Heading for your SUMMERHOUSE in early March might sound a bit premature, but mark these words: this cosy sandbox from Friedemann and Future Friends Games (The Block, Omno, Gourdlets) is something you should visit all year round.
Offering a slice of the summer by whisking you and your bricks away to a handful of serene locations, you’ll be able to recreate those architectural projects you’ve been meaning to tackle for some time and without the worry of planning permission. What do you mean, ‘I don’t have any projects I’m currently working on‘? You will do.
You see, SUMMERHOUSE is like picking up a handful of Lego blocks and tinkering with some ideas on the fly—while on the beach or in the woods. Upon arrival at your picturesque destination, there’ll be a panel of buttons to click through and experiment with. Place a block here, another one on top—even go rogue and flirt with the Z-axis.
SUMMERHOUSE Review (PC)
There are no objectives in SUMMERHOUSE; instead, you’re free to do as you please. Recreate a Ghibli town, devise your dream location, or simply scroll through the many options and tinker. The latter is encouraged, not just for the sake of creativity, but new objects are unlocked when combining elements.
This can be anything from an additional tree, to populating your scene with people. Quiet ones at that. I couldn’t think of anything worse than building this utopia, then inhaling second-hand bass, arguing over parking spaces, or initiating small talk about the weather. Lovely weather, isn’t it?
That’s not just a clever way of starting a new paragraph, nor referring to the assumed climate in SUMMERHOUSE. Alright, it is, and it’s not clever, either. To the left of the screen, real estate are your literal building blocks, and to the right are some funky weather options and a day/night cycle. Shifting from a crisp summer’s day to a rainy, subtly-lit environment is wonderful.
Living Off (On) The Grid
The chunky graphic style in SUMMERHOUSE is lovely, and perfectly suits the style of play. There are no motivations, objectives, enemies or achievements you should really be seeking here, just creativity and relaxation (though the items you unlock is definitely a motivator).
As lovely as it is, it’s not complete immersion, as you can’t feel the sun’s rays or the wind clipping the top of your frappuccino, but it’s the closest you’ll get. Do we really need an alternative to going outside? Yes, I understand the irony of that. Should you buy this, however? Erm… yes. There are a few things worth noting before you start kicking the tyres.
Though you can shift assets back and forth and rotate horizontally, you don’t have the full key to the city and are restricted to how much movement you have. There are no camera rotations to look behind a dwelling to tuck away a bin, and you have to play around with combinations as fans of symmetry may be blaming their OCD for their structures. Also, this doesn’t really work on the Steam Deck at this time, which kind of sucks as it’s the perfect game to place in bed, on the sofa, but not on the loo. It’s too good for that.
SUMMERHOUSE Review Summary
Those last few things are trivial, however, as this plays out exactly as hoped, and it costs more than the price of parking to go to your local travel agent and ask for a brochure. Oh yes, you could use the internet. Still, SUMMERHOUSE is a meditative sandbox without strict objectives, blending a refreshing cocktail of creative juices and relaxation cubes without having to buy a yoga mat. Recommended!
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