Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid

[i]I made a video version of this review if you'd like to see gameplay along with my words:[/i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjRzZcwZedY My summer hasn’t been all that great. My mother had a stroke in June and it changed both of our lives forever. So, during the stress of hopping to different hospitals and figuring out how to become a caretaker for my now paralyzed mother, I really needed an escape. So I trawled through the depths of the steam summer sale and Natsu-Mon 20th Century Summer Kid caught my eye. Satoru’s summer seemed a lot more appealing. His family and friends are members of the Mirage Circus Troupe and have come to Yomogi town to set up a circus for the month of August. Satoru doesn’t have to stress much about that yet though, for now he’s just there to enjoy the summer of 1999. Kyoko runs the guest house where you’ll be staying and it’s such a charming little place. The details of this location alone are like a microcosm of what I love about this game. The spotted wallpaper with cracks in the walls from wear and tear give it this sense that it’s been very lived in. Even the wooden beams themselves aren’t perfectly straight, there are little imperfections everywhere you look. Clearly a number of guests have been in these halls throughout the years. Indoor locations have these fixed camera angles that really show off the set dressing and each room is thought out as if somebody actually had to live there. The cluttered little laundry section with different detergents, rags, and various other colorful containers. The kitchen right next to it with it’s little spice rack, utensils, and cooking stains. Even the washing machine has a little rust on it. These are details that are so important to the vibe this game is painting but most people might not register them. And I mean fair enough, I’m excited over a washing machine! I would bet your brain notices though. This care and attention to detail expands FAR outside of Guest House Ashitaba as well. Natsu-mon isn’t just a charming little fixed angle game. It takes a ton of inspiration from Breath of the Wild. Reframing the exploration loop of that game through the eyes of a 10 year old boy instead of a seasoned adventurer. Finding cool bugs, neat rocks, and climbing up a hill because there has to be SOMETHING interesting at the top makes SO much more sense when we’re playing as young Satoru here. The game DOES have a time limit although it is a little customizable. You can choose slow, normal or fast days. Normal being about 30 minutes for a day. Your day is set up like this: You wake up and eat breakfast, do your day, have dinner, and you can explore in the evening or just fast forward to bed time where you fill out your little journal for the day. For the sheer amount of things you can get up to in this game I think a time limit is important. It teaches you not to get too hung up on things and enjoy as much as you can in your 31 days. Thankfully there’s a new game plus if you’d like to do anything you missed as well as several endings depending on what thing you focus on the most! Once we’re let loose on Yomogi you’ll see a bunch of critters jumping and flying around. A big part of this game is catching bugs and fish. You can pick up cinder blocks and find bugs underneath em, spreading honey on trees will attract bugs as well. It’s very addicting hunting for them. When you catch something a few neat things happen. It’ll be added to your journal where you get a cute crayon drawing of whatever critter you caught and a little fact about them. And it’ll also be added to your encyclopedia and the tank or bug box. From there you can get a close up view of the bug and get another fact about them! It feeds into that exploration loop really well because every time you find an interesting location like a foggy forest or a hidden alcove you’ll have your head on a swivel looking for unique critters to grab! And thankfully you can tell the ones you haven’t caught yet by that clear circle that appears so you won’t have to keep catching ones to realize you already caught it. This really helps later in the game when you’re hunting for the really rare ones or trying to fill out your encyclopedia! There are over 200 bugs to catch including a few rare ones you can submit to the museum! As someone who adores Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley for their museum sections this was a great surprise. There are rare fossils, bugs and fish they’d like you to catch and when you do you’ll get some money and get to check it out in it’s display! Just as the guesthouse felt lived in, so does this town. From the shopping center crammed with interesting wares to the more abandoned parts of the area. Overgrowth tangling to things that were of use a long time ago, now forgotten or at least in disrepair. It’s just a great world to hang out in. Everything has this sense of movement. Trees will drop leaves that may be carried away by the breeze. Vines attached to buildings will sway gently. Dust will kick up in certain areas. Unnecessary details like a corded light in the attic swaying gently add so much charm. It’s a world that just never feels static, no matter where you go and I’d stop to admire that sometimes. [had to cut section of review] Bugs and fish aren’t the only life in Yomogi though, there’s a ton of unique and fun people to chat with and get to know. And you guessed it! When you first meet a new person they get a cute sketch in your journal. They’ll have their own little stories happening throughout the month that you can choose to follow by chatting with them. Here’s a few of my favorites. [i]Nagase is this quiet and burly man who is a performer in the circus troupe. He can be a man of few words but when he does talk it never fails to make me smile. Ryoko is this bubbly alternative lady who always seems to be doing somebody elses job. She has a great attitude about it though and is a really cheery presence in the town. And finally Doc Shibuya who heads up the ‘Summer Break Research Project Research Center’ and Detective Agency. I won’t say too much about her but I loved her story line and learning more about her.[/i] There’s this quest where you follow Junko up a hill at night and she gives this speech about how the towns lights are lighting up somebody’s life. This romantic view at peoples lives really hit me. There are so many people in the world and they are valuable, full beings with things they are striving for. I just think it’s a sweet sentiment. And deep down I think that’s what this game is about. The fleeting connections you’ll make in life. The interesting people who come and go and the conversations that you’ll think back upon. Wishing you got to know them better, wishing you could see them again but more importantly just hoping they’re doing okay. So much of this game is tinged with this wistful nostalgia. They immerse you in this childlike slice of life aesthetic but the game is narrated by an older version of Satoru. He’ll occasionally comment on things he wished he said or did but then you’ll just carry on catching bugs and getting distracted by new discoveries. No time to focus on what could have been, let’s live in the moment! For this recommendation I’ve really focused on the atmosphere, aesthetics, and general vibes because that’s what hit for me the strongest. However there are plenty of things I’ve avoided talking about or showing and I’d love for you to discover them for yourself. This game is all about discovery and I’d hate to rob that from you. I started this recommendation because I was in a pretty bad pit of depression and this game really comforted me during it. Whatever you’re going through, even if it’s not as life changing as my summer, I hope this game can bring you comfort as well when you need it. It’s a great distraction when things are stressful and a gentle reminder to value the connections you do have and take some time to enjoy the world you inhabit.