Melody's Escape
- May 20, 2016
- Icetesy
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Melody's Escape" is a rhythm-based runner game that lets you use your own music library for gameplay, adapting to all music genres and styles. You can customize the game's appearance and immerse yourself in the experience as every action is synced to the music. The game also features fast and accurate music analysis, with a strong focus on long vocals and notes.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Allows players to use their own music library, providing endless replayability.
- Visually appealing with a colorful aesthetic and smooth animations.
- Customizable difficulty settings cater to both casual and hardcore players.
- Beat detection can be inconsistent, especially with certain genres of music.
- Motion blur and fast-paced visuals may cause eye strain for some players.
- Limited bundled soundtrack may not satisfy all players, requiring reliance on personal music libraries.
- music6,213 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music aspect of "Melody's Escape" has received mixed reviews from players. Many appreciate the ability to use their own music library, which allows for endless replayability and a personalized experience, while others note that the game's algorithm for syncing music to gameplay can be hit or miss, particularly with genres like rock and metal. The bundled soundtrack is generally well-received, but players often find that the game performs best with electronic and pop music, as the rhythm detection can struggle with more complex or varied tempos. Overall, the game is praised for its fun and engaging concept, but its effectiveness largely depends on the user's music selection.
“I'm glad the game supports Steam Workshop; now I have a rhythm game that can use my own music collection for whenever I need to play it while listening to my own music collection. The rhythm difficulty can be adjusted, and I'm able to change the background colors to prevent eyestrain.”
“The art style is simple and flows wonderfully, and being able to bring your own music and procedurally generate the levels adds infinite replayability.”
“The fact that you can upload any music and it will automatically make a level for you makes this a perfect rhythm game.”
“Every action is in sync with your music, what a load of bull.”
“A rhythm game with no rhythm and barely average soundtracks.”
“The only drawback for some people will be that it has to be music you actually own on your computer, so any mp3 tracks you have, whether it be from CDs or iTunes or whatever, can be used in the game, but no streaming music is possible.”
- gameplay609 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Melody's Escape" is characterized by its simplicity and accessibility, allowing players to engage with their own music library through rhythm-based mechanics reminiscent of games like "Guitar Hero" and "Bit.Trip Runner." While the game offers multiple difficulty levels and a customizable experience, many players find the audio detection and synchronization with music to be inconsistent, leading to a repetitive and at times frustrating experience. Overall, the game is enjoyable for casual play but lacks the depth and polish found in more established rhythm games.
“Some songs have a heavy focus on staccato button-presses, others will feature many consecutive swan-dives, others will have Melody go into flight mode to zip between barriers... you'll have to play several songs before you see all the little ways the gameplay can be switched up.”
“The gameplay is rewarding immersively with the flow of the music and quite addictive.”
“Melody's escape is an infinitely replayable rhythm game with beautiful minimalist visuals, fun and sometimes relaxing gameplay, and a highly moddable interface and player character with a dedicated community.”
“The gameplay itself is the biggest deal breaker for me; from the design choice to execution, the game falls flat.”
“Really, the whole game just isn't that well thought out and lacks the quality mechanics a good music rhythm game needs, which is why I'm refunding it.”
“The bottom line is this: the audio detection (the core game mechanic) is bad, bad, bad.”
- graphics584 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Melody's Escape" are generally praised for their beautiful, minimalist art style that enhances the gameplay experience without being overly distracting. Many players appreciate the vibrant colors and smooth animations, although some have noted issues with motion blur and eye strain during extended play sessions. The game's customization options through Steam Workshop further enrich the visual experience, allowing players to tailor the aesthetics to their preferences.
“A very challenging rhythm game with stunning graphics!”
“The visuals are really beautiful and mesh well together.”
“Melody's escape is an infinitely replayable rhythm game with beautiful minimalist visuals, fun and sometimes relaxing gameplay, and a highly moddable interface and player character with a dedicated community.”
“This game is really rough around the edges, from the graphics to design and execution.”
“The blurry graphics also made my eyes hurt and I felt like I was going blind and now I have a headache after just 10 minutes of gameplay.”
“The only negative I can think of is that the graphics have a tendency to blur pretty badly.”
- replayability67 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game offers exceptional replayability, primarily due to its ability to import personal music and procedurally generate levels, allowing for an almost infinite variety of gameplay experiences. While some players note that the repetitive nature of obstacles and animations can lead to a sense of staleness, the extensive customization options and active modding community significantly enhance its replay value. Overall, many reviews highlight the game's unique approach to rhythm gameplay as a key factor in its high replayability rating.
“The game is endlessly replayable, very high quality and incredibly flaw-free for an early access title - also the algorithm for procedural generation based on your music is extremely good.”
“Melody's Escape is an infinitely replayable rhythm game with beautiful minimalist visuals, fun and sometimes relaxing gameplay, and a highly moddable interface and player character with a dedicated community.”
“The amount of replayability in this game is practically limitless provided that you have that many songs on file.”
“The replayability is low since it requires too much attention to combat the oddly placed notes or you have to be fine with a non-perfect and a killed flow, and the game doesn't really drag you into a flow of feeling like you're playing with the music like many other rhythm games capture brilliantly.”
“Could be lacking in content and replayability for some gamers.”
“The songs aren't player-made and then checked by admins to see if they're playable or even follow the beat.”
- story58 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The game lacks a substantial story, with players expressing disappointment over the absence of a narrative or objectives beyond simply running to music. Many reviewers suggest that the addition of a story mode could enhance engagement and provide a more immersive experience, as the current gameplay feels aimless and repetitive. Overall, the consensus is that a meaningful storyline would significantly improve the game's appeal.
“Personally, I feel like the game would be more fun and engaging for longer play sessions if it had a sort of story mode, where Melody is escaping from some unseen enemy and the game will pick a random number of songs from your computer, and you have to complete them all to win.”
“A story mode that can match a number of songs in a genre together (or several genres together) to create a beginning, middle, climax, and end would make this the ultimate music/rhythm game.”
“It may sound odd, considering the genre, but I really wish there were a story mode.”
“With no story or ending, you play me until you're tired of it, which could be mere minutes to infinity.”
“It has no story and one character who just runs to the right.”
“If you're coming in expecting a story or anything, go find something else to play.”
- optimization40 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag, with some players praising its ability to run smoothly on various systems, while others report significant performance issues, including micro stuttering and frame rate drops even at low settings. Although there are options to adjust performance, many users feel that the game requires further optimization to enhance the overall experience and reduce visual strain. Overall, while some players enjoy a well-functioning experience, others struggle with performance inconsistencies that detract from gameplay.
“The game is very well optimized and you can run it on almost any computer.”
“Runs smoothly and I have tested lots of different music genres on this game already, and I can say I'm pleasantly surprised how well it did what it says it's going to do!”
“It strikes a solid balance of performance efficiency, visual appeal, and solid gameplay.”
“The game also seems to be poorly optimized; for such low quality assets, anything above the lowest settings causes the game to start dipping below its aim of 60 fps.”
“I had to turn down the performance settings, and kill a few video settings, otherwise midgame sometimes the game would freeze for a bit, the last few moments of buffered music would loop endlessly in an annoying stutter, my runner would jerk forward and fall into the ground, and then the game would catch up 5-20 seconds later, flinging me further down the track and guaranteeing a miss, not to mention player confusion.”
“Sometimes I achieve my 144 fps for my FreeSync, but how can the game be so badly optimized that such simple graphics use so much resource.”
- humor32 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky and unexpected moments, such as the amusing interactions between movement controls and dynamic sound effects. Players find the animations, especially those related to character failures and wall collisions, to be particularly funny, contributing to a lighthearted and enjoyable gaming experience. Overall, the game offers a refreshing break from more intense titles, with custom difficulty settings adding to the hilarity.
“That's all I can advise... it's a pretty fun game on the side, if you want to take a break from some more exhilarating games, and, admittedly, with the custom difficulty settings, it's hilarious to see how insane you can make the game.”
“Well, it makes sense, until I see the character slow down and walk during the breakdown part... lol I couldn't stop laughing.”
“I love this game; the only thing I can find wrong right now is that there aren't many funny fail animations, but there are some play errors that clip back and forth. This is early access, so it will be fixed sooner or later.”
- atmosphere18 mentions
- 94 % positive mentions
- -11 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its beautiful graphics, calming backdrop, and exceptional music, which significantly enhances the overall experience. Players find the combination of unique gameplay and atmospheric elements addictive and enjoyable, although some note that the atmosphere for custom songs may not always align perfectly. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing to its appeal.
“It's a unique style of quicktime event-platformer-like game with a nicely colored backdrop and calming atmosphere.”
“Overall, it's quite a pleasing and addictive atmosphere and experience.”
“No other game has such a beautiful atmosphere and a great music analyzing system.”
“The atmosphere for custom songs doesn't always match the intended vibe.”
“The overall atmosphere feels disjointed and lacks cohesion.”
“I found the atmosphere to be underwhelming and not immersive.”
- stability18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 78 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been noted as somewhat inconsistent, with users reporting various bugs and glitches, particularly during abrupt gameplay changes and in the menus when adjusting resolution. While many acknowledge these issues, they still find the game enjoyable overall, suggesting that the glitches are fewer than in typical pre-release titles. Overall, the experience is described as fun despite the occasional hiccup.
“There are no glitches I have come across, and I have had a lot of fun playing it.”
“There are no glitches I have come across, and I have had a lot of fun playing it.”
“You'd think that the gameplay would be adjusted to fit the tempo of the song, but the experience just feels buggy when abrupt changes happen where they shouldn't.”
“As expected for an early release, it still has a few hiccups and glitches here and there, but overall it is a good game.”
“-menus are a bit buggy when you change your resolution.”
- emotional12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting its ability to evoke joy and a sense of being part of the music through engaging gameplay. However, some also report experiencing motion sickness and disorientation, indicating that while the game can ignite positive feelings, it may also lead to discomfort for certain players. Overall, the emotional impact of the game is significant, with a unique blend of exhilaration and potential physical reactions.
“I compose my own music from a musical software program, and out of all the games I've ever played, none have ever made me feel so alive. This is hard to describe, but honestly comes from my own experience. Whenever I play this game - I've always had a deep love for music, and tapping out the beat on the keyboard, and dodging the obstacles in time with the music just ignites a feeling of joy inside me and makes me want to start dancing. No other game I have ever played makes me feel like this.”
“It really added feeling to the gameplay, and almost made me feel like I was part of the music too.”
“This was the first game that ever made me feel dizzy and gave me motion sickness; that was an interesting experience.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game manageable, with achievements that don't feel overly tedious, though some challenges, like achieving perfect scores on intense difficulty, can be demanding. However, the process of adding new songs and the lack of an in-game track editor are seen as tedious, and issues with tempo synchronization can detract from the enjoyment, making the gameplay feel more laborious than relaxing over time.
“The process of adding new songs is tedious and the tempo sync feature doesn't even work properly.”
“The gameplay itself is entertaining at first but quickly becomes more tedious than relaxing, primarily due to the fact that most songs aren't actually properly to the beat.”
“You also can modify the track files in a text editor if you really want to improve it manually, but this is a little tedious to do and an in-game track editor is sadly missing but would've been nice to have.”
- character development10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight the game's impressive character designs, noting their simplicity, visual appeal, and modifiability, with a rating of 9/10 for character design. However, there is no specific feedback on character development, indicating a lack of focus on this aspect in the reviews.
“It has great graphics, I love the character design; simple yet interesting as well as being modifiable.”
“Also, it's really pretty and has some great character designs available in the Steam workshop.”
“Character design: 9/10 (see workshop)”
- monetization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game allows players to bring their own music, providing a personalized experience without being restricted to the developers' choices or facing microtransactions to unlock tracks. This approach is praised for its simplicity and user-friendly nature.
“Bring your own music - not limited to the developers' choice (unlike, for example, Band Hero) and no microtransactions to unlock tracks.”
