more so on sale. It is an easy pick-up-and-play game with almost no set-up overhead and a low skill floor, but possesses depth, complexity, and replay value as you attempt to master it.

I disagree with some of the other reviewers on one thing; I am a keyboard-only player and really enjoy this game. I have no doubt the game is more intuitive with a Microsoft controller, but do not feel as if anything is lacking from keyboard play.


Technically, the game can be played with either keyboard or gamepad quite well, and no clicking is necessary. There is a slight learning curve for the colour input scheme for keyboard players because the colours are by default designed to match Microsoft controllers, but it translates fine to WASD/SZXC/etc. keyboard schemes. The visual processing can be demanding but there is an FPS counter ingame and many options to increase performance at the expense of graphical intensity (mostly bloom), which is also a matter of subjective preference anyway. Input windows etc. are all smooth assuming consistent 60 FPS.

The game has very good file handling options and does not require pre-indexing directories. You can save tracks as favourites and generate favourite folders. From experience it supports a wide variety of formats (mp3, m4a, ogg, wav, flac, aac, aiff, mpeg, wmv, and more) and also playlists (.m3u files), which sets it apart in endurance play from other rhythm games. Handles large and long tracks fine.

It does lack support for kanji, hangul, some unusual Latin characters with diacritics, etc. which can make track selection a difficulty for songs with names entirely in those characters. (Katakana and hiragana are supported, for the record). This appears to be unlikely to change in the near future and is the only potential sticking point I see for rhythm game fans.


As I have stated, this game is very much alive and being worked on, and developer support is extremely prompt. However, were the developer to suddenly disappear, I would still recommend this game as is. The primary focuses of development now are perfecting visuals (which are already on par with the available rhythm games on Steam) and fixing some very uncommon errors. For almost every player this game should be in a well-functional state and require minimal or no tweaking to maximise performance.


Overall I completely recommend Melody's Escape to any fan of rhythm games or procedurally generated music games such as Audiosurf, Osu, etc. It is well-made, performs smoothly, has active developer support, and copes well with virtually all music types. The tracks are varied enough for such a simple set of obstacles to keep you entertained for quite some time. There are few technical issues, the levels are graceful, and the aesthetics of the game are beautiful in a way that only enhances the music. Nothing ingame detracts from the music itself but the gameplay itself is still rewarding and intense, which is to me a perfect and mesmerising balance.

No real gameplay, so treat this like a cinematic experience, a moving and powerful story with gorgeous pixel art, elegant music, and a treatise to memory and love. You will most likely cry. Amusing dialogue and lovely sequencing.

I've played it through several times, and I can always come back to it and find something moving in it.