Boku no Natsuyasumi (2000)

Developer: Millennium Kitchen, Atelier Double
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation
Genres: Simulator, Adventure
Where to get it: PlayStation Store

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A gentle, unhurried slice of childhood summer where you wander the countryside catching bugs and idling away warm, nostalgic days.

nostalgiccozyslow-pacedrelaxinglightheartedgentlewholesomelow-stakes

About

The game revolves around Boku, a 9 year old boy sent to his aunt and uncle in Japan's wooded countryside and the daily adventures he encounters there. Boku is there because his Mother is in her final month of pregnancy. The player controls him for the 31 days of August 1975 (In Japan, a Summer Vacation, called natsuyasumi last for one month). You explore the game's area and can catch bugs and pit them against each other, collect bottle caps, fly a kite, or just relax.

Screenshots

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More by Atelier Double

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.