Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley Review

We’re not quite old enough to have been there for the Moomin’s original release, but it was certainly something we remember being replayed on TV at a young age. It’s themes of friendship and looking after nature are timeless, and Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley keeps this at the heart of the adventure. It’s a great game for a parent and child to sit down and play together, with simple enough exploration and puzzles interwoven with a charming story of a friend in need and those who come to help.

Snufkin visits Moominvalley each Spring in order to spend time and go on adventures with his best friend Moomintroll. When Snufkin arrives at the pairs favourite bridge over the river, he finds Moomintroll missing and the river dried up. The Park Keeper, in a bid to build a perfect park, had placed a dam at the top of the river and it seems that Moomintroll couldn’t wait to go and try to stop them. So we, as Snufkin, search around a small open world for clues to Moomintroll’s whereabouts, helping out other folk along the way.

It’s all sweet, charming stuff. Early on, Snufkin helps out Sniff who is trapped behind a spider who refuses to move. After scaring the spider back up their web so Sniff can escape, Snufkin feels bad and cheers up the spider by bringing it a tasty butterfly as an apology gift. This theme of ‘there’s no bad people, just misunderstood’ remains throughout and it’s somewhat pleasant to follow the story of Moominvalley as a result. Event the mean Stinky – who has stolen someones clothes – comes out of the story as a sympathetic menace.

Gameplay consists of running about this open world and collecting trinkets, items, and opening up new pathways. There’s very little resistance in terms of challenge but it has been an enjoyable game to just breeze through while taking in the setting and story. There are a handful of optional side quests to find but most of the game is pretty straightforward in its approach, with it always being obvious where we should be heading next. Again, it feels like a great game for a younger player that will teach them some rules of gaming and let them feel the joy of exploring a game world without putting too much pressure on them to remember everything or learn complex rulesets.

Occasionally we’ll need to do some light stealth and puzzle sequences around some of the parks the Park Keeper has built, but the vision cones and margin for error are very forgiving.

Music is a big part of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, and Snufkin uses a handful of instruments along the way such as a flute or drum. They level up by finding note sparks around the environment and completing quests, and certain actions require higher levels to clear, such as knocking a boulder into place or calming a wild boar. The soundtrack was created in collaboration with Sigur Rós, and is a blend of beautiful melodies and serene ambient music, helping to reenforce the calm atmosphere of the world of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley.

Released at the same time as this Xbox port is new DLC Fuddlers Courtship, a bitesized addition that sees Snufkin and Moomintroll help the titular Fuddler find his true love. The DLC is short but sweet, easily completed within an hour and offering up a smaller open area to explore and find items. Both parts together will run roughly five hours all in, and there are plenty of autosaves that will allow players to come back as and when should younger players need to put the pad down for the night.

Conclusion

All in all, Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley and it’s new DLC Fuddler’s Courtship are both charming, easy going experiences that are perfect for parents and children to sit down together and explore, with a light hearted take on themes such as friendship and the importance of looking after nature.

This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.

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Good
  • Great for parents and children to play together
  • Light hearted take on themes of friendship and nature conservation
Bad
  • More experienced players will breeze though it
7
Good
Written by
I've been gaming since Spy vs Spy on the Master System, growing up as a Sega kid before realising the joy of multi-platform gaming. These days I can mostly be found on smaller indie titles, the occasional big RPG and doing poorly at Rainbow Six: Siege. Gamertag: Enaksan

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