Sonority review - “Musical puzzler masterpiece”

• An enchanting world
• Challenging music-based puzzles
• Collect new music notes and interact with living stones

From Rockband to Beat Saber, the rhythm game genre has maintained its popularity for decades. Most rhythm games require you to tap the correct notes at specific times. However, puzzle game Sonority takes a different approach. The title seamlessly melds the rhythm and puzzles genres to create something both beautiful and distinct.

Sonority's Story

You play as Esther - a young woman who is on a quest to learn a magic tune. Her friend, Batama (a talking bear), told her stories of a place where animals and humans can communicate, and magical music can be learned. With Batama having fallen ill, Esther is certain the key to saving him lies in this mythical place. After a month of travel, she arrives and thus your journey begins.

The world of Sonority is sparsely populated. Other than Esther, a raccoon she meets along the way, and some sentient stones, there are no characters with whom to interact. And honestly, this suits the title's vibe perfectly.

Sonority lets You Solve Puzzles by Playing Music

Sonority tasks you with changing your environment by playing the correct notes. You’ll begin with access to one note. However, as you progress through the game, you’ll unlock more. Puzzles mainly consist of platforms that need to be raised, lowered, or otherwise moved to allow Esther to pass.  

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There are pedestals to which you can assign notes. When you step on the trigger plate for a puzzle, you'll notice that the pedestals are connected by a glowing line. This tells you in what order the note on each pedestal will play.

Once you’ve placed notes in all the pedestals, have Esther stomp on the trigger plate. If you’ve assigned the correct note to each pedestal, you’ll be able to move forward. Otherwise, you’ll need to consider the challenge before you more carefully and try again.

Collect Music Notes to Solve Puzzles

The distance a platform or other obstacle moves depends on the distance between the notes you assign. For example, you’ll unlock the traditional music notes A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. To make a platform move up one unit of space, you could assign the notes C, then D, or E, then F.

Conversely, if you want to lower a platform, you’ll need to put the notes in descending order, like D then C, or G then D. As you progress, you’ll come across puzzles requiring more and more notes, making gameplay more challenging just as you’re getting the hang of it.

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You will also come across sleeping stones that can unlock doors for you. To wake them, simply play a jaunty tune on your pipes. Once a stone is fully awake, the door it controls will unlock, allowing you to pass.

Sonority: An Adorable Puzzle Adventure

This challenging yet simplistic puzzle game has only one flaw - and that’s the responsiveness of the controls. Sometimes when trying to activate a puzzle by stomping on the trigger plate, nothing happens. However, it usually responds after several blundering tries. However, other than that minor annoyance, the game’s controls are fluid and responsive.

Sonority is an adorable mobile puzzle game that hits all the right notes. Featuring lovely graphics and challenging puzzles to solve, the title evokes a sense of Zen. Every character, from the anxious raccoon to the boulders with faces, adds to the game’s whimsy. If you love a good challenge and enjoy rhythm-based games, you should definitely give Sonority a go.