Melobot - A Last Song Review

The cozy uprising is starting, and as can be expected, it comes with a cuteness overload like no other. Anomalie Studio is one of many studios making their mark on the world of gaming, and what better way to do it than with a break from the norm with something cozy? However, while this Parisian studio has only been at it since 2018, they wanted to make a proper impact with their first release, Melobot—A Last Song, which was released on 16 September.

The thing is, going for something cute and cozy is great, and it works, but it gets stale quite quickly. So, what if a little extra intrigue was sprinkled on top? You're in luck because Melobot - A Last Song has that extra bit that just works way too well—a little rhythm, and it goes all the way down to what makes the experience so special.

The world of Melobot - A Last Song is far from what you'd expect, though. To make a long story somewhat short, Certain extremely special plants play music and have their own unique song, and they're known as Meloplants. However, humans, doing human things, found a way to exploit the Meloplants to extract dark matter. Unfortunately, while dark matter was a great energy source, it took a vicious toll on nature. The same humans who made the machines to harvest the dark matter tried to stop them, but there was no stopping the machines who eventually turned against the ones who made them.

This is where you come in; you take on the role of the Melobot, and your objective is pretty simple but also not. So, there's a whole world to explore and see, but you'll also need to heal the Meloplants by playing their song. This is where that sprinkle of rhythm comes in, and it's honestly a brilliant touch that shakes things up. Granted, it starts off easy, but the difficulty does scale up nicely… To the point where you might end up tangling your fingers. Again, this is not a bad thing; it just takes a little practice to get the hang of it.

Diving a little deeper into the rhythm side of Melobot - A Last Song, you'll have a total of 8 notes to work with, and you'll need to match the melody of each Meloplant you come across. Now, depending on how well you match the timing, you'll also get a star rating out of 3, 1 star being the lowest and 3 the highest. Naturally, every completionist out there will become hellbent on getting three stars for everything for the sake of basically getting a perfect score.

Now, Melobot - A Last Song isn't just running around and healing plants; there's much more to it that keeps things going. The first is the Melobot's two abilities, Heal and Shockwave, and we can't forget about the ability to sprint. There is an obvious elephant in the room, and it involves the movement speed. We get it; it's cozy and relaxed, but a little more spring in his step would be great when it comes to getting around the seemingly massive biomes you have to explore.

The biomes aren't actually that big, but they might as well be due to how painfully slow you move; the only saving grace for this is the ability to sprint. Unfortunately, Melobot - A Last Song isn't going to let you keep sprinting permanently because it comes with the dreaded overheating. That's right, your sprint ability will overheat if you use it too, and it will need time to cool down before you can use it again. The sad thing is that life would also be so much better if the normal running speed had half the sprint speed.

Putting the painfully slow movement speed and the sad side of sprinting, there is some excitement to look forward to in Melobot - A Last Song. Healing the Meloplants will eventually attract a Guardian, one of the machines that went haywire with extracting dark matter. Who doesn't like a good boss fight, though these aren't your average boss fights? This is where the Melobot's two abilities come in; Heal and Shockwave.

Naturally, you'll have health and shields to keep an eye on while taking on the Guardians. You'll also have to damage the Guardian with the Melobot's Shockwave ability to shut it down. Boss fights are a nice change of pace because they take on a semi-puzzle aspect where you'll need to dodge barriers and attacks while dealing damage. There is some irony when you look at the Heal ability, which actually recharges your shields but not your health.

All things aside, there is one major aspect to look forward to the brilliant implementation of music. Each biome comes with its own specific instrument, which keeps things fresh; there's also a subtle connection between the instruments and their respective biomes with their work with the Meloplants. It's a small detail, but it doesn't go unnoticed in Melobot - A Last Song. It's also the small things like this that make the biggest impact, and we're here for it.

Another thing to watch for is the lore potential because the world of Melobot - A Last Song seems completely devoid of humans. However, you'll still find remnants from their time. The only other human interaction you'll get is from the scientist on the Meloship who's recovering from dark matter exposure. However, aside from giving you some poetic inspiration to push on with the mission, his secondary goal is to check in on another human who may or may not be gone.

To save the best for last, Melobot - A Last Song offers one thing that might make life a little easier: upgrades. The upgrade tree isn't massive or anything to lose your mind over, but it does fit the game's theme. You can upgrade your healing speed, shockwave damage, and health, but the most appealing upgrade would be to the sprint. Maintaining the overheat over half is easy and well worth the effort for the extra burst of movement speed…

On the visual side, Melobot - A Last Song still follows the cozy formula of not trying to go for mind-melting detail. Instead, it leverages simpler designs and softer colors to build a great atmosphere to carry the story. However, even with that said, there's still a massive world with several biomes to explore, and you'll definitely want to stop and admire the sights. Simplicity might play a huge role here, but there's always a little beauty.

Where Melobot - A Last Song really shines is with its music. Naturally, the name pretty much gives it away, but there have been several rhythm games in the past that turned out to be flops and a few that were actually amazing. The key thing is how it gets implemented and works with the themes, and there is no doubt about how well each unique piece of music works with the world. Each Meloplants unique song might just have you returning to give them another listen… or 6.

Overall, Melobot - A Last Song has so much to offer in a tiny package, but you won't be disappointed with how much there is to see and hear. It's a great change of pace if you're a fan of anything music-related, and if you can look past the sprint issue, you'll be in for what might be the most relaxed gameplay ever.