Summer in Mara

 Switch
Summer in Mara Image
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59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

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  • Summary: 'Summer in Mara' is a summer adventure with easy-RPG elements and farming, crafting, and exploring mechanics set in a tropical archipelago.

    'Summer in Mara' is a single player experience in a calm, relaxing environment, with a handmade look and a interesting narrative. You will be Koa, a    'Summer in Mara' is a summer adventure with easy-RPG elements and farming, crafting, and exploring mechanics set in a tropical archipelago.

    'Summer in Mara' is a single player experience in a calm, relaxing environment, with a handmade look and a interesting narrative. You will be Koa, a little adventurer who wants to explore the world that surrounds her.

    In 'Summer in Mara' you'll have to take care of your own island, harvest your crops, create new tools and buildings, and sail with your boat to discover new islands and secrets.
    KEY FEATURES
    - 'Summer in Mara' is an adventure and farming game, with an archipelago full of islands and secrets to explore.

    - Day and night cycle with climate events.

    - More than 100 quests to make the world a better place.

    - Over 20 characters to meet and trade with. Befriend them!

    - Improve your boat, make it bigger, better and faster.

    - More than 130 inventory items to make, use and trade.

    - Unlock and acquire new abilities and skills for Koa, helping her to craft, trade and explore in an easy-RPG system.

    You'll have your own island, but taking care of something like that is a lot of hard work. You'll be able to plant trees to get wood and craft new tools and buildings with it. Or create crop fields to grow all kinds of vegetables. You'll also have a farm with chickens and pigs to take care of. But be careful, because this isn't as easy as it looks! You'll also be able to fish in a pond on the island, cut trees with your hatchet, build things with your hammer and use a hoe to help you harvest your island.

    Koa will need your help. With an easy-RPG system, she can acquire new abilities and grow stronger. We want you to feel like you're growing up with Koa, bonding with her and with all the other people in the archipelago.

    You'll be able to sail to new islands and find treasures and other secrets in the middle of the sea with your trusty boat which you can upgrade with a little effort and time.
    With new islands comes new people. You'll talk and trade with over twenty characters, each one with their own story and lifes. They'll give you quests, hints about the world or just anecdotes about their life and travels. Getting to know them is a very important part in the game, so we put much effort in making them unique and interesting.

    But not all of the people you find will be friendly. An evil corporation called Elite wants to conquer Mara and exploit the ocean. Napopo is one of their first victims, a strange creature that will seek Koa for help.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 30
  3. Negative: 7 out of 30
  1. Video Chums
    Jun 14, 2020
    82
    Summer in Mara is a super-fun and colourful adventure with a ton of content that you can enjoy for many hours. Anyone who's a fan of these kinds of games will feel right at home with Koa and her chums so here's hoping this gem gets the attention that it deserves.
  2. Vandal
    Jun 22, 2020
    75
    Summer in Mara has some great ideas, and mixes up successfully some genres like farming, crafting and adventure games, but it also has some issues, both from a design and technical perspective. It is however a good game, and we think younger players can have a great time with it.
  3. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Jun 22, 2020
    70
    Summer in Mara has a heart of gold and does a lot with its big picture concepts. However, its purpose conflicts with the tried and true genre gameplay hooks, and there isn't quite enough here to make up for it. Great experience, but could have used a shorter runtime or more quest variety.
  4. Wccftech
    Jun 18, 2020
    60
    Summer in Mara can be endearing and sometimes evokes the spirit of better games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, and Wind Waker, but poor UI, confusing mechanics, and repetitive quest design harshes the game’s mellow vibe. Perhaps Summer in Mara can be improved with updates, but for now, I’d only book myself on this island cruise at a discount.
  5. Nintenderos
    Jun 20, 2020
    60
    With a giant storyline and a huge map, Summer in Mara is a perfect game for a quiet vacation, enjoying the inhabitants of Mara as long as we don't take some issues into account and don't look for something intense and active.
  6. KeenGamer
    Jun 22, 2020
    50
    Summer In Mara does a well enough job in helping you fall in love with the Koa and the plethora of colorful characters. The underlying mystery of Mara and its inhabitants as well as the depth of lore leaves the player yearning for more. Unfortunately, in order to get the momentary tasty bits of story, the player must go through grueling and nearly infinite fetch questing. On top of that, several mechanics don't intermingle well with each other and often times make no sense whatsoever. Constant backtracking and waiting around plague an otherwise vibrant and compelling game.
  7. GameSkinny
    Jun 15, 2020
    30
    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.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9
  1. amyann99
    Sep 16, 2020
    10
    I almost didn't buy this game because the critic reviews in particular were pretty bad. I'm glad I didn't listen to their inane complaints. II almost didn't buy this game because the critic reviews in particular were pretty bad. I'm glad I didn't listen to their inane complaints. I got it for $20 on switch and it's worth every penny. This game is such a relaxing distraction in these difficult times. It's totally charming and beautiful and funny and the story is sad and uplifting at the same time. I can't speak for the mechanics on other platforms but I've had no issues. Complaints I've heard that made me wtf: you're sending a little girl on tasks, oh but y'all were fine with the countless games with boys of a similar age fighting ancient evil where you repeatedly die. Like god forbid a female protagonist not be a super sexualized adult for once. Or they loved the game but their computer crashed at cut scene so hate it? Can the game be a bit tedious? Sure it you're looking for action packed shoot-em-ups this is not the game for you. If you're looking for a heartwarming tale with Studio Ghibli type graphics and light humor and heart, this is an excellent way to distract yourself from existence, ha.… Expand
  2. jackevmat
    Jun 20, 2020
    10
    The game is relaxation station. They are in early stages and announced a patch to fix the glitches. The gameplay is fun and the story unique
  4. julevi
    Aug 13, 2021
    9
    Given the reasonable price of 20€ this game surprised me a lot. The performance is very well executed and it has a very lovely, relaxing, warmGiven the reasonable price of 20€ this game surprised me a lot. The performance is very well executed and it has a very lovely, relaxing, warm atmosphere that simply makes me happy whenever I feel like needing a little break. I loved the possibility of planting and building freely around the huge own island. The story might be a bit childish, missing depth and has very simple dialogues. Also, it has a pretty long and boring dialogue which you just need to get throught. For 20€ you´ll get more than you could expect. If you´re in need for a relaxing getaway, give this game a chance and you will not regret it.… Expand
  5. Becauseimwolfit
    Apr 7, 2021
    8
    If you're looking for a Stardew Valley clone, this is not your game. While on the surface the game looks like another relaxing farming lifeIf you're looking for a Stardew Valley clone, this is not your game. While on the surface the game looks like another relaxing farming life sim, it actually provides a very different experience. Yes, it is relaxing. Yes, it is beautiful. But Summer in Mara is also a linear, story based experience with farming sim elements. Summer in Mara follows Koa, a young girl raised by her Yaya on an island. It's all about her journey making friends, growing up, and finding the best ways to care for others. It features some really beautiful story telling and some really fun characters that make this little world of Mara feel alive. While it was not the experience I went in expecting, Summer in Mara is a game I'm so glad to own and have played.… Expand
  6. Gantelmann
    Jan 30, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Eintöniges von A nach B gerenne.
    Grafik ist schön aber auf der Switch sehr geringe Renderdistance.    … Expand
  7. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 25, 2020
    5
    Summer in Mara
    More of a summer job than a vacation
    Summer in Mara a farming exploration game where you play as koa who sets out to discover    Summer in Mara
    More of a summer job than a vacation
    Summer in Mara a farming exploration game where you play as koa who sets out to discover the mysteries of the ocean and its islands.
    and there isn’t much to discover…
    Summer in Mara seems as though this might be a stardew valley or animal crossing type game but its not… every mechanic of this game is equally kinda just there…
    This is more of a fetch questy game.. that’s the hook.. you talk to characters, they tell you what they need, you go find it, buy it, grow it, or create it… on paper this sounds like a relaxin time.. I love me some trading quest games, go get this so you can get that to trade it for this to get the quest item you need… I love that kind of stiff.. but in summer in mara this is the entire game and it’s a chore from start to finish, everything is really fueled by your garden back in your home island one way or another.. you need money if youre going to buy items, you need plants to craft items.. so you have to have a little garden going to have recources to sell or craft with… but its quite exhausting to constantly get quests that require you to travel back and forth between two islands just to craft something.. you cant craft on the go, oh you need some juice? Let me run all the way back to my boat, sail to my island, run uo the hill, and craft some, run back down, sail back across the ocean.. run to you.. oh wait im exhausted… the game automatically throws me back to the beginning of the island, let me eat some food real fast.. run to you again.. heres some juice, quest complete.. oh now I have seeds I need to go plant and come back with them… it’s a constant back and forth from island to island.. its not relaxing and calming.. it’s a time wasting drain… not only that there is just so much about summer in mara that keeps this game from being enjoyable.. the game feels stiff and awkward.. the music awkwardly just disappears for long periods of time, and you have a hunger/energy system… you cnt just explore these tiny little islands at your will.. you have to make ur youre not hungry or exhausted while youre gathering items and completing quests.. otherwise the game will waste more time by pulling to back to the start of the island.. this mechanic has no business exhisting in a game like this… its unrewarding enough.. now you want me to waste my resources on myself just to make me grind that much longer to afford an item I need in the shop to craft something else…
    Summer in Mara I went into hoping for a little mental vacation, I breath of fresh air and destressing..
    but instead im running around doing chores, and punished for wanting to explore inbetween these chores…
    I give summer in Mara
    a 5/10    … Expand
  8. Capnhuggy
    Jun 25, 2020
    2
    Played the game through, and finally reached the end, only to have a crash that robbed me of the ending cutscene for what was an otherwisePlayed the game through, and finally reached the end, only to have a crash that robbed me of the ending cutscene for what was an otherwise fascinating game, the game is continuable, but unless you play the game through a 2nd time diminishing all of your work, you won’t see this cutscene if it crashes, do not bother messaging them with this issue as they will provide you with a link on YouTube showing the lost cutscene, and a half hearted explanation that you will be able to access the cutscenes through an update in the future, very disappointing considering the game is backed by Square Enix, it is not worth paying the release price in its broken state, if you’re adamant to play it check other reviews, otherwise the switch release is broken.… Expand

See all 9 User Reviews

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