Summer in Mara Reviews

Summer in Mara is ranked in the 19th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
Jun 15, 2020

Summer in Mara is a whimsical adventure that doesn’t require the player to micromanage their days. The balance of exploration, discovery, and farming-sim elements make this a charming way to spend an afternoon. Still, the repetition of it all will make long play sessions dull.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jul 20, 2020

Quiet, pretty, and entertaining.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

3.5 / 5.0
Jul 15, 2020

While Summer in Mara has a wholesome atmosphere that’s rarely broken thanks to an overwhelming effort placed towards style and presentation, there isn’t anything wholesome regarding the content consumed.

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Unscored
Jun 15, 2020

Summer in Mara is an adventure for all audiences. You will have a pleasant time and disconnect from the stress of adulthood. There are no times, no clocks, no chronometers, it will be up to you to play ten minutes or five hours, the game will give you what you are looking for. Although it has its weaknesses, especially when it comes to maintaining interest, you will discover a very beautiful story about human (or alien) relationships, the power of nature, and the importance of taking care of our world and our loved ones.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

5.6 / 10.0
Jun 15, 2020

The core narrative and its surrounding cast of characters is intriguing but unengaging quest design means it loses steam far faster than it ought to.

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Sep 24, 2020

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.

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7.2 / 10.0
Jun 15, 2020

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

TheXboxHub
James Bentley
Jan 19, 2021

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.

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Lee Mehr
Top Critic
4 / 10.0
Feb 1, 2021

Summer in Mara slowly morphed into a winter of discontent.

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8 / 10.0
Jun 14, 2020

A relaxing and joyful experience that just misses the mark of excellence due to some quality of life issues.

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Recommended
Jun 29, 2020

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.

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7 / 10.0
Jun 16, 2020

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...

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8.2 / 10.0
Jun 14, 2020

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.

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6 / 10.0
Jun 15, 2020

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.

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3 / 10 stars
Jun 15, 2020

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.

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GameGrin
Top Critic
4 / 10.0
Jun 18, 2020

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.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Jun 18, 2020

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.

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85 / 100
Jun 12, 2020

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.

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3 / 10.0
Jul 16, 2020

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

7.5 / 10.0
Aug 12, 2020

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