My Summer Car Review

Have you ever felt like building your own car?  Do you like a challenge? If so, this is the perfect game for you!

What's that? Don't you believe me? Well, let me convince you.

We have all heard of the famous Simulator games about cars from the Car Mechanic Franchise to Automation. But believe me, if you are looking for an immersive, yet realistic game about cars, this is truly the game for you. Besides the building section of this game, there is a survival aspect, which makes this game all the more challenging, but all the more enjoyable.

Right from the beginning, you are free to do whatever you wish. This game does not hold your hand, or guide you in any way. However, the feeling of satisfaction when you managed to accomplish a task, such as earning your first 100 Marrka, is indescribable. Every single Finnish markka (the currency in this game) is hard earned by doing jobs, such as pumping human waste with the septic truck or chopping firewood, but don't let this discourage you!

This game shines where other games don't. My Summer Car differs significantly from other games through the traditional grinding process of making cash, which has been made extremely entertaining due to the fantastic developers of My Summer Car. Every time you venture out in a vehicle and leave the relative safety of your home in Kesselinperä, you are placing your own life in your own hands. Occasionally, you might manage to slide off the narrow dirt track and bury yourself into a pine tree, due to unforeseen circumstances. If so, you will have to risk your life playing chicken with a drunken lunatic in a little green Fiat, so that you can hitch a ride back home.

Upon reaching the paved highway, you will run the risk of getting killed by a wild moose, crashing head-on into a car, or even getting the police in hot pursuit of you due to your inability to stop at a checkpoint. When you finally arrive at your destination the odds will be against you. By the time you reach the store, it might be closed. Or perhaps, you forgot that the mechanic doesn't work weekends, or you forgot your parts order back home. In your attempt to navigate in the dark you might stumble into a septic tank and drown in human waste. Truly, unforgiving in every aspect.

The same goes for building the car. Once you forget to tighten a single bolt all the way on one part, you are placing your vehicle at risk of falling apart while you drive. Personally, my very first successful attempt lasted 5 whole minutes, before breaking down half a kilometre from the driveway. Sadly, in my excitement to start driving the car, I had forgotten to fill the radiator with coolant. This had caused my engine to reach temperatures close to that on the surface of the sun, resulting in its failure. With a sense of purpose, I dragged it back to the garage with the tractor and tried again.

Despite being so unforgiving, and my usual habit of giving up whenever I face an obstacle. I found myself becoming infatuated with getting the car up and running, passing the inspection in town and even upgrading it to take it rallying. You will find yourself forming a love-hate relationship with the car.

The developer's dream of promoting 'realism' at whatever cost has produced a game which gives you an immense feeling of accomplishment when you have achieved something. It's the same sense of achievement people talk about when they finally beat that boss in Dark Souls after hours of trying (Damn you, Nameless King!). But in this game, moves do not need to be memorised. Instead, keeping yourself alive is an accomplishment. The survival aspect might be subtle, but it is really what makes this game brilliant and unique. While you might feel that you are free to enjoy the rest of the time in endless Finnish summer, or use the sauna at the lake house, you still a living and breathing human. You can go for days without sleep, but endure for too long, and you might find yourself passing out while driving a 60-tonne tanker!

Though, don't be put off by the survival aspect. I assure you that once you have added all your favourite music to the 'radio' folder, messing around with the car in the garage becomes relaxing, and almost therapeutic. If you are interested in purchasing this game, I'd suggest that you should start building with care and patience instead of building with the intention of getting it done and over with as soon as possible. Sooner or later, you will end up dying in a massive car accident due to your impatience.

If you are someone who is willing to put in the time and the effort to learn the controls (a minute of googling will do wonders); You will find this a gratifying and hilarious game about life for a kid in 90's Finland.

In conclusion, this game is extremely replayable to the point where I have sunk in close to 300 hours of playtime in this game. Once you have earned every single achievement and think that you have done every possible task in this game, think again. With the availability of mods, you can customise your car, other cars, and even the whole game. So this truly is a spectacular game to play, with or without mods. Every time you open this game and play through it, no session will be the same as the last. There is an impressive amount of content and fun to be had for what is essentially a rough-around-the-edges Unity game which is still in early access.

Despite that, I will give this game a solid rating of 9/10.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you, press 'N' to swear. You WILL need that.

My Summer Car: http://store.steampowered.com/app/516750/My_Summer_Car/