16. New Pokémon Snap – Melty

“Reminds me of the good old days!” — Todd Snap

Night Time Levels

I was looking for a game that has the vibes of a summer evening whilst brainstorming ideas for this article. I couldn’t think of many. Initially, I added New Pokémon Snap as a general summery game because of the oceans and jungle areas, but when I sat down to write the entry, all of the memories of the night-time scenes came flooding back to me.

While it’s not filled with fireflies (or Volbeats or Illumises, rather) and crackling bonfires like I was looking for, the stillness of the areas undoubtedly gives a camping ambience. Seeing all of the sleepy Pokémon gives an impression of sitting in your campsite with your family dog snoozing next to you, all while you look at the stars. On top of this, who among us doesn’t like exploring and taking a load of snapshots during the warmer seasons?

Daytime Levels

When you get to the ocean level, the warm feeling you get from the space is unquestionably a summertime impression. The game is very immersive, so much so that when you inevitably get showered by a water Pokémon, you can actually feel a slight shiver wash over your body.

The jungle level has such a tropical feeling to it, with the colourful bird Pokémon, bug-type Pokémon, and the leopard-inspired Pokémon. It also has a large waterfall, with cute little Sobble hidden behind it. Overall, the vibes of this game are immaculately summer, and if you don’t like the thought of hot-weather areas, there is also a snowy area, too!

If you enjoy Pokémon, sun, nights by the campfire, and a cosy game, New Pokémon Snap is the game for you. Best of all, it’s not even a game you need to rush. Take it slow, and you’ll discover all new scenarios through each level. Also, you should see if you can get a better photo than mine!

17. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk – Dave

Can’t get enuf

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is Team Reptile’s love letter to the Jet Set Radio series. Set in the futuristic police state of Neo Rotterdam, you play as a young graffiti artist and inline skate aficionado who has lost his head, and has to find it with the help of his new crew (and replacement robot head).

Despite the resistance of the comically overfunded police force, the game is bright, colourful, and authentically happy. Between the music, street fashion, and bboying, the game does a good job of showing that an important part of resilience in the face of oppression is living the life you are being refused.

It’s not just a summer game, it’s a futuristic summer game. The game has you supplementing your skates, skateboards and BMXs with sick jetpacks so you can double jump onto 5-story buildings and tag them in one single motion. You can join dance circles with your ethnically diverse crew, attempt to ball with the even more ethnically diverse homonculi that make up the Franks gang, and defeat giant police robots by making them your latest art piece. Playing this game makes me envision future summers, where me and the other oldheads preside over hip hop competitions between cyborg and mutant YNs in the sunshine.

18. Lil Gator Game – Riley

All you have to do is corral a bunch of strangers and turn them into your friends

Ever wanted to relive the innocent child-like joy of creating an adventure with your friends? Megawobble attempts to recreate this feeling with Lil Gator Game, an experience where you embody a legendary hero on an adventure to build a kingdom and make a ton of friends to impress his older sister. What’s great about this one is that it takes place over one day and has wonderfully crafted cardboard cutouts of enemies, pots and plants to destroy, rather than real ones. This really plays into the childhood imagination vibe this game has going for it; there are no risks, no real danger and just the focus on having fun and meeting people.

The game handles the theme of growing up and realising that there’s more to life than playing and having a good time. You are tasked with constantly trying to build a bigger and better kingdom to attract the attention of your older sister, who has come home for the summer. The story is wholesome and sweet, the characters are absurd and hilarious, and the experience really makes you feel like a kid playing imaginary roles with budget tools. I definitely recommend it if you like bite-sized adventures with low stakes.

19. A Short Hike – Riley

Climb mountains, not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.

Boasting a wonderfully nostalgic DS-era 3D art style and wonderfully comforting music, A Short Hike is a bite-sized experience set at the tail end of summer. Developed by Adam Robinson-Yu, you take control of Claire, an anthropomorphic bird who is visiting an island for their summer break but can’t seem to get any phone reception. Your objective is to climb the mountain, get your phone reception, call your mother, and reflect on your experience. Along the way, you meet a collection of colourful and unique characters who often ask you to complete small tasks.

The main collectable here are feathers, they allow you to jump more and glide further, enabling you to climb higher up the mountain. They are obtained from side quests, platforming challenges, or just lying around. There’s also a full fishing system, with lots of fish and variants to catch and master, as well as dig spots, very Animal Crossing! If you’re looking for a bite-sized journey to fill the tail end of summer with memories of the shortening days of late August, this one’s a treat.

20. We Love Katamari REROLL+Royal Reverie – Dave

It’s on the rocks

I love the Katamari games. Equal parts bonkers and bodacious, I can’t think of many other games that are played from the POV of a beleaguered and diminutive cosmic prince tasked with rolling up everyday objects into balls to restore the natural order of the stars. The premise lends itself to exploring different locales and taking in the atmosphere (and eventually everything else, into your giant ball of destruction), enjoying the music and your supervisor’s colour commentary.

I think We Love Katamari embodies the summer vibe the best. There are dedicated underwater, zoo, and summer camp levels, as well as the option to roll up an entire high school, allowing you to quip “school’s out, dweebs!” as you consign them to a fate of drifting across the black void of space. The Royal Reverie content in the REROLL version of WLK has you play as your supervisor/liege lord/dad, The King of All Cosmos, in his youth. These are pretty much just more difficult versions of the standard levels, but the accompanying animations, while tragic, evoke a nostalgic longing for mispent summertime youth.