Fake News

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Now THIS is what you call "fake news!" Just a placeholder for now, but this space will disappear fast, so say your goodbyes while you have the chance.

I knew almost nothing about Snufkin or Moomins or their idyllic but weirdly disaster-prone valley before I started playing Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley, the cozy musical adventure from Nordic studio Hyper Games. Since then, I’ve dipped into three of Tove Jansson’s original books, my kids have been watching the 1990s animated TV series, and my wife just bought a journal that has three of the characters illustrated on the cover. Moomin fandom and subculture has a way of sneaking in, and I have this game to thank (blame?). On that front, I suspect you’ll get a fair bit more out of the game if you already have some history with these characters and can ride the waves of character cameos and nostalgia. But while it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the books (though that’s a tall order, I suppose), that didn’t stop my whole family from being charmed by the exquisite art and music, and drawn in by the quirky denizens of Moominvalley and the simple but pleasant adventuring.

“You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.”
– Snufkin (Comet In Moominland, 1946)

Snufkin is a nature-loving, free-spirited wanderer with a tattered green hat and a harmonica, and every fall and winter he travels south from Moominvalley to warmer climes, leaving his best friend Moomintroll behind. After spending his months alone doing … whatever it is that Snufkin does (fishing? walking? philosophy?), he returns to the valley to find, to his horror, manicured parks and gardens with rows of square-cut hedges, cast-iron fences, and lots of signs and notices prohibiting all manner of activities, from running to camping to smelling. The strict and straight-laced Park Keeper is responsible and has ravaged the valley of much of its wild, natural beauty and even caused the river to dry up. Worse still, Snufkin’s friend Moomintroll seems to be missing.

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