Summer in Mara is a fun and charming game that was released this week by developer Chibig. The game had a ton of hype leading up to its release, starting with its super successful Kickstarter campaign. I never had a chance to support the game but every week or so I would see an ad for the game on Facebook going back to last fall.

The concept instantly made me curious and I knew I had to check it out one day. Then last month I found out that the game was going to come out this month and I had a chance buy the game last week. So far, the game has not disappointed me. AT its core its a generic farming sim, think Animal Crossing, My Time at Portia, or Stardew Valley, but then you add in so much more that makes the game pop.

GRAPHICS: 9/10

The graphics of Summer in Mara are really good. In gameplay, the game looks good, but it doesn't really stick out. It's standard 3D world visuals with a hint of added charm. Where the graphics really shine are in its cut scenes and animations. The artwork is beautiful and it's all hand drawn. It really gives you the feeling of watching a cartoon on TV with its smooth animations and colorful characters and environment.

SOUND: 8/10

I wasn’t a big fan of sound as a whole, especially when it came to the generic sounds of the world. There were times when the sounds wouldn’t really sync with what was going on, and a couple times when the sound effects were a bit too loud. On the other hand, the music is amazing. I really enjoyed listening to some of the songs that played while exploring the world and during the cut scenes, such as the opening animation after the tutorial.

ADDICTIVENESS: 10/10

The game is a lot of fun and if you play and end up liking it, this is the kind of game that you can send dozens of hours playing. I’m not even that big a fan of farming sims, but I do enjoy the ones that add all kinds of twists like the three that I mentioned in the introduction. I don’t even know why I like them so much, I guess it just feels so refreshing being able to live a second life, kind of like how many people feel with the Grand Theft Auto games.

Granted, I didn’t really start enjoying the game in full until after I played for an hour or so. I got through the tutorial and played up until the first time that you are able to leave your home island and it wasn’t until then, and all sorts of other crafting recipes were unlocked that I started to really have fun. One thing that I really had fun with was its concept of time management. It isn’t really like other games where you need to make every in-game minute count. If you do all the farming you can in a day, you’re free to just go to the next day so that you can do even more. This eliminates the drag of being forced to do other stuff throughout the day for fear of missing out.

STORY: 8/10

I don’t want to spoil too much because the game just came out yesterday but Summer in Mara is about a young game named Koa who spent her entire life on a small island with her adopted mother. After the tutorial and the main game starts, she gets a chance to leave the island for the first time and she gets a chance to see the rest of the world while meeting all sorts of colorful characters. Farming sims usually don’t focus to much on story, they’re about interaction, farming, living life, and crafting, but Summer in Mara takes a whole other approach with lots of meaningful dialogue and plenty of emotion from the very beginning.

DEPTH: 9/10

Farming sims always have a lot to do but Summer in Mara is a step above simply by having other areas to explore. When you look at Animal Crossing, you have your own island and you can go to other islands, but that’s it. In Stardew Valley and Portia, you have your own farm area and then you also have the world around you. In Summer in Mara you have your big island that you have to take care of, you have the wide-open waters to swim and boat in, the large town to explore, people to meet, and so much more. Summer in Mara has a lot to offer and I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more in the future.

DIFFICULTY: 6

The game isn’t hard but there’s a lot of small nuisances that make the game hard. Even in the tutorial, knowing what to do can be a bit tough. There were a couple quests that tell you to go somewhere but there’s no real indication of where the place is. I had to spend a few minutes exploring the island to figure out where I needed to go. It gets easier as you play and start figuring out where things are, but at the start of the game it can be tough for new players. The water aspect of the game also makes it a big difficult. Unlike other games where you have to water crops, you can’t just go to the ocean to get water. You need to build a well and when you first start off you might only have one or two wells that have a few uses before they dry up and then you have to wait for it to rain before they fill up again.

OVERALL: 8.8/10

I mentioned earlier that the game started off pretty redundant for me and just a tad boring because of how much there is to do at the start but once I fixed the boat and was off exploring, I started having so much fun because doors started opening allowing for a lot of crafting and strategy. The game is a bit on the expensive side for an indie at $25 but I would 100 percent say that the game is worth it, especially if you are a fan of the genre or want to play something cute and charming with a lot of story and emotion. I already put around 10 hours into the game and plan on playing a lot more. My overall grade for Summer in Mara for the Nintendo Switch is 8.8/10.