Summertime Madness

Despite some pretentiously cryptic puzzle design in the latter half, DP Games' first effort still succeeds from all of its strengths.

70%Game Brain Score

graphics, gameplay

grinding, replayability

71% User Score Based on 48 reviews

Critic Score 74%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

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About

Summertime Madness is a single player puzzle game with mystery and kids themes. It was developed by DP Games and was released on June 17, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Summertime Madness" is a single-player first-person puzzle game where you play as a painter who, after being cheated and trapped in a painted canvas, must find your way back to the real world. Explore an evolving island with surreal landscapes, as solving puzzles and uncovering mysteries will cause new areas to emerge. The game takes place in Prague, July 20th, 1945 during the city's siege, adding historical depth to this artistic and mysterious world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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71%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

graphics13 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that immerses players in a painterly world.
The soundtrack is relaxing and complements the game's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
There are a variety of puzzles that encourage creative thinking, and the game offers different modes, including an explorer mode without a time limit.

Many puzzles are tedious and lack intellectual stimulation, often relying on trial and error rather than genuine problem-solving.
The game has a frustrating time limit mechanic that contradicts its exploration theme, leading to unnecessary pressure while solving puzzles.
Controls can feel janky, and the linear design often results in excessive walking between puzzles, detracting from the overall enjoyment.

graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
43%
11%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning and colorful visuals, creating a beautiful and surreal atmosphere that captivates players. While some reviewers noted that certain art styles can be jarring or simplistic, the overall aesthetic is considered a highlight, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding puzzle design and gameplay length. The game effectively combines artistic graphics with engaging environments, making it visually appealing and immersive.
- “Absolutely gorgeous visuals.”
- “The graphics and world are beautiful and surreal.”
- “Summertime Madness got amazing visuals; the scenery is beautiful.”
- “An art style that's too obsessed with appearing simple and charming.”
- “This culminates in a final level that feels like a personal insult, which includes jarringly confusing graphics that are purposely meant to waste time, terribly bored 'puzzle' design, with very little time needed to think about the solution but a whole hell of a lot of time needed to complete.”
- “Overall I'm disappointed by the puzzle design and artificial difficulty by length, but if you're more disposed toward the low-poly graphics or are even properly charmed by them, I imagine the length I complained about might just be a positive.”
gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
12%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its fluidity and variety of puzzles, while others criticize it for being tedious and lacking meaningful mechanics. Players appreciate the captivating graphics and storyline, but many feel that the gameplay often falls short, with frustrating elements like unnecessary time limits and repetitive tasks. Overall, while there are creative moments and a comfortable experience for various player types, significant flaws detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “With stunning graphics, a captivating storyline, and flawless gameplay, it grabs the attention and imagination of players from the very beginning.”
- “From the gameplay point of view, the game feels comfortable and fluid for all kinds of players (from the casual ones to the achievement hunters), especially thanks to the different kinds of difficulties you can choose from.”
- “The puzzles are a great variety, and no one puzzle seemed to stick around for too long or become tiresome, especially with the inventive hint mechanic.”
- “While keeping an eye out for several different collectibles and even a few secrets, the gameplay, with very few other puzzles like playing a piano and making sure cogs are in the right order, is mostly about running around and flipping switches in a maze-like setting.”
- “I spent a long time considering how to solve the puzzle using this mechanic, only to figure out it's not needed, meaning the wind and falling serve no purpose except to frustrate the player.”
- “Too much tedious back and forth in most places, especially in New Prague (half my playtime was spent on that one puzzle), plus the usual piano, rotating, etc. mechanics.”
story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
45%
14%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its captivating premise and artistic inspiration, particularly from classic literature, while others criticize its lack of depth and coherence, noting inconsistencies in historical accuracy. Despite its stunning visuals and engaging narration, some feel the narrative could have been more developed, leading to a disconnect between the gameplay and story experience. Overall, while the story has the potential to intrigue, it may not fully satisfy all players.
- “With stunning graphics, a captivating storyline, and flawless gameplay, it grabs the attention and imagination of players from the very beginning.”
- “Summertime madness serves a perplexing story of an artist looking to escape the horrors of war by making a deal with the devil to enter one of his paintings.”
- “Overall, summertime madness is a highly polished first-person puzzler, which features an intriguing story, a memorable world and inventive puzzles.”
- “There's no real storyline (other than the intro video), and the puzzles are consistently terrible.”
- “The story feels like it could have been more developed.”
- “Aside from that, the only other real gripe I had was to do with the story.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
41%
14%
The music in "Summertime Madness" is generally praised for its relaxing quality and fitting integration with the game's visuals and environments, enhancing the overall experience. While some players find certain tracks, like the titular "Summertime Madness," catchy and enjoyable, others feel that the music can be somewhat depressing or not to their taste. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong element of the game, contributing to its artistic atmosphere and aiding in puzzle-solving, despite some challenges related to music-based gameplay mechanics.
- “The music is relaxing and fits the game well.”
- “The music also goes hand in hand with each environment you visit.”
- “Summertime Madness is an engaging puzzle-adventure title with challenging puzzles, stunning graphics, a beautiful soundtrack and a wealth of collectibles.”
- “The artwork is pretty, but some parts of it could be an eyesore... the music just isn't my type most of the time and is pretty depressing rather than relaxing.”
- “Not to mention that unless you have an ear for music and know how to read notes, the only way to solve the piano boat puzzle is if you do it correctly by chance.”
- “The voice acting is pretty decent, and the soundtrack doesn't elevate the experience when you are struggling with a puzzle.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of "Summertime Madness" to be overly tedious and frustrating, with puzzles that often feel like time-wasters. Many reviewers highlight a particularly difficult level that exacerbates this issue, while the game's hint system is criticized for being inconsistent. However, the introduction of an untimed explorer mode and additional checkpoints in certain puzzles offers some relief from the grind.
- “Summertime Madness is a collection of tedious and not very interesting puzzles, and games that blatantly try to waste your time are a big no.”
- “There is one level in particular that is so tediously difficult that it reaches a point of frustration, and throughout the game the hints are either too easy or too complex.”
- “Too much tedious back and forth in most places, especially in New Prague (half my playtime was spent on that one puzzle), plus the usual piano, rotating, etc. mechanics.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Overall, the game's replayability is moderate, with opportunities to explore hidden secrets and tackle harder difficulties, though some players feel it lacks substantial endgame content. While the initial playthrough lasts around 3-4 hours, the challenge of timed runs and collectible hunting offers some incentive for replay.
- “There's also plenty of secrets to find and harder difficulties with a smaller time frame to finish the game for replayability.”
- “While I didn't find most of the secrets, I don't see much replay value either.”
- “While the initial game on the timed difficulty it was intended on will probably get you around 3-4 hours, there is some replayability to go hunting for secrets and tackle the game on harder difficulties.”
- “There is no real endgame content, but still there is a kind of replayability with an extremely challenging 1-hour run and a lot of hidden and fun collectibles to find!”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its stunning visuals and emotional depth, effectively alternating between peaceful and disturbing tones. Players appreciate the beautiful scenery and art style, particularly in levels like neo Prague, which contribute to a captivating and immersive experience.
- “I've particularly enjoyed the brutal (but well done) alternation between peaceful and graceful atmospheres and gloomy and disturbing ones.”
- “A great little game to spend your afternoon on, with cool scenery and art style that kind of reminds me of The Witness. I especially like the scenery and atmosphere in the Neo Prague level.”
- “It's quite a gorgeous game in many ways and really evoked some strong feelings in places just with very effective atmosphere setting!”
- “About the world, I've particularly enjoyed the brutal (but well done) alternance between peaceful and graceful atmospheres and gloomy and disturbing ones.”
- “A great little game to spend your afternoon on, cool scenery and art style which kind of reminds me of The Witness. I especially like the scenery and atmosphere in the [spoiler]Neo Prague[/spoiler] level.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization is criticized for its frustrating final level, which features confusing graphics and poorly designed puzzles that detract from the overall experience. Players feel that the emphasis on speedrunning and repetition undermines the narrative, leaving them hoping for better optimization in future titles.
- “Hopefully, their next game is gonna offer more than pretty things to look at in a well-optimized package.”
- “This culminates in a final level that feels like a personal insult, which includes jarringly confusing graphics that are purposely meant to waste time, terribly boring 'puzzle' design, with very little time needed to think about the solution but a whole lot of time needed to complete, not to mention a timer that speeds to 15 minutes remaining, nullifying your performance in the rest of the game up to this point.”
- “You can shave some time off by replaying earlier chapters faster, because we all know that's what story-based games are all about: speedrunning, repetition, and optimization during the first (and for many, the only) playthrough.”
- “Hopefully, their next game is going to offer more than pretty things to look at in a well-optimized package.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's humor is highlighted by a comically frustrating feature where attempting to quit results in the game freezing, requiring players to use ctrl+alt+delete to exit. This quirky design choice adds a layer of absurdity to the experience.
- “The game is filled with clever puns and witty dialogue that kept me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- “I love how the characters have such quirky personalities; their interactions are genuinely hilarious!”
- “The absurd situations you find yourself in are so funny, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find "Summertime Madness" to be a heartwarming experience that resonates deeply, providing both emotional and mental fulfillment.
- “Summertime Madness is such a beautiful game; it's a heartwarming experience for both your mind and your soul.”

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74%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

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6h Median play time

6h Average play time

6-6h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Summertime Madness is a puzzle game with mystery and kids themes.

Summertime Madness is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Summertime Madness.

Summertime Madness was released on June 17, 2021.

Summertime Madness was developed by DP Games.

Summertime Madness has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its grinding.

Summertime Madness is a single player game.

Similar games include Planet of the Eyes, Manifold Garden, Kairo, Quern - Undying Thoughts, RiME and others.

Summertime Madness

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