Overview – developed and published by GuangMoGame, Melody Ball is a simple yet challenging rhythm action game, with a unique two button gameplay system. As the music plays, tap or hold the button to hit the notes on screen along with the beat of the melody. This title is available exclusively for PC via the Steam service, with a link to the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank GuangMoGame for providing the copy of Melody Ball used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is no story for this release, so I will be going directly into covering the gameplay for this release.
Gameplay – Melody Ball is a relatively simple but challenging rhythm game, where the big gimmick for the game is that only one button is needed. The core loop of the game revolves around precision, where each note needs to be hit to complete the song. Just one button is needed to get started, as the first stages of the game have blue tap notes. Each button tap will move the ball to the next note, following the melody of the music.
As the ball bounces along the notes, each note tap must be timed perfectly, as a single late tap will cause the stage to fail. With each successful note hit, a prompt on screen will appear split between good and perfect. This will show the timing of the note hit, with an early input will say too fast. At the end of a song, the player will see how well they performed, showing the number of good/perfect inputs. This also appears if the stage is failed.
After a few stages, a new type of note will be added to the music. These notes are red hold notes, where the button has to be held when hitting the red, needing to be released when it reaches the blue note. These mix up the gameplay, increasing the challenge of the songs that appear. During the first few songs, the note patterns are rather easy following steady patterns with the melody. However, this will quickly ramp up during play.
When the player reaches later stages, the speed of inputs and patterns will significantly increase. These stages will have rapid input requirements, making it much harder to get to the end of a song. This can be a real challenge, but there are some special ways to try and keep the game going, with power-ups that are introduced during play. These are awarded for clearing the songs, being added for later attempts at stages.
These power-ups make the songs more interesting, increasing the variety of gameplay on offer. There are extra life abilities, a lock on the next note and showing the next. If the player clears all stages, a special high score skill is unlocked, granting the chance at massive scores. But this comes with a downside, where the stage will be failed if the player doesn’t get all perfect notes. This really ramps up the challenge and replay value.
The power-ups aren’t the only way to keep mixing up the experience, as there are cosmetic items that can be used. These skins change the way that the ball looks, with a jack-o-lantern, beating heart and even fuzzy soot balls, looking like the sprites from Spirited Away. The inclusion of cosmetic skins give the game more charm, keeping it pretty fresh. This is a positive as the general experience is rather short, with a limited number of songs in the core game.
Although the number of songs included with the game is limited, there is a special feature that makes the content of the game near endless. Included with this game is a song creator, where players can create their own custom levels. In this suite, the player can import a song in .WAV format, add notes and share their creations. This has the possibility to grow a large community, where players create and share their songs with others.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is a super easy to pick up control scheme for this release, where the player only needs to use one button. The suggested input for this game is to use the space bar, but upon activating the stage, any other keys can be used. This includes mouse clicks, arrow keys and there is even the possibility of adding special controllers. The variety of input options make this very accessible, allowing players of all capability to enjoy the game.
Difficulty – The difficulty curve for this release feels a little odd, as some of the songs are more challenging, whereas others are less challenging. This can be quite the spike in difficulty, especially when the tempo increases and rapid note patterns occur. There is an unfortunate issue when these spikes occur, leading to the chance for missed notes and failures. The power-ups can help, but the best way to succeed is practice.
Presentation – from a visual perspective, this game is pleasing to the eye, with cute cosmetics and artwork that is related to the different musical tracks. Each of the artworks is thematically fitting, with images that have a painterly look to them. Then there is the music, with melodies that are soft, fast paced and even one that has a heartbeat as a motif. The varied soundtrack works well, as it keeps the gameplay experience from getting stale.
Final Thoughts – I am an enjoyer of rhythm games, having grown up with games like Pop’n Music, Elite Beat Agents and Vib Ribbon. There is a deep appreciation for music games, so I enjoy trying out new and interesting releases in the genre. When I saw this I was intrigued by the premise of one button rhythm action, which is a concept that hasn’t been explored too much. It is easy to pick up, but can take some time to get through all of the songs.
There is a lot of fun to be had, as it is a really well made game, with some charming visuals. The game isn’t perfect, as there is some minor trouble when it comes to input timing, which may be a calibration issue. However, I was able to get all of the included songs cleared after a few attempts. I am also excited to see what the community comes up with for custom songs. I can easily recommend this to music game fans, as there is plenty to enjoy in a modest package.
In the end, I give Melody Ball a final score of 4.5/5. This is a charming and fun rhythm game, offering a unique gameplay system that makes the game accessible to all players, with pleasing visuals, a good selection of music and the ability to create custom levels. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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