My Summer Car captures the youthful spirit of trashing your ride

You like cars, right? I did for a while—car mechanic was my #2 dream job as a kid, sandwiched between entomologist (#1) and Jedi (#3)—until being passenger to a couple of semi-serious crashes meant my excitement was crushed. I still harbor some redneck-esque desire to own a really big truck one day, or to dig up a VW bus out of a junkyard and try going cross-country before I come to terms with its shitty AC, but right now, that’s the extent of my car fever.

Which is good, since My Summer Car’s recent Greenlighting means that my 7-year-old self is going to be resurrected soon, off to her destiny of beer and fishing and barreling through the Finnish countryside in a highly-customizable hunk of metal. Sweet.

cornered the market for permadeath car games set in the 1990s

My Summer Car is a car simulator. I think that’s pretty clear from the trailer, which is mostly flinging low-poly parts around while slightly manic music plays in the background. Someone yells through a phone that you’ve stolen their fuel! This dude unsheathes a wrench. The cashier at a gas station wants to talk to you about his life! That’s cool, but there’s a pile of tires right there and I’m gonna do stuff with them. Oh my god, you just got in a giant car accident! Mourn your sick ride while reaching over into the passenger seat for a beer. You’re still upside down, by the way, and the wheels are still spinning.




Okay, so maybe this is a more than a simulator. It has a lot more to do than just upgrade, what with all of the fishing and alcohol and … moose, I think. It’s certainly cornered the market for permadeath car games set in the 1990s. I appreciate its dedication to realistic mirror hangings, and the fact that you’re apparently able to make your car entirely leopard print. You can chop firewood, which is obviously a must-have for any car game. And it’s in Finland! Don’t forget that it’s in Finland. It’s your standard 1990s Finnish permadeath drinking, wood-chopping and car decoration simulator.

The good thing is that once My Summer Car is out I won’t ever have to bother with another car simulator. I may not even need my real car. The case to move to Scandinavia and learn to fish while deciphering invoices for engine parts is persuasive. Sounds like my dream job.

You can check out My Summer Car on Steam Greenlight right here.

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