Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, the charming musical adventure based on Tove Jansson's classic children's story series, finally has a release date and will launch for Switch and PC via Steam on Tuesday, March 7.
In Melody of Moominvalley, players don Snufkin the hobo's oversized green hat as he harnesses the power of music (and his trusty harmonica) to restore nature after the park warden and his minions build hideous parks all over the place. Moominvalley.
“As Snufkin, you will distract police officers, tear down signs, and knock down misplaced statues,” explains Norwegian developer Hyper Games, “as you vigorously attempt to restore nature and the inhabitants' home while also putting an end to the plans of the industrious park warden.”
Snufkin: Moominvalley Tune | Available March 7 | Pre-order available!All of this plays out in the form of a “wholesome” adventure in which players explore Melody of Moominvalley's beautifully drawn open-world settings, conversing with its charming cast of characters, each with stories to tell and quests to complete, and doing a bit of musical and environmental puzzling (with a bit of stealth) along the way.
It's kind of soft, then, and Eurogamer's Robert Purchese quite liked what he saw of Melody of Mooinvalley last year. “We see Snufkin lazing by a tent in the snow,” he wrote, “and fishing in a frozen lake, as if nothing else mattered in the world. Then we see him slowly walking back in the spring to see his moose friend. …All this while the band Sigur Rós plays softly in accompaniment, and while soft panels of an idyllic rural landscape slide in. I suppose it's a bit like Snufkin's mission, the opposite of what life has become for many of us now: messy, polluted, heavy. It's light, airy and simple. It's a nice place to be.
And if that appeals to you, Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley will cost around £18 (with a 10 per cent discount until launch day) when it releases for Steam and Change March 7th.
