When I played the demo on my Switch, I knew I’d be grabbing this title the minute it went on sale. I didn’t love the overly cartoonish reactions or cross-eyed look of the main character, but the scenery was so beautiful and reminded me a bit of Miyazaki. Anyone who plays video games get some dose of Japanese culture, but in this game I felt like it was more authentic, will no attempt to water it down or make it more palatable to western players—thank goodness, because as an American, I found it so refreshingly different, and that was part of its charm. The only reason this experience falls short of a perfect 10 is because I often felt stressed knowing I had a fixed number of in-game days to experience all the game had to offer. Because of the time limit I found myself being annoyed when characters pulled me aside for side mission or otherwise had plans for me that day instead of leaving me to my own devices. That said, isn’t that so real in life when you go visit friends or family as a kid? Just leave me alone and let me plaaaay! Does it mean I won’t want to come back again next summer? No. I’m just 3 days shy of the end now and I’ve accepted that I may never catch that last rare fish (among other things). I normally would have purchased the DLC for a game I liked this much, but unless it slows down the time, I knew it would simply give me even more things I’d be disappointed not to have time to complete! So I passed on the DLC. I still recommend picking it his up if it’s on sale because it really has been a joy to play 90% of the time.