8 Things We Wish We Knew Before Playing Snufkin: Melody Of Moominvalley

One of the most exciting sleeper announcements of 2022 for cozy game enjoyers everywhere was the surprise reveal of Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley from Hyper Games and Raw Fury. A cozy musical adventure game set in the picture book storyland of Tove Jansson's Moominvalley and featuring fan favorite rebellious musician Snufkin as its playable main character.

8 Best Cozy Games On Nintendo Switch

Cuddle up with your switch and play a sweet, cozy game after a long day.

What was even more exciting was the surprise announcement of a release date in early 2024, and now that we've completed the game, here are some Moominvalley tidbits we wish we'd been privy to before hitting the start button.

This list will not be spoiling any major plot points or pleasant surprises, but there will be light gameplay spoilers here and there, so keep that in mind if you're looking to go into the game knowing as little as possible.

8 Make The Boat Your Top Priority

Early on in Snufkin's musical quest, you'll be presented with a choice: work towards getting yourself a boat with which to sail all the way to the Hattifatteners island, or leisure about completing side quests at your own pace in the game's overworld area.

Without spoiling anything, the full extent of the game's soundtrack only becomes audible once the quests relating to the island are completed, so if you want to hear Snufkin at its best, we recommend making a beeline for the boat as soon as you get the opportunity. Trust us, you won't regret it.

7 You Can Hear Inspiration Locations

Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley has you collect 'inspiration' (called 'experience points' in any other game) and though there are plenty of ways to find inspiration, the most common way is to walk through bushes, some of which have inspiration, many of which do not.

You may notice at this point that there are bushes literally everywhere, and if you too now fear the tedium of manually checking every bush, we've got some good news for you: there is a better way. Inspiration hidden in bushes or any other location, for that matter, will actually emit soft audio cues, cluing you in to which bushes to check and which ones you can safely ignore. By following these cues, you should be able to find all the inspiration you need with no trouble at all.

6 There Are Stealth Segments

Though the game presents itself as an adventure game, a surprising amount of time in the game is spent sneaking past the games' lovable little police officers. This isn't an issue, of course, many great adventure games of the past have also had stealth elements, but you will need to be sneaky here and there to make your way through the story in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley.

20 Best Adventure Games On Nintendo Switch

It's time for an adventure!

The stealth segments aren't overly difficult, but they do manage to consistently keep you on your toes and offer a fun change of pace. As with most stealth segments, just remember to stay out of the officers' line of sight and duck into a hiding spot when necessary, and you'll have those parks dismantled before you know it!

5 You'll Need To Use Music To Solve Puzzles

In addition to their bigger, more obvious uses, you can also use the variety of your musical instruments in the game to get the occasional adorable woodland creature to follow you around for a time, or at the very least, your music will be able to persuade them to move a little closer to you than they might be comfortable with otherwise.

This is crucial to keep in mind, because you'll need to musically manipulate all manner of animal life to get the most out of the game. Early on, for example, you'll encounter a character whose needs can only be satisfied by the presence of a butterfly, which you have to lure into following you using your harmonica. Things like this pop up all the time in Snufkin, so when in doubt, don't forget to jam out.

4 You Can Improve Your Stamina

Snufkin walks with a decent level of speed in the game by default, but as you'll soon find out, there are times when a light jog just isn't enough, and you'll need to run away as fast as you can from those pesky police. You'll also soon realize that the default stamina meter is very, very small. Too small, in most cases, to be of any real help.

10 Best Cozy Games On The Epic Games Store

Looking for a cozy game on the Epic Games Store? We've got you covered.

This is where Muskrat comes in. Nestled neatly into a nice flowered meadow near Moominhouse is a pleasant NPC who will be happy to increase your maximum stamina meter for you. How he does this is something we'd rather not spoil for now, but assuming you're willing to go out of your way here and there, Muskrat is worth visiting in exchange for a longer sprint time.

3 Pick Up Everything You Can

If you've ever played a Xenoblade game before, you know how this goes. Pick up everything you can, and accept as many side quests as you can. If you consistently do all of this, you'll end up able to complete most of what you need to do without having to worry about any specific actions. As it turns out, the same advice holds true in Moominvalley.

Most, if not all, of the game's side quests revolve around collecting something or another, and while seeking these out individually can be a bit tricky, if you're picking things up and making sure to interact with the environment as you explore, you'll find yourself collecting pretty much everything you need naturally as you play. This strategy is especially effective when it comes to increasing your stamina with Muskrat.

2 You Can Drum Away The Ferns

At various points throughout your journey, Snufkin will come across ferns in his path that significantly slow the nomadic adventurer down in terms of walking speed, like walking into a spider-web in Minecraft. Some of these also have inspiration in them, making walking through them a tedious necessity.

Best Cozy Games To Cuddle Up On The Couch With

These cozy games are the perfect way to unwind and relax.

However, once you've obtained the drum instrument, you can actually use the beat of your drum to cause the ferns to go flat. This will release any inspiration the ferns might be hiding as well as stop the plants from slowing you down, so it might be a good idea to save fern-filled areas for later and come back once you've obtained the drum for easier navigation.

1 Stop And Take In The Scenery

No, not just by walking around. Hidden throughout the game are little bonus areas which Snufkin can interact with to take a pause, relax, and just enjoy the nature around him. From a gameplay perspective, these do largely nothing, but that doesn't make their inclusion pointless by a long shot.

Stopping to take a look at your surroundings in Snufkin will provide you with views not present anywhere else in the game. These beautiful vistas are your reward for exploring the valley, but because they aren't marked on your map, and can be easily missed, you'll want to make sure that when you see one, you stop and take advantage of it. If you don't, odds are it will be a while before you stumble across it again.

14 Best Cozy Games To Play On Your iPad

Find out the best cozy games that you can play on your iPad!