Mondealy XSX Review 8/10 "I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures" 🌻 @ValkyrieInitia1 #IndieGame #GameDev

I’m very much on board with playing a wide variety of genres, and I appreciate that sometimes you need a game like Mondealy to slow you down and allow you to take stock of your life, appreciate what you have, and perhaps take a break from blowing up demons, shooting thousands of bullets at an alien threat, or squeezing your controller in love/respect/frustration because you missed that pixel-perfect 100th jump, and how need to do the last hours’ worth of progress again.

I initially played Mondealy off the back of a pretty full-on game, and switching from that to this mellow, slowly-unfolding world was initially a little jarring, but after a mental reset, I completely fell under the pastel-coloured, joyous sway that it conjures, especially enjoying the soundtrack, courtesy of the below talented composers:

• Accidentia

• alles sokolow

• Ayawaska

• dansai

• dsff

• trufata

• SkaeWorld

• Yuval Hamond

All of whom definitely deserve the attention of your ears.

Mondealy begins with a prologue that sees an unnamed traveller falling into casual conversation at a cafe and getting regaled with a tale, a tale that takes the form of the rest of the game. 

Michael is a young, listless man who lives under a mane of hair and sighs his way through life, that is - until one day he discovers an underground city of ‘monsters’ (no, not Midian) and gets involved in various adventures between the two worlds, as he delves deeper, finding out more about the history of this underworld, as well as helping folks out along the way.

A pixelated graphic adventure with a wonderfully dreamy soundtrack, Mondealy’s strengths lie not in tight, complex puzzling, testing your reflexes, or wrenching at your emotional core, but in painting a world that you can get lost in that imbues in you in a sense of whimsical comfort.

As you guide Michael around, getting to know the denizens of this strange underground complex and how it relates to the world above, the richness of the tale opens up to you, helped in no small part by that fantastic soundtrack.

Admittedly, the gameplay itself is light, but this doesn’t mean that it’s brief - as there are many hours of lore and narrative to dive into, as well as several fun asides and collectible quests to get lost in, should you wish to fully immerse yourself in the world of Mondealy. 

SUMMARY

I’ve seen several extremely positive takes on Mondealy from people that really feel this is a GOTY contender and I applaud that.

For me, it is a fun, offbeat adventure, but I can very much see how some people would get completely absorbed in its wonderful world and characters.

Me? I’m hoping for a vinyl soundtrack release next!.