Summer in Mara Reviews
Colorful characters alone can't wake up this sleepy sailing and farming adventure.
We won’t mince words here, Summer in Mara has absolutely nothing to offer that hasn’t been done much better in other games that are easily available right now. If you want a cozy farm sim with a pleasant atmosphere, get Stardew Valley or Rune Factory 4. If you want a thrilling adventure you can take at your own pace, get Minecraft or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Even if you’ve played those and are looking for something new, please don’t waste your time or money here. This is not a 'hidden gem'; the alluring presentation of Summer in Mara only acts as a pretty mask for a much uglier game beneath the surface – one that’s keen on wasting your time with no meaningful payoff.
Summer in Mara is farming and crafting sim with a lovely message around sustainability. It features some beautiful Ghibli-esque visuals and strong character writing, but ultimately descends into endless, over-lapping fetch quests with a lack of direction that make it more of a chore than the relaxing experience it promises.
Even with simple agriculture and without offering complex navigation, Summer in Mara is a refreshing title that, if it improves the experience of its hours and a few more worked mechanics, would be an excellent adventure for this summer.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Summer in Mara is a beautiful indie game, full of interesting mechanics but gets too repetitive and it has to be enjoyed at a slow pace.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It looks and plays like it is far from ready for wide release, even for your typical early access title. The bad part is that Summer in Mara is not marked as early access, so I don't think I can be forgiving of its half-baked mechanics, presentation, or UI. 5/10 underwater chests
Summer in Mara is a lovely experience with an abundance of charm and a welcome engagement with environmental and emotional subjects. It makes for a perfect introduction to the genre for younger gamers, and a great relaxing escape from the real world for more mature sorts. It doesn't have the depth of last year's My Time at Portia but is both more accessible and has more developed characters. While there may be little prospect of a summer trip to sunny islands in reality, you could do a lot worse than take a holiday with Koa and explore the wonders of Mara.
Summer in Mara is a beautiful indie game, based in crafting, harvesting and exploration. But after a couple hours it gets repetitive. It is very enjoyable at a slow pace.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
There are a few small ways the developers could make great strides – full fast-travel, please! – and many more improvements that aren't quick fixes. I hope it gets there, though. As a farming simulation, Summer in Mara falls short, but dang if its sunny world and characters aren't pleasant to be around.
Summer in Mara was a game I wanted to love, but its core designs around crafting and questing left me wanting. It’s a shame, as I think it could’ve been something truly magical with more time to cook and less reliance on fetch quests.
Summer in Mara can be endearing and sometimes evokes the spirit of better games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, and Wind Waker, but poor UI, confusing mechanics, and repetitive quest design harshes the game's mellow vibe. Perhaps Summer in Mara can be improved with updates, but for now, I'd only book myself on this island cruise at a discount.
Summer in Mara makes a great first impression with its pleasant visuals and laid-back music but ultimately fails to remain engaging for long due to repetitive quests, a hollow world and plenty of tedious mechanics
Summer in Mara is an adorable, thoughtful game that approaches spaces we’re very used to from a different angle. Animal Crossing thinks it’s a chill game, but it buries you under tasks, goals, and timely events. Harvest Moon slaps you with a time limit to make a great, booming farm. Dragon Quest Builders will freakin’ kill you. Summer in Mara just wants you to take care of yourself, be thankful to nature, and have a good time exploring. But it also wants you to accomplish a million tasks along the way, and that gets tedious. A shorter runtime or more variation in questlines would have done this game wonders, but as it is, it’s still a fun, relaxing adventure propelled by an endearing message.
Overall, Summer in Mara has an incredibly strong narrative with character art and light music that only strengthens it. It’s youthful and vibrant, but it also has more somber notes that aren’t always found in farming sims. The only downside is that music and a character driven plot aren't enough to get through all the tedious parts.
A testament to mediocrity, but not awful. It can be acceptable if you just want to zone out for a while, but the constant stream of tedium and pointless running back and forth will try the patience of most.
Summer in Mara is a relaxing adventure sim which focuses on quests and characters over farming or true exploration; if you're looking for a challenging farming or adventure game, you may want to avoid these waters. At its worst, Mara's quests can be poorly communicated, bottleneck and cause frustration, but at its best, it's easy to get lost in this bright, breezy world filled with aliens, pirates, and wholesome adventures.
On its own, Mara in Summer is the perfect game if you have plenty of time and are not looking for a challenge.
I can see talent in this team and this project, and even though Summer in Mara disappointed me, I still look forward to other projects by the team and hope they don’t stop creating.
While Summer in Mara is a game with a lot of heart; its gameplay is a bit too monotonous to be enjoyable for even diehard fans of games like Harvest Moon.
A pretty but average experience, Summer in Mara fails to set the world on fire due to some major gameplay flaws that fail to guide the player in even the most basic ways.