Relive your childhood summer time, however now in smalltown Japan.
From writer Spike Chunsoft comes cozy journey recreation Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer time Child. You play because the titular candy summer time youngster, Satoru, who’s spending his trip within the Japanese countryside, particularly Yomogi City, which is surrounded by bushes, mountains, and sea. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a light-weight and breezy expertise within the vein of Animal Crossing or 2021’s Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer time Trip (additionally developed by Millenium Kitchen), then Natsu-Mon would possibly effectively scratch that itch.
The general pacing of Satoru’s summer time break is a relaxed one, and the sport’s best power is the best way through which it genuinely emulates the sensation and sensibility of a youthful summer time. The principle story is gentle and takes a backseat to gameplay, but it surely revolves round a circus troupe that has come to city and desires to boost cash to proceed working. It is also a gaggle that Satoru is ultimately supposed to steer, so you might have a vested curiosity within the troupe’s success. Way more than this single narrative is the numerous others you discover as you discover your environment and communicate to the locals.
For instance, you encounter a gaggle of youngsters who’re taking part in at being detectives, and as an outsider to the group (certainly one of whom actually labels you “Customer”), you might be tasked with helping the group with quite a lot of quests. Different townsfolk have jobs for you, too, and plenty of of those duties reward you with gadgets, cash, or stamina-boosting stickers. You may wish to collect a bunch of those stickers early on so to climb to larger locations and spend extra time sprinting round. As a lot because the tempo is relaxed, there are nonetheless sizable distances to cowl, and never having to take a breather as usually makes for good motivation to lend a serving to hand.
Whenever you’re not taking part in white knight, you possibly can go fishing, catch bugs, and accumulate treasures (like valuable stones/minerals). Whereas Animal Crossing asks you to indicate these pick-ups to a museum, Natsu-Mon focuses on the creation of a private journal. When Satoru fetches a brand new bug in his trusty web, he’ll open up his trip journal and make a sketch of his discovering, together with a mini description. Now and again, you will hit a milestone variety of bugs or fish, which can full a sidequest and grant one other reward. One function that basically stands out is how bugs you have not but caught are highlighted with a transparent ring round them, drawing your consideration in the direction of a worthwhile catch. On the finish of every day, simply earlier than you hit the hay, you will add occasions and accomplishments to the journal, every with their very own small, medium, or giant caption, and so it’s that your summer time exploits are chronicled.
The place twentieth Century Summer time Child stumbles is within the pretty plain dialogue and interactions with different characters and a basic sense of repetition. You may see who’s the place on the map display screen, and even throw down a marker to information you in the direction of them, however these conversations are much less attention-grabbing than the exploration elements of the sport. This may very well be chalked as much as the idea of a kid chatting with adults, which makes some sense. Whereas there’s a attraction to the quaint world of the sport, it is discovered extra within the easy design of the environment and the sense of discovery from roaming to your coronary heart’s content material.
There is a pleasure in amassing seashells by the seaside and an equally highly effective sense of guilt from lacking morning train. This can be a countryside that lives and breathes, and an expertise that basically is not meant to be rushed. Whenever you’re uncertain of what to do subsequent, the subject of the time for supper meal will usually flip to an occasion to return or activity to be accomplished, getting you again on observe. That stated, in the event you deal with taking part in the sport similar to residing by your individual childhood summer time trip, you might be able to get much more out of it. Simply choose a course and see the place it takes you.
Though I have never skilled all that Natsu-Mon: twentieth Century Summer time Child has to supply, I’ve seen sufficient to know that it ought to effectively serve a distinct segment on the lookout for a laid-back, Animal Crossing-like expertise. The sport follows a one-month summer time countdown, so it is unlikely that you’re going to see every part on supply throughout a single playthrough. Nearly each single in-game day brings one thing new, although, and you probably have persistence sufficient to purchase into the premise, you will be rewarded with your individual chill summer time break. It has some tough edges, but it surely’s exhausting to not jive with the small city vibes of Satoru’s summer time house.