Game Review: Summer of ‘58
(This review contains minor story spoilers.)
EMIKA_GAMES
Summer of ‘58 is a first-person supernatural horror game where the player takes on the role of Alex Morton, a video blogger who investigates haunted locations across the globe at the behest of her fanbase. In this case, the location is Yunost, an abandoned Young Pioneer camp somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Over the course of several chapters, which are each divided between day and night sequences, you will uncover the camp’s dark history, shed light on the tragic events that happened there, and perhaps take a piece of it with you.
Young Pioneer Camps were popular in the USSR throughout the 20th century, receiving as many as nine million children at their peak popularity in the 1970s. Think of them as a Soviet equivalent to the summer camps of Western scouting organizations, though instead of the Boy Scouts of America or 4H defining the values, it was commitment to the ideals of communism and service of the state.
The story is told as a walking simulator or interactive novel; there are no overt threats, puzzles, or challenges. You simply pass through the locations, examine items, read notes, and gradually piece together the history of the campand the people who worked there. The story is piecemeal, but not in a way that feels debilitating or intentionally obtuse; there are red herrings, bits of extraneous folklore, and the occasional misdirection, but this all contributes to the mystery of the camp. In time, a story of a bullied child, a nefarious administrator, and illegal medical procedures gives way to something far darker and more supernatural. It’s not exactly new territory, but it is extremely well-executed.
One particularly memorable moment is a daylight sequence where the character passes a series of notes back and forth under a door with a person who is presumably a ghost (or is it another interloper?). This allows you to get very clear answers about what happened, and clear clues as to what to do next.
I found Summer of ‘58 to be genuinely scary, and the division of chapters into day and night to be an effective tool for creating and relieving tension. Broadly speaking, your days in the camp are spent uncovering more of the story amid a few lesser scares, while the nights are sojourns into nerve-shredding terror. The isolation of Yunost allows it to take on a wholly different character with the rising of and setting of the sun, where a quiet classroom suddenly becomes an impromptu graveyard. The pacing here is absolutely brilliant, and I commend the lone developer responsible for its creation.
Unfortunately, that brings me to a sour note: due to exploitation of the Steam platform’s return policy, where players are allowed to refund anything they’ve played for less than two hours, the developer has gone on indefinite hiatus and will not be creating the anticipated follow-up to the game at this time. Summer of ‘58 only takes 60-90 minutes to finish based on how much you hurry, and this has led to mass refunds. People are crap.
I hope the developer will reconsider, or that Steam and other gaming platforms will grant an exception to their policy in the case of shorter indie titles. Summer of ‘58 was certainly worth the $8.99 I paid, and I’d gladly pay a bit more for a longer title.
Summer of ‘58 is an excellent title so long as your expectations are in the right place, specifically about it being a walking simulator. You won’t be challenged, you won’t die, but you will be scared and entertained.
Verdict: 8.3/10
Strengths
Impeccable pacing
Deeply frightening jumpscares
Solid story told effectively
Shortcomings
Reliant on jumpscares, which many dislike
Short duration
Ends with a ‘to be continued’ position that may not be forthcoming
Summer of ‘58 is available on Steam. Other vendors are available.
Reminds me of: Dear Esther, but Soviet and hellish
