Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories

Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a unique story-exploration game that manages to balance cute and charming characters with a darker and more mature storyline. The game follows Honeydew, an employee of a melon factory, as she travels to Hog Town to search for a missing friend. As she delves deeper into the town and its inhabitants, she uncovers a web of crime and corruption that threatens to consume everything and everyone she holds dear.

In the same vein as seemingly cutesy titles like Undertale and Mother 3, Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories manages to surprise at every turn of its compelling narrative.

Retro Fascination

The game's visuals are charming and whimsical, with bright colors and cute characters that look like they're straight out of a children's book. The character designs are unique and memorable, each with its own personality and quirks.

The environments are also well-crafted, with a mix of indoor and outdoor locations that are both cozy and atmospheric. The game's art style and presentation are reminiscent of other indie titles like Undertale and Night in the Woods, but with its own distinct flavor.

You might have noticed just how much the game resembles a Game Boy screen. This particular design choice looks great in motion and also helps differentiate the game from some other titles in the genre.

Solving the Sweet Riddles

The gameplay of Melon Journey is a mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and dialogue-driven storytelling. As Honeydew, the player must navigate Hog Town and its surrounding areas, interacting with characters and objects to progress the story. The game has a nonlinear structure, allowing the player to tackle optional side plots and minor character arcs at their own pace.

The puzzles are challenging but fair, and the dialogue choices offer meaningful consequences that affect the overall narrative. Perhaps a bit more divisive would be the game's length: at just over five hours, the game is a bite-sized experience that fails to reinvent its formula for repeated playthroughs. Still, for some players, this runtime might just hit the sweet spot.

Familiar Feeling

Melon Journey shares similarities with other indie titles like Undertale and Night in the Woods but stands out with its own unique setting and characters. Like Undertale, the game offers choices that affect the narrative, but the focus on exploration and puzzle-solving sets it apart. Like Night in the Woods, the game has a cozy and atmospheric setting, but the darker and more mature storyline gives it a different tone.

Overall, Melon Journey offers a fresh take on the story-exploration genre and is well worth playing for fans of indie games.

Pros

• Compelling story that balances cute visuals with a darker narrative
• Engaging exploration and puzzle-solving elements
• Diverse cast of characters with their own unique personalities and story arcs

Cons

• Limited replayability