Summer in Mara Reviews
Summer in Mara slowly morphed into a winter of discontent.
Summer in Mara reminds me of a mash-up between The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and My Time In Portia. It has a charming mixture of bright colors and whimsical music that encapsulates the world you are immersed within, in all of its child-like wonder.
Summer in Mara has a lot going for it, however, this doesn't save the lacklustre gaming mechanics that lead to the game becoming more tedious than it is relaxing.
It’s a real shame that Summer in Mara subjects you to such monotony, because it’s a beautiful game. Its characters are delightful and its world is a joy to explore. The music, too, is wonderful, if slightly repetitive; some of those tuns will get well and truly stuck in your head. But there’s no looking past the fact that its core gameplay makes Summer in Mara a chore to play. It’s enjoyable in short bursts, at least to begin with, but being little more than everyone’s lackey doesn’t stay fun for long.
Summer in Mara looks lovely right away, but the shine wears off quickly amid a long list of issues, both fixable and sadly, not fixable.
I enjoyed my time with this adventure farming simulator and it comes at a perfect time when people are on the lookout for more games of that type with peak Animal Crossing popularity happening right now.
As a natural conclusion to an ever-expanding and ever-growing world, the draw of primitivism made its way into gaming with force. Farming games and small simulators offer the experience of running away from it all to feel the true freedom of a new world. This freedom always comes at a price and the tutorial-focused hands of Summer in Mara on Xbox are where things stumble, offering a game that is unwilling to let you go outside of the strict parameters set before you.
Although there were a few faults and issues in the game, none are game breaking, and updates have removed some faults and added quality of life improvements. Anyone who likes mostly calm games involving lots of quests and some farming will enjoy being Koa in Summer in Mara. With multiple backpack designs and clothes to collect through quests, and finding all the crabs with messages from early game supporters, there is plenty to do in Mara before the game ends, and afterwards too. There aren't extra quests post game, but fulfilling all the quests is satisfying in itself, and the varying environments with some items to harvest are memorable enough to return to for fun.
Although there were a few faults and issues in the game, none are game breaking, and updates have removed some faults and added quality of life improvements. Anyone who likes mostly calm games involving lots of quests and some farming will enjoy being Koa in Summer in Mara. With multiple backpack designs and clothes to collect through quests, and finding all the crabs with messages from early game supporters, there is plenty to do in Mara before the game ends, and afterwards too. There aren't extra quests post game, but fulfilling all the quests is satisfying in itself, and the varying environments with some items to harvest are memorable enough to return to for fun.
A beautiful piece of nature, islands of Mara is in danger and the only hope to save it is a little farming girl Koa. And she is funny.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
All that glitters is not gold, I don't think I will find a more suitable quote to describe Summer in Mara, the game looks like really charming and beautiful but the actual gameplay is repetitive, boring and has no fun at all... no, worse than that, it's just painful to play.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Summer in Mara is not for everyone; it's charming, full of character, and clearly made with a loving passion, but its focus on the journey may leave some players feeling left behind. With a dash of patience and a hint of dedication, Summer in Mara blossoms into a wonderful experience.
Summer In Mara is a beautiful yet frustrating effort that fails to live up to its massive potential. Despite its masterful storytelling, Chibig fills the game's remaining hours with repetitive fetch quests and an empty world not worth exploring. It makes me sad but for the wrong reasons.
Instead thanks to everything from fetch quest repetition to a muddled interface, it's more of a wistful addition to the Switch library. The pleasant vibe of Koa's undiscovered world can't carry the whole game despite the best of intentions. If tweaks and improvements can clean up some of the menus, Summer in Mara could be better, but I worry even that won't make the repetition more enjoyable.
Summer in Mara is a super-fun and colourful adventure with a ton of content that you can enjoy for many hours. Anyone who's a fan of these kinds of games will feel right at home with Koa and her chums so here's hoping this gem gets the attention that it deserves.
This is one of those titles that can be frustrating as it has so many pieces of the puzzle that work towards it being a great experience, but it can’t quite put them together in the right way...
While Summer in Mara won’t be enjoyed by those looking for thrilling action, there is plenty of charm in this tropical tale of a girl and her boat.
A relaxing and joyful experience that just misses the mark of excellence due to some quality of life issues.
Summer in Mara is a good game, with ups and downs. This title is perfect for relaxing by doing easy (but repetitive) tasks and great for players that likes to slowly progress by unlocking content step by step.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Summer in Mara has a story behind its development that is not too rare anymore: funded by a Kickstarter campaign in 2019, the simulation game with RPG elements is beyond beautiful. The colourful and fresh environment burst with rich and appealing visuals at the first glance.