Developer: FaceIT
Publisher: Noodlecake Studios
Platform: Mac, PC, Linux
Tested on: PC
Summer Catchers – Review
Pixel games have been popular since the old days and they are for sure still loved even now. There is something so charming about pixelated games that high definition games can’t replicate. Summer Catchers is another addition to the alluring pixel games. You’ll be racing in your car trying to avoid obstacles and reach the ocean to be able to catch summer. Summer Catchers was developed by FaceIT and published by Noodlecake Studios. We got a chance to review the game and drive all the way to the ocean!
Story
You start off seeing a girl waking up covered in snow. She stands up and walks over to some kind of shop, where currently a wolf is cutting wood. As she gets the attention of the wolf, he questions why she is here and what she wants. It seems like she has never in her life seen summer and wants to know what it is like. The wolf, however, explains that he is just a woodworker and no magician, but he decides to help her after all. He crafts a wooden car for the girl and tells her to ride towards the ocean and find summer.
Along the way, the girl will meet more friends than just the wolf who she calls “funny bear” for some reason. The game, however, doesn’t ever introduce the girl, so you’ll just keep knowing her as “the girl” or “kid”. The story although pretty simple still gets enhanced by the quirky characters and beautiful journey through amazing landscapes.
Graphics
The graphics of Summer Catchers are done in a gorgeous pixel style. All the characters look quirky and very unique. Sometimes you even get that fantasy Studio Ghibli vibe from certain aspects. All the landscapes are done stunningly, as well as each shop that belongs to the area. The developers did a great job implementing logical features in the area that fit a certain season. All the shops are also made the same way, together with the characters that also fit with the season. Sometimes you will trigger an event in the landscape by making it past a certain point, this can range from something creepy in the background, or something lovely that happens to the girl.
Sound
The music in Summer Catchers is upbeat and fitting to the game. As you change season and area you will also hear a different track during gameplay. Every season also seems to change background noises with for example spring having birds whistling in the back. There is no voice acting present in Summer Catchers however there are sounds when characters talk. Usually, this is a grumble or whichever similar noise fits, the girl also makes those kind of noises, when she talks it kind of sounds like a yay.
Gameplay
Summer Catchers is an action, adventure, indie racing game where you try to ride towards summer with your car. As you start the game you get a little introduction of the “objective”, which is to reach the ocean and see summer. To realize this, the friendly wolf, that the kid calls “funny bear”, builds her a wooden car. He also explains how to ride and gives the girl tools to deal with obstacles that block her way. The wolf’s explanation is a sort of tutorial level, where you learn how to use the tools he gives you. At first, while explaining, the time gets slowed down to give you time to pick. Only right at the end of the tutorial, he says, “life isn’t as friendly” and explains that time doesn’t actually get slowed down during the game, or in life in the girl’s case.
The wolf gives you three tools to start with, the jumper, the bumper, and the booster. With the jumper, you can jump over obstacles and with the bumper you can break obstacles that are in the way. The booster will give you a boost to go over the mountains or just to give you some speed. You only get gifted a limited number of tools at the start and will have to buy more to make it further. The currency in this game are mushrooms that you collect while driving. You’ll have to balance the amount you need of each tool. All of them have different prices with the bumper being the cheapest for five mushrooms. The first kind of obstacles you come across are snowdrifts, stacked totems, ice peaks, and mountains. Snowdrifts and Ice peaks can be jumped over with the jumper, but snowdrifts can also be destroyed with the bumper. The bumper has to be used for the stacked totems since they are too high to jump over. For the mountains you will have to use the booster, sometimes if it is a smaller mountain you are also able to use several jumpers but that is sheer luck.
What makes the game more difficult is; you only get three tools on your screen at a time. However, these tools are randomized so you could have for example two jumpers and a booster on your screen. If you then need a bumper, you’ll have to use either of those tools to make a new one appear and hope that it is a bumper. Since you often only have three seconds to use a tool, it usually ends with you bumping into the obstacle. After you bump into something three times, you will crash, and the girl will drag her car back to the shop to get it repaired. The latter doesn’t actually cost any mushrooms which is a nice feature and handy to be able to buy more tools. In the shop, you will also unlock customizations for your car and the girl, that just like the tools cost mushrooms.
The number of tools you need to buy is hard to guess, sometimes you’ll get further than expected and crash because you ran out of a certain item. When you progress throughout the game, you’ll notice that the obstacles change, and you’ll have to get used to using the right tools and get the timing right. After a while, you’ll also unlock new tools such as the propeller which can be used to fly over obstacles. However, there is one thing that stops you for using the propeller instead of the jumper, it flies quite far so could make you end up right in the middle of an obstacle such as the ice peaks. The propeller is on the other hand perfect for long ice patches which can get your car stuck.
During every level you’ll have to complete tasks for the characters that live near/in the shop of that level. Once you have completed all the tasks, they will show you the way out of the forest to the next shop. However, it is not like it would be that easy to leave. Every time you try to leave a certain part you will have a boss encounter. You will have to avoid both the attacks from the boss as well as the obstacles. Every time you crash you will have to restart until you fully reach the end. How far the end is, is shown by the signs that tell you how many meters are left. The bosses differ each season and will often get introduced right before you leave to go to the next part. When you outride the boss, you’ll end up in the new season and can keep driving until you crash. The first time you go to a new shop, the characters there get introduced and they either ask for help or the girl suggests it herself. Cute side things are also included in Summer Catchers, as you can send letters to the characters you met previously. You also have a picture book where you get random pictures while playing the game as well as a spot to put a picture card you can buy at every shop.
Conclusion
Summer Catchers is an incredibly amusing and charming game. All the characters are quirky both in looks and speech. The gameplay is also fast-paced and amusing, it for sure doesn’t get repetitive even if you’ve been playing for a while. Even if there is a bit of luck involved in getting the right tools, you’ll never feel like it’s unfairly done. The girl’s reactions to crashing are exquisite and funny. While playing Summer Catchers you for sure won’t be bored, it keeps you entertained with all aspects it even breaks up the same background to not get repetitive. Summer Catchers is for sure a recommendation for all!
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