Viola: The Heroine's Melody
- February 17, 2021
- Jelle van Doorne
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreIn "Viola: The Heroine's Melody," players follow the journey of Viola, a young musician with the power to control time, as she battles enemies and solves puzzles in a quest to save her sister. With its unique time-manipulation mechanic and hand-drawn art style, this game offers a refreshing take on the action-adventure genre. As Viola, players will explore a richly detailed world and uncover secrets while honing their musical and combat skills.
PC
Windows
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a beautiful and heartwarming story that explores themes of self-love, community, and artistic expression, leaving players emotionally touched.
- The characters are diverse and well-developed, with engaging dialogue and interactions that enhance the overall experience.
- The unique blend of turn-based combat and rhythm mechanics, along with charming visuals and a delightful soundtrack, creates an enjoyable and memorable gameplay experience.
- The game suffers from several bugs, including game-breaking issues that can prevent players from progressing, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- Combat can be overly simplistic and easy, lacking challenge even on higher difficulty settings, which may disappoint players seeking a more engaging experience.
- The platforming elements are often too easy and unresponsive, failing to provide the challenge that some players might expect from a hybrid RPG-platformer.
- music34 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, with many reviewers highlighting its charm and integral role in both gameplay and storytelling. The soundtrack, while featuring some short standout tracks, is generally considered enjoyable and complements the game's whimsical aesthetic. Overall, the musical elements enhance the experience, making it a key aspect of the game's appeal, especially for those who appreciate music-themed narratives.
“The music is wonderful and is worth the price of admission alone.”
“Most impressive is how well the concept of music and the musical gameplay is implemented into the game’s world.”
“A wonderful, story-driven RPG with the theme surrounding music and instruments.”
“It would have been a crime for a game heavily influenced by musical instruments and music to not have good music.”
“Going into the game, I had a few initial apprehensions, the first being the aforementioned musical combat.”
“The story kind of drags initially, but the musical themes are endearing, such as Viola's party trying to get her to be herself when she's upset about being the only person who can't play music.”
- story27 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its heartfelt exploration of themes such as self-love, community, and artistic expression, featuring a cast of diverse and charming characters that enhance the narrative experience. While some find the plot predictable and slightly cliched, the character development and emotional depth resonate strongly with players, making it a memorable and engaging journey. Overall, the story is complemented by a musical theme that enriches both the gameplay and the world-building.
“The story is so beautiful and such a great meditation on loving oneself, finding community, moving through grief, and falling in love with artistic expression.”
“Incredible heartwarming story with beautiful characters.”
“A wonderful, story-driven RPG with the theme surrounding music and instruments.”
“The story will not surprise you, but the characters will warm your heart.”
“The characters can be charming and the story is okay, albeit predictable, and covers topics like loving yourself and such.”
“The story kinda drags initially but the musical themes are endearing, such as Viola's party trying to get her to be herself when she's upset about being the only person who can't play music.”
- gameplay23 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this indie title combines light platforming with engaging turn-based RPG battles, reminiscent of classic games like Paper Mario. While the platforming may feel a bit easy, the combat mechanics are praised for their depth and rewarding challenge, particularly with the innovative musical elements integrated into both combat and exploration. Overall, players appreciate the charming characters and emotional themes, making for a delightful and immersive experience, though some desire a bit more challenge in the platforming aspects.
“The gameplay was neat; light platforming (with a couple of hiccups, but not a single softlock that I encountered; thanks for respawning me when I glitched out of the stage!), plus engaging turn-based combat.”
“Gameplay is super solid, requiring the proper keyboard presses alongside proper timing to successfully pull off attacks and similar actions.”
“Most impressive is how well the concept of music and the musical gameplay is implemented into the game’s world.”
“But on most levels the platforming is just a bit too easy, meaning combat ultimately dominates the gameplay.”
“Viola should definitely not be a hardcore platformer, but it would be nice to have just a bit more challenge to balance the gameplay; maybe that's something that we'll see in future levels.”
“I don’t imagine players will come into this game expecting groundbreaking platform leaping, edge of your seat wall scaling gameplay.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally well-received, featuring fantastic artwork and a strong art style that enhances the overall experience. While there are some minor visual bugs and issues related to non-standard monitor resolutions, these do not significantly detract from the game's appeal. The visuals are complemented by a fitting soundtrack that aligns well with the game's aesthetic themes.
“The artwork is also amazing.”
“The art style is fantastic, whether it's the characters, enemies, or backgrounds.”
“Graphics are standard, but good.”
“There are some minor graphical issues, particularly if you don't have a standard monitor resolution, but nothing worth worrying about.”
“I ran into a few bugs during my run, but they were all minor visual issues, and the developer said that they'd be fixed, so no complaints there.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally enjoyable with great characters, but users report it has some bugs and minor glitches. Despite these issues, many believe it shows promise, especially considering it was developed by a solo developer.
“Unfortunately, it's a bit buggy.”
“Can't say I've played more than an hour and a half so far, but a few minor glitches aside, this is very promising, especially for a solo developer.”
“Viola is a very good, yet small, game with great characters. It is a bit buggy, but it's still a great game, and I think lots of people can enjoy it.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features an incredible heartwarming story and beautifully crafted characters, making it a standout indie title of the year. It effectively explores themes of loneliness, race, acceptance, and love, providing a relaxing gameplay experience that resonates emotionally with players. Overall, it is highly recommended for those seeking a wholesome RPG platformer.
“Incredible heartwarming story with beautiful characters.”
“This is in my top 5 indie games for the year and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys relaxing gameplay with a cute, emotionally driven band of characters that touches on loneliness, race, acceptance, and lastly, but most importantly, love.”
“Wholesome RPG platform game; would recommend.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is notably strong, providing depth and clarity to each character, which enhances the overall experience. Players find the narrative engaging enough to prioritize it over gameplay, indicating that character arcs are a central focus of the game. Additionally, the character designs and enemy visuals contribute positively to the overall presentation.
“Each character has enough depth so you know what they are about in terms of character development.”
“This game is well worth the full price and more. Usually, I skip through a game's story as I am more gameplay-focused; however, the character development is really good and is the center of attention.”
“The character designs and enemies look great too.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression throughout the game.”
“I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any surprising or engaging ways.”
“Despite the initial promise, the characters ultimately feel one-dimensional and fail to resonate with the player.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game's humor to be exceptionally engaging, with witty dialogue that elicits genuine laughter and emotional responses.
“This game will leave you with misty eyes and lungs made lighter from laughing at the hilarious dialogue.”
“The humor is so sharp and witty that I found myself chuckling at every turn.”
“I can't remember the last time a game made me laugh out loud this much!”
