MJBM blends humor, nostalgia, and mystery

Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories is a 2D adventure game developed as a sequel to the first Melon Journey production by Froach Club. This monochrome, pixelated, green-tinted tale stars Honeydew as the heroine. She must revisit a town full of cute animals with eccentric personalities but with a dark underbelly.

This retro adventure game is a story of exploration and a cross between The Longest Road on Earth and Undertale. It’s a whodunit with a storyline that starts off innocuous and endearing, but it quickly escalates into crime and corruption.

What’s it about?

Honeydew, a melon factory employee, heads off to Hog Town to return Cantaloupe’s suitcase. But a thief snatches it, revealing that it’s full of melon seeds. In Hog Town, Honeydew finds out that Cantaloupe is missing and that melon seeds are illegal. Talking to suspicious characters and putting herself in dangerous situations, Honeydew uncovers sinister political secrets.

What’s special about it?

This 2D detective game has it all: a missing person, prohibition, delinquency, corruption, and broken politics. Disrespectful skateboarders, a narcissistic DJ, a rambling senior, shushing friends, protesters, and preoccupied journalists are just some of the townspeople that fill this game with nuance and with extra character arcs worth exploring.

Who can play it?

Available on PS, Xbox, Switch, and Steam, this quirky adventure game boasts a retro vibe, jazzy organ tunes, and anthropomorphic animals. This missing persons’ mystery and melon ban dilemma is suitable for players of any age.

A monochromatic mystery marvel

This game is unexpectedly dramatic for an adventure story with a plot based on melon seeds and starring characters named after melons. Still, as nostalgic, long-winded, and graphically simple as it is, it’s a bit of a niche game.