Summer in Mara

Despite being an imperfect experience, there’s much to love about Summer in Mara. Each aspect of the game gives you something to do and a lot of control over how you want to approach it. While it can be easy to get sucked into the game’s progression through the quest system, you can still go at a slower pace should you desire. And this is definitely the recommended way to approach the game. Take it easy in Mara and enjoy this endless summer. Get excited with each new discovery and enjoy the trek! Even kids find the simple, consistently adorable adventure incredibly welcoming, so even if it’s not for you, Chibig has made something special for all ages! This indie team has lovingly crafted a big, heartwarming tale that can hopefully lead to more adventures in this world, or even the universe beyond.

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 isn’t perfect, as while the plot is generally well-written it can be slow at times, and requires a fair bit of grinding to progress. Still, it is a beautiful game, and there is a calming feeling in ferrying seeds, animals, and supplies from one of Mara's many faraway islands to the player's farm. Overall, Summer In Mara is a nice, quiet farming sim with plenty of warmth and charm, perfect for those who wish to get away from it all for a brief session or two.

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. While direction and pacing can be confusing, this game is exceptionally approachable to anyone looking for a farming-sim adventure with a low barrier or entry.

Summer in Mara is a beautiful and whimsical game as you embark into an adventure where the world is the core of the experience. However, in a title presented as a crafting and management game, those mechanics are secondary at the end of the day. Some parts of the gameplay are so repetitive; plus, you can feel lost or confused. Overall, Chibig tried to do more than necessary and the result is not as remarkable as it could have been.

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.

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 beautifully crafted game, but with many frustrations in its gameplay and technical sides. You would have to consider the pros and cons before traveling to Mara.

If you can look past the rough edges, there is a lot of fun to be had in the charming world of Mara.

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 isn’t a bad game. Shockingly, I would actually recommend it…for children. It is definitely “baby’s first crafter” IF it can solve its direction and instruction problems. Everything is so simple and easy that it is perfect for a child. Without the need for combat and violence like other crafting games have, it’s perfect for young people. For the rest of us who have been playing crafting and survival games for 10+ years, there is nothing in this game for us. For almost everything this game does well, there are other more complex games that do it just as well or better. I can tell lots of love was put into Summer in Mara, but there are some tweaks that need to be made to support the audience they seem to be going for.

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 is an ambitious approach to an adventure, with evident collecting and crafting elements. Not everything is plain sailing though; and soon, Summer in Mara will fee like winter with all the gameplay restrictions and lack of quality-of-life additions that would have made this game a paradise upon the Sea of Indies. It’s a title with character and hidden beauties, but only for players with the patience to grow over its rigidity.

Colorful characters alone can't wake up this sleepy sailing and farming adventure.

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 charming idea buried under poor mission design, boring story and all kinds of small and medium bugs. It's quite possible that many of these problems are solved by multiple patches, but the core of the game is already compromised.