REVIEW : Summertime Madness (PS5)
July 1945, Prague. An artist has made a pact with the devil and is now imprisoned within one of his paintings. He must return to the real world, or his spirit will be trapped in the painting forever. You’ve landed on an ever-changing island. The island will begin to evolve as you study your surroundings. The appearance of a ship, the rise of a lighthouse, and each mystery and conundrum you solve will reveal new wonders and locations to discover. But be warned: the scene you’ve arrived at, this gorgeous country of paint and oil, isn’t always as simple as it appears. This fascinating world within the canvas hides more secrets than the canvas itself.
Self-publishing Sometimes You is still working to expand their portfolio with more artistically focused, thought-provoking experiences, as opposed to the “easy platinum medal” microgames they used to produce a few years ago. I’ve previously stated that their finest games are puzzle-based adventures like The 7th Sector and The Mooseman. I enjoy it when they let little teams shine with their experimental games, even if they don’t turn out to be very excellent. Summertime Madness is an excellent illustration of this. It’s not a great game, but it has excellent ideals that should be respected.
Summertime Madness begins with a fully voiced cinematic that explains the plot. During World War II, the game is set in Prague. You play as a melancholy artist trying to get away from the horrors of war. The more he draws, the uglier the war becomes. One day, a strange figure (not the Devil, I swear) gives the painter the opportunity to leave reality by transferring his soul into one of his works of art. He only has a few hours to get out, or his spirit will be trapped in this other canvas reality for the rest of his life.
Got it, good premise, understandable reason for the game’s existence, and stakes in play. That appeals to me; there’s nothing wrong with it in this sense. Even the general presentation and gameplay appealed to me. Summertime Madness is primarily a first-person walking simulator, but it does have some lovely painting-like images and a relaxing soundtrack. Your character also moves incredibly quickly for a game of this kind, which was both surprising and satisfying. Everything you need for a nice puzzle adventure is right here. The issue is with how the puzzle-solving gaming loop is implemented.
Summertime Madness reminded me of a beautiful escape the room game placed in an open space. The game is made up of a series of puzzles that, unfortunately, can be a little too mysterious at times. You finish one task in order to unlock a completely different task in order to gain access to a fresh new location where you must perform another task. When you first play the game, it feels as though nothing makes sense, and I believe this was done on purpose. After all, this is a game about racing against the clock to complete the final puzzle before an arbitrary time restriction runs out.
The truth is, there is a hint system, but it comes with a condition, much like anything has a contract with totally-not-the-Devil-I-swear. You lose fifteen minutes of your remaining time limit every time you ask for a suggestion by looking at a magical clock. This isn’t a problem if you’re playing the game in Explorer mode, because there’s no time limit, but it makes the experience much less enjoyable. .However, given how obscure Summertime Madness may be at times, you’ll need to ask for a lot of hints. It almost feels like it was designed to make you fail or complete it without a time limit at first, then force you to restart it for the speed-running rewards and bragging rights. In either case, it’s at odds with the game’s general tone.
Everything happens on this ever-changing island. The island will begin to transform as you explore and analyse your surroundings. A ship, then a lighthouse, then a castle, and finally, a city free of war in the far future. Each location is distinct and breathtakingly beautiful. Each area has its unique collection of challenges, some of which are difficult to solve. It all begins with basic switches that open one door while closing another, and levers that lower one level while raise another. The puzzles become more mysterious and “out-there” as you advance through the game. Fortunately, there is an integrated hint system, albeit the hints can often be more difficult to comprehend than the problem itself. One puzzle in particular blew my mind with how innovative and original the solution was. There’s a statue of a big head with a sword stuck in it later in the game, as you enter one of the black gaps. As you move closer to it, the screen becomes increasingly noisy, and a loud hissing noise becomes unbearable, and you die before you even reach the sword. I tried going backwards so I wouldn’t notice the statue, but it didn’t work, and I died anyhow. So I tried a few more times, but each time I got nothing.
Summertime Madness appeals to me in theory. I appreciate the theory, the setting, and the fact that it’s a walking simulator with a ridiculously quick running button. On the other hand, this is a puzzle-solving adventure in which the act of solving puzzles feels mysterious and random, almost as if it was designed for you to fail your first attempt. This may have been a cult hit among puzzle fans if the puzzle design had been somewhat better. I admire its premise as it is, but I can’t say I recommend it. It doesn’t have the kind of visual style that begs for a next-gen port, but all things considered, it’s a nice game. Everything is animated in such a way that it looks like a moving picture. Technically, this is a walking simulator with basic yet cryptic puzzles to solve. Fortunately, your character glides around like a roadrunner, which eliminates one of the most unpleasant aspects of most walking simulations. Its music is peaceful and relaxing. It’s not particularly memorable, but it’s also not particularly horrible. The first cutscene is fully voiced, and whoever was cast in the role did a fantastic job.This borderline cryptic artsy-infused escape room simulator hides a highly engaging puzzle game. Its riddles are difficult to understand at first, so you’ll either run out of time or choose to play it easy on your first try.
