Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
51

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 25
  3. Negative: 11 out of 25
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  1. GameMAG
    Sep 14, 2020
    70
    Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a hard-fought project that captures your attention thanks to interesting characters, violent scenes, well-written situations during a global disaster and great gameplay. So in this case the graphics and bugs doesn't matters.
  2. PlayStation Universe
    Apr 9, 2020
    70
    Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is not the most refined game you’ll find in 2020, falling short on multiple technical levels, but its blend of personal dramas and crisis management with slivers of wit and absurdity makes for a surprisingly impactful disaster movie-inspired experience that is arguably one that’s difficult to find elsewhere.
  3. DarkStation
    Mar 31, 2020
    70
    While poor performance often makes the repetition more of a chore than it needs to be, a truly interesting world, game design that understands its gameplay is repetitive and regularly finds new contexts for its loop, and fantastic atmosphere still kept me having a great time with Disaster Report 4. There were times when the game made me groan, but there was no point in its campaign where I didn't want to see what was coming next. Its a game I know I'll remember.
  5. Video Chums
    Mar 31, 2020
    66
    If you can look past the aesthetics of Disaster Report 4, there's a bunch of fun to be had escaping the broken city and helping out the residents as you struggle to survive and hopefully make your way home.
  6. XGN
    May 18, 2020
    65
    Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a perfect example of a beautiful story that falls short on execution. The creators seem to have put more effort into the characters than into the game itself. You also go through the game fairly quickly, if it does not crash. The appearance of the game is somewhat disappointing as well.
  7. PlayStation Country
    Apr 13, 2020
    60
    Disaster Report 4 is a shambles. But we love a lemon here at PSC and couldn't help but like it. It's almost so bad its good. We enjoyed ourselves despite the obvious shortfalls.
  8. Vandal
    Apr 20, 2020
    55
    Disaster Report 4 feels like a game made ten years ago… and not particularly in a good way. There are some good ideas, but design and gameplay-wise it feels too obsolete.
  9. 4P.de
    Apr 20, 2020
    55
    This experience is technically outdated, too static and partially grotesquely unrealistic.
  10. Hobby Consolas
    Apr 16, 2020
    50
    Disaster Report 4 Summer Memories fails both as a survival game and a visual novel. It suffers from many technical issues (sometimes it feels like a PS2 game) and a slow pace.
  11. Hardcore Gamer
    Apr 13, 2020
    50
    What players might expect out of Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories and what it actually is are two entirely different things. It markets itself as a serious yarn centered around a catastrophe where player choice matters, but it’s actually an intentional comedy that uses the drama of the situations to heighten the absurdity of it all. It’s weird, but in a fantastic and enthralling way. Players with patience and a great sense of humor will come away extremely pleased. Those that can’t abide a laundry list of technical imperfections would be well served staying away. Disaster Report 4 is heavily flawed with too many irritating parts to suffer past, but it still comes recommended for anyone that believes Weird Al’s “Dare to be Stupid” should be the national anthem.
  12. Worth Playing
    Apr 2, 2020
    50
    Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a mess of a game. The use of an earthquake as a backdrop is wasted due to the lack of meaningful reactions from anyone in the story. All of the incidents you witness range from semi-normal to wildly ridiculous, but the cast of unlikeable characters punctuates each scenario. The mechanic of stumbling across major story beats makes it so that you'll only figure out things by dumb luck, while the solutions to some of the puzzles feel unsatisfying due to their bewildering solutions. The choice system is the game's real saving grace, but unless you're interested in seeing how much of a terrible person you can be in later runs or are just a massive fan of the series, there's little reason to check out this title.
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  1. GameSpace
    Apr 3, 2020
    Just like the tonal balance between a businessman in a maid outfit trying to escape an earthquake while making a life or death decision, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memoires can feel like an odd tightrope walk. Despite its problems, I was hooked. Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories is a unique, sometimes earth-shattering experience. It doesn’t get everything right but it’s the nearest you’ll ever want to get to an earthquake and that works for me.
  2. The Verge
    May 15, 2020
    There’s a good chance you’ll play Disaster Report 4 and write it off as a mess that shouldn’t have been put out in 2020. But there’s also a chance it’ll connect with you on a personal level and reinforce why Irem was one of the most beloved developers of the PS2 era. Granzella’s next game, the paradoxically titled R-Type Final 2, will be one to watch.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 35 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 35
  3. Negative: 12 out of 35
  1. THUnder222
    Apr 8, 2020
    10
    A beautiful, if a bit primitive (from a technical viewpoint) game with strong narration. Main focus of the story is perseverance, how peopleA beautiful, if a bit primitive (from a technical viewpoint) game with strong narration. Main focus of the story is perseverance, how people should resist and keep moving forward even during the times of natural disaster. Don't listen to "professional critics" who gave this game a low score. They were probably expecting a muscular, bald military veteran to lead survivors to safety and roll over explosions like a generic fps . They wouldn't know a good game if it bit them in the a##.

    Highly recommended!    … Full Review »
  2. RuriGokou
    Jan 3, 2021
    3
    Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories reminds me of a time when Japan released a lot of quirky games regardless if it would sell or not. NowadaysDisaster Report 4: Summer Memories reminds me of a time when Japan released a lot of quirky games regardless if it would sell or not. Nowadays you don't see many games like that because it's all about what works and what will sell. When I read this game was about survival during an earthquake, I thought, "Oh, I'll need to find help. Maybe help other people, and gather supplies. Or I could just be a jerk to everyone!"

    Sadly what I got is only sort of that. You do help other people and you're given tons of dialogue prompts to do so in conversations. But at the end of the day, a lot of the actions you do in the game don't really effect the overall direction of the story. I was hoping to be a total jerk to everyone else only to help myself get to safety. You're not given this option. There will be people in your path that you will have to save to push the story forward.

    This annoyed me because I wanted to roleplay as a young businesswoman that was mean to everyone she met. But, how can I do that when the game won't let me progress if a woman is shouting for help under some rubble? The humor here and there in some scenes from your choices and what not did case me to laugh. Although ridiculous given the circumstances. Maybe that is what makes them funny? It just sort of clashes with the times the story get serious. But towards the end there are just too many of these kinds of "humorous" scenes, and it is really jarring. There is also a scene with a female character and you can do nothing to change the outcome. And if you get a certain ending and that character joins you for it, the whole situation feels very awkward.

    The survival mechanic is half-baked. I was expecting there to be a sort of hunger and thirst meter. There is one sort of, but I went through the whole game without eating, drinking or pooping. No repercussions AT ALL. You can buy food and drink, but they only serve as ways to regain lost health from when you get hurt by an aftershock or other objects. The tremors and destruction it brings are actually really cool. The first time I died was from a building just falling on top of me during one.

    The graphics are blurry most of the time and controls are very clunky. The camera is all over the place sometimes. They really bring the immersion and enjoyment level down. Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories tries to be interesting but it just wasn't the sort of game I was expecting. I was expecting more freedom and less of an on rails sort of experience.    … Full Review »
  3. rickdonnie
    Jun 26, 2020
    7
    I must say, I'm a fan of the Disaster Report's games. Loved the second one. This one is great, but still have the usual bad parts of thoseI must say, I'm a fan of the Disaster Report's games. Loved the second one. This one is great, but still have the usual bad parts of those games. Technically, it's far from great, sometimes not even good. But on PS4, the framerate is at least constant. The camera sometimes becomes crazy in small corridors, and maybe the second part of the game is less impressive, with less disasters and a more human's side to the story. But it felt good to play this game again, to have those heavy moments, to survive earthquake and stuff. Worth playing if you like those games, and want to play something different.… Full Review »
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