The Lullaby of Life Review

1 Simple Game’s The Lullaby of Life slips us into a tranquil and immersive puzzle adventure where little sentient particles bring the universe to life with the help of colourful sound waves. You’ll navigate this budding world as a blue, triangular being with two big eyes floating above your body — the kind of adorable character I imagine I’d find in a Pixar film. With this being a wordless game, you’re not explicitly told what to do, but as you follow the intuitive level design bountiful with visual cues, you’ll soon be discovering melodic companions, creating gentle rhythms, and overcoming time-based obstacles.

With a runtime of about three to five hours, The Lullaby of Life is great for those looking for a charming, bite-sized puzzle game that has just enough difficulty to keep you engaged but doesn’t impede on its abundance of relaxing vibes. At its core, the gameplay consists of using soft musical notes to do nearly everything you need: opening barriers, awakening other particles like yourself, and even bringing powerful Elders to life.

You have the ability to play three musical notes, which are colourful buttons on your body, each with its own distinct symbol. When pressed, they send out a ripple of sound waves that will interact with any corresponding buttons in the area. For instance, if a barrier is locked with a yellow swirl note, you’ll play the identical one, sending out the right sound wave to unlock it. What’s tricky is that the wave needs unobstructed room to ripple out, so if you’re behind a platform or environmental debris, it’ll be cut short.

Though you only start with one button at the beginning, you’ll soon have your set of three and thus multiple sound waves, activating them in timed sequences that increasingly grow more complex as obstacles and mechanics are introduced in later levels. Each area usually has a theme to its puzzles as well, such as a zone with multiple moving platforms that really make you focus on your timing or another with strings that carry your sound waves long distances. This variety definitely sets you up for some satisfying “a-ha!” moments and staves off any staleness to the gameplay. I loved that the puzzles never felt like they dragged on too long either, even the ones that had me stumped for a moment, as the pacing between them was very balanced; for every challenging obstacle, there are always a few easy barriers to unlock afterwards, so the game never leaves you too mentally tired to just enjoy the lovely soundscape and vibrant environments.

My favourite part of the game came in the form of little particles you could awaken in each new area. After playing a sequence of sound waves to get them going, you’d be met with a colourful, mini particle that looks like you but can only play a single unique musical note. To match the cuteness of their visual design, they also follow you like devoted ducklings. However, I’ll admit their almost magnetic pull to you can sometimes cause them to run into obstacles that poof them out of existence, in which case you’ll have to backtrack and activate them again before moving forward. Once you have two or three particles with you, it almost feels like you have your own personal band. Together you get to play the softest of tunes, timing all of your sound waves in perfect harmony, which, like I mentioned before, can get kind of complicated, especially as some companions require another particle’s note to be played first in order to unlock their own. But with a little focus and trial and error, the sequences come together in a satisfying way.

Going into the game, I thought I’d mainly be drawn in by the peaceful lullaby-like melodies, and I was, but I was also blown away by the level of aesthetic variety from level to level. This universe is screaming with colour, channelling the vibrancy of life and music, which just adds to the bright, cheerful nature of The Lullaby of Life as a whole. The art style is just stunning, almost rivalling the soundscape to be the shining star of the game, but ultimately, the two aren’t in competition with one another; instead, the art and music work in tandem to create their own harmony.

Of course, not everything is cosy and peaceful at all times in this puzzler. Your journey will frequently plunge you into a darker in-between space as you travel from level to level. Here you’ll find disjointed black particles rushing toward you in an effort to break your health barrier — leaving you with two choices for safety: outrunning them or finding a safe haven of light to momentarily protect you. These enemies were the only feature I could’ve done without during my playthrough, as there were multiple chase sequences that ultimately felt out of place with the rest of the gameplay loop. Every time I was taken out of those beautiful levels, I couldn’t help but feel the itch to get back to puzzle-solving as soon as possible.

Like the sweet tunes sung to babies, 1 Simple Game has designed a soundscape that is delightfully uncomplicated, using simple melodies that evoke peace and comfort as you play. Less is most definitely more when it comes to capturing the gentle essence of lullabies. But don’t worry about these sound waves lulling you to sleep, as the game’s puzzles and obstacles offer enough difficulty to keep you awake as you explore this curious universe. If you’re looking for charm, adventure, and whimsy, The Lullaby of Life is a hummable tune that will put you at ease whenever you play.