[Review] Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley

After a long winter away, returning celebrity and eco-terrorist Snufkin comes back to Moomin Valley, to find the world they once knew changed. Shocked and appalled at what they see, Snufkin vows to take down the terrible invading force that’s taken over his beloved lands, and remove them for good, or die trying…

There’s plenty of charm on show in this quaint and simplistic adventure game, which does a great job of telling a gentle narrative that anyone will be able to breeze through in a few hours, but some might find just a little too linear to really get as much out of as they might have hoped to.

It’s been a long and cold winter, and Snufkin, who has finally returned to Moomin valley, has a promise to keep to his dear friend Moomintroll. When he returns to the land he holds dear his finds that a new mysterious force has moved in, transforming the world into something that is becoming unrecognisable to his eyes, and insulting to his naturalist tendencies. Parks have been installed, with fences and worst of all: signs, limiting what the people, and moomin, of moomin valley can do in their own backyard. Which as it happens, is a whole valley. Being the ultimate in eco terrorism, Snufkin immediately jumps into action, tearing up all the rules, ripping up the man-made eyesores, and working to restore things to the way he thinks they should be.

There is oddly somewhat an issue of mixed messaging in all this though; Snufkin is at odds with himself, the narrative promoting keeping things the way they were and resisting change, while on the side of protecting nature. These aren’t inherently at odds on their own, but you could see some of Snufkin’s motivations as, maybe in the right light, conservative? At one point Snufkin is ripping up a sign that says not to light campfires, and the next he is complaining that someone has caused a fire. It’s a little bit at odds with itself. Maybe Snufkin is an anarchist and just doesn’t like rules in general, he certainly says as much, yet he also removes things that honestly could make the valley arguably better as he moves through the world, usurping the new authoritarian régime. Snufkin’s assault on the park keeper and his installed security force of comically charming British bobbies ends eventually in the ultimate act of terrorism to reach his intended ends, no matter what the cost and who gets hurt along the way… Okay, maybe it’s not quite so dramatic.

The whole adventure here is far too gentle and light-hearted to be so self serious. A loving adaptation of the works of artist, writer, and Moomin creator Tove Jansson, Snufkin: Melody of Moomin Valley is an entirely harmless family friendly adventure game, with a few cute ideas. You wander a mostly linear path through the mostly open world of moomin valley, meeting the classic characters and creatures from the books and cartoons, doing very simple tasks for them as you attempt to find the lost Moomintroll. The one unique mechanic is Snufkin’s mouthorgan, which when you hold down the R trigger, Snufkin will begin to play a jaunty tune on. Using this music you influence the animals, people, and objects around you, opening up new paths across to previously inaccessible areas. As you progress these interactions require more ‘inspiration’ to influence. Represented with a little indicator in the top left of the screen. To find inspiration, you complete tasks, like quests for characters, and interact with different things in the world. Eventually this musical notion expands into more instrumental gear, with Snufkin picking up two other instruments you require to interact with different things that also require more levels of inspiration.

The idea on its own is lovely, and in its presentation adds a lot to both the game and Snufkin as a character, but mechanically it’s very minimal in it’s implementation. For the most part you will run through a mostly direct path through the story, picking up simple tasks to complete that give enough inspiration levels to provide what you need, and the remaining amount you require is picked up via running through bushes. Only once did I hit even the remotest type of wall while playing, and have to explore to level up enough to progress. The mechanical narrative is always: walk, run through bushes, do a task, use an instrument to open a path, repeat.

This sounds much harsher than I hoped it would, but I can see a game where there is a lot more of an open world element, with multiple fun tasks to do for each character in the world, that uses each instrument in more creative ways, but really it boils down to the musical component being nothing more than the equivalent of a lever or button. I did also encounter one slight irritation here and there with the games jump, which would show you a prompt for each spot you could jump to based on where you were standing, it’s harmless enough in its execution, but occasionally its implementation wasn’t perfect, with the prompt refusing to show itself not matter how much I attempted to readjust, only making some jumps eventually through trial and error, that and jabbing the button like a maniac.

There are other small puzzles here and there, moving items and creatures to make a path, sometimes using the instrument, sometimes just picking up an object and moving. Also, while the games’ soundtrack is pleasant and charming, as is the musical tune that Snufkin plays on his little harmonica, the regularity of playing with this often creates a disruption to the soundtrack. Each time you play the instrument, the soundtrack fades to nothing and Snufkin plays. Sometimes this can be jarring, and ruins some of the mood. I would have been nice if the sone Snufkin played on his chosen instrument had been instead the the same as the music currently playing and blended into the overall song as a part of the song itself. I understand that this was probably not as plausable from a programming point of view, but would have added to the flow and feel of the sound.

This is a shame, because for the most part the soundtrack is very much reminiscent of the classic and charming, family friendly animated show style. The music you would picture in your head as the storybooks come to life and these lovely characters fill the world. While the interactions with each of these classic cast members are sadly minimal, they are faithfully and lovingly realised, with the chaotic presence of Little My being a stand-out. Her self-serving and energetic personality causing plenty of chuckles, along with a lot of the rest of the cast. It’s not hilarious by any means, but it’s got moments of cheeky humour that really entertain. That girl gots to gets paid BB!

The other side of the experience is in its more terrorist leanings, with Snufkin making his way into enemy territory and taking down each location from the inside. OK, maybe that makes it sound a little more extreme than it is in the actual narrative, but It’s not actually that far from the idea of overthrowing an enemy base in a Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed. At different points through his journey Snufkin will encounter gardens –  man made bases patrolled by policemen and lined with signs dictating the rules. Head into each garden and tear down these signs to both liberate the valley while returning it to nature. These areas start off simplistic and for the most part don’t really become too complex outside of a couple of exceptions. It’s basic stealth gameplay here, avoid the coppers line of sight, distract or clear them out using different means in the immediate area, and clear away the signs.

The stealth here is not a challenge on the whole, with very obvious and forgiving areas of vision, along with minimal punishment for failure. It’s in these areas where the game starts to show some interesting ideas. Sometimes it’s using music to distract via objects in the garden, and sometimes, at its most interesting, it’s deliberately being seen to lead an officer to a location in order for another thing to take place. For the most part these parts are a cakewalk, but compared to the rest of the game they at least provide somewhat of a challenge, if at best this is a minimal roadblock, more things that will slow you down, more than halt your journey completely. Eventually the game throws in a couple of these that provide an imposing visual, but again are too simplistic to actually create any type of impasse. First and foremost the game is about telling you it’s charming story and clearly wants everyone to make their way to the end at a comfortable pace.

There is a brief period between the second and third quarters of the narrative, where the game world opens up briefly, and you are able to enjoy exploring some of the world in Moomin Valley, allowing you to take in the games other strength outside of its faithful recreation of its classic cast. The art style, one of gentle watercolour paper textures and hand drawn animated styles does a wonderful job of further recreating the storybook sensibilities you would hope to see in an adaptation like this, with scenes feeling like they have jumped directly from the page and into life. This is sometimes undermined somewhat by the dipping framerates of the Switch version, where I played in docked mode, with things often becoming a bit uncomfortable to look at, especially with more than a few characters on screen. These moments didn’t detract from the whole at the end of the day, but they were disappointing to have crop up.

During these more exploratory and open period of play, I would occasionally find little prompts here and there, and the game would shift to show a charming scene from Snufkin’s point of view. Snufkin simply laying back and watching the clouds, sunbeams through the trees, or fishing on the pier. While these were lovely little instances to have peppered in the game, they are at odds with the reality of playing it. It’s again a game of conflicting intentions, quietly rushing you through its story to see its end; almost worried that if you stop you won’t see it through.

I think what I wanted was something that gave me some freedom of exploration, time to allow for that relaxed moment, more about enjoying a little more time in Moomin Valley, and less about running through it. What I want is the chance to holiday there, and what I got is the view from the tour bus. It was lovely, but I want to see more, do more, actually visit next time. I do hope there is a next time, because I would be more than happy to pay a little extra to stay a little longer and get to know the locals.