Racing through dark forests, windswept plains, and neon cities, you’ll experience a lot in Summer Cathers, and all of it will be saturated with charm and a certain magical allurement that’s hard to define. Underneath it all, however, is gameplay that, while it has potential, lacks substance in its current form. The world and the characters manage to fill in those gaps enough to keep you moving through Summer Cathers in spite of the occasional pit-fall, just like our adorably innocent protagonist and her little wooden car.
Endless Runner Meets Deck Building (almost)
When you hear endless runner, you probably think of the narrow scope and limitations of one of the many mobile games under that genre. While Summer Catchers does feel like it’s designed primarily for a mobile experience, it’s (thankfully) not your stereotypical mobile game.
In Summer Catchers the protagonist wants to experience Summer and therefore has to make it to the ocean. Along the way, you meet a “funny bear” (If you think it’s a wolf you’re wrong…probably) who graciously gifts you a car, which you take out on expeditions as you attempt to break free of the dark forest and the subsequent levels that stand between you and the ocean.
Your trusty car will take on many forms, the most common of which is a smoldering heap of scrap, as you traverse obstacles that range from pits of spikes and totem poles to burrowing gophers and collapsing bridges. Luckily, there will always be a shop with its own interesting personality and attendant that will offer you tools to overcome these obstacles.
Purchasing and using the tools feels similar to a deck-building game in that you will buy a strategically mixed number of tools and then at any time on your next outing will have access to 3 that have been drawn from your tool bag. You can then cycle through one tool about every 6 seconds to replace it with another random tool from your bag.
While this sounds enticing, especially if you’re a fan of either genre, Summer Catchers doesn’t quite scratch either itch perfectly. The choices you make in purchasing tools rarely feels rewarding in practice, and although you can recruit a pet to occasionally provide you with an additional perk, you’ll find frequently find yourself at an obstacle with nothing you can do to avoid it.
The obstacles you face and the tools you use don’t change much either beyond getting an interesting new skin. There’s the occasional variant that forces you to use your tools in different ways, and those are the highlights of the gameplay. One such variant has you trying to pop a bubble of black goop that hovers over a pit of tar. Popping the bubble requires you to jump at just the right moment to hit the bubble while avoiding the tar pit.
This bubble popping is part of one of the many shop-keeper quests that you’ll have to do in order for them to show you the way out of their level. These quests are usually some variant of collecting something floating in the air or using a special tool that gets shuffled into your tool bag.
At some point in your questing, you’ll encounter a diversion from your main goal that will introduce a different form of gameplay such as a rhythm game, or trying to find your way through a maze. These instances were always accompanied by interesting interactions with either a character or the level’s setting, but they sometimes feel tacked on as an afterthought and are occasionally frustrating in their lack of instruction or unpolished mechanics.
Overall, however, the quests and the interesting coats of paint that get put on obstacles and levels do a pretty good job of covering up the barebones gameplay mechanics, and if you’re looking for something simple without too much at stake then you’ll enjoy this trip towards summer.
A hand that needs holding
Summer Catchers is a relatively simple game and doesn’t need much explanation to get you started. However, you’ll likely find yourself scratching your head at a few mechanics at some point along your journey. It takes a little while before you really understand how cycling your tools works, and the general loop of the game
You’ll probably feel like you need to stock up on tools and survive each run (would it be called a “drive” since you’re in a car?) as long as possible before returning to the shop, while in reality, the best strategy is to “leave the race” as soon as you’ve completed as much of your current quest as you can, even though it feels like you’re not doing what the game wants you to do.
You also have the option to lower the difficulty, but it’s very unclear what this does. You’ll encounter other situations where the developers added in a little puzzle or secret, but don’t give enough explanation to clearly explain what the objective is or how to begin solving it, which is unfortunate because what could have been an exciting deviation from the main path can become a little frustrating.
Story, World, and Characters
While the gameplay leaves a little bit to be desired, the world, story, and characters you meet while doing it make it worth coming back. The word charm gets thrown around a lot with indie games, but Summer Catchers really exemplifies the word. The protagonist has a cute little hat and a cute little car that are both customizable. Their sincere desire to find the ocean and experience Summer draws you in, and their innocent outlook on a comically cynical world keeps you there.
One of the best examples of the world’s charm is how you interact with the various shopkeepers across the world. They all have a pretty similar feeling list of tasks that they want you to complete before they’ll help you to the next level, but they each have a fun personality and somehow aren’t put off at all by giving a random child that wandered up to their shop some chores to do.
The best part, however, is that you get to keep in touch with each of them via mail as you progress through the game. They each have their own reactions to hearing about your progress and musings, and it’s great to see those relationships continue after you complete their level.
The game’s vibrant pixel art ties this all together in a way that compliments the urban fairy-tale feel of the game. This creates an overall relaxing adventure that you can come back to and experience with little stress or consequence.
Summer Catchers might stumble in its gameplay, but experiencing the world, characters, and adventure created by Face IT makes up for those pitfalls enough to keep things interesting. You’ll be charmed by the cast of characters and their dry humor, and you’ll definitely root for the loveable little protagonist and her car as they make their way towards the ocean.
Nintendo switch code provided for review.
