I have this loosely defined made-up genre I call “Summer Games”.
It started a long time ago subconsciously. At some point I realized that during the hottest time of the year I gravitate to certain games that I mostly play on a small device (laptop/switch/steamdeck), laying in bed, late at night, when I have trouble sleeping because it’s too hot. A friend of mine once said that the reason she loves super high temperatures so much, is that what you experience leaves more vivid, burned in, memories. I think she has a point.
The criteria aren’t super rigid but I hope you get the “vibe” and might know some games that fit:
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Low-stakes/chill gameplay. I’m already sweating, I don’t need sweaty gameplay right now
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a warm aesthetic/color palette and/or setting. My outside experience shouldn’t feel too different to the games inside experience aesthetic-wise.
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It feels like a road trip, adventure or vacation. I want to get a summery memory out of this.
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the game leaves some kind of impact.
Games I played in the past that evoked that vibe perfectly:
- Kentucky road zero
- oxenfree
- road 96
- firewatch
- sable
- rime
- steins: gate
- life is strange
Games that have fit okay-ish
- tunic
- journey
- citizen sleeper
- nightcall
- no umbrellas allowed
- the talos principle
- the solus project
- the witness
- the vanishing of Ethan Carter
If anyone has a recommendation, I’d be thankful. This year I have started to play chants of Sennaar and it seems to fit the criteria so far.
Have you enjoyed any of the recommendations OP? I like your original list/taste and am wondering what else fit the aesthetic
Just saw your message. I ended up replaying the old spyro games in the remastered version and loved the nostalgia trip.
Tried to get into Outer Wilds again, stopped almost instantly because I just can’t figure out the movement.
Then I saw that Oxenfree 2 had released at some point, played that but wouldn’t recommend ( if you played the first game you already know the big “mystery” and the new smaller mystery isn’t that interesting)
I played chants of sennaar, loved it, fit the vibe perfectly. Would absolutely recommend!
I played planet of lana, it was somewhere between okay and good. Visually perfect gameplay a bit boring. Even for a short game it felt too long at the end.
Then I made the mistake of opening rimworld again and this became my (gaming) life again.
I don’t know if I played it before my post or after but Talos Principle 2 was perfect just like the first one.
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
It’s perhaps a bit child-oriented, but is pretty fun, chill, and you can’t do more “summer vacation” than that.
“What Remains of Edith Finch” could work. And “Man eater.” What’s more summer than a a shark?
Bulwark, The Falconeer Chronicles. You can’t get much more chill and low stakes than this steampunk airship city building game.
What Remains of Edith Finch, and The Unfinished Swan
