Summer in Mara Reviews
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.
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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.
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.
When you compare this to titles like Minecraft of Stardew Valley, Summer In Mara fails to match up to its predecessors that stand tall in this harvested field. Sure, it looks pretty and for some of the younger kids this may even be a good stepping stone to get into this genre, but the gameplay loop and repetitive quest design wears thin long before the end of the main narrative.
Summer in Mara slowly morphed into a winter of discontent.
While it’s meant to be a relaxing adventure, Summer in Mara is more often tedious than not.
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.
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.
Summer in Mara started off with a strong first impression through it's presentation and art but began to sink by trying to squeeze in both farming and adventuring, while not doing either brilliantly.
While the game is supposed to be a calming and relaxing experience, it ends up just being frustrating due to all the repetition. There is some enjoyment to be had if you are a fan of farming games and will be playing this very casually, but otherwise there are better titles available.
Summer in Mara is a beautiful game for the eyes and the ears, but spends too much time on fetch quests and not enough on story.
Summer in Mara manages to instill joy. It connects you with likable characters and weaves a narrative into its gameplay loop in ways that many other similar titles do not. Ultimately, though, the simplicity of its mechanics too often turns the game into a chore.
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.
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.
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
Colorful characters alone can't wake up this sleepy sailing and farming adventure.
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.
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.
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.
I wanted to enjoy Summer in Mara, but with gameplay consisting of little more than trading quests, I was led disappointed with such a mediocre performance at best.