Oh I love this game. It so perfectly captures the feeling of being a kid on a summer vacation that feels endless and magical and then all too short, and I would have loved this even if the immaculate vibes were all it had to offer. But no, Boku no Natsayasumi 2 ALSO has gorgeous 2D backgrounds and great character writing!

The story plays out through short scenes Boku has with the other people in town throughout the month, and they're all very charming. While Boku is having his idyllic, carefree summer vacation, the adults are dealing with the kind of grown-up problems you can't really grasp as a kid—you know something's going on and it seems like it's a big deal but it doesn't make sense. In the various vignettes, they allude to their grief, family conflicts, loss; Boku lends an ear, tries to understand. A lot of these conversations end with him walking away scratching his head in confusion. It all feels like the kind of off-handed comment you hear as a kid that you look back on as an adult and think, "oh wait, that was kind of dark!"

Not to say this game is super serious by any means. You can easily skip the conversations and have a pretty good time just taking in the atmosphere and catching bugs, but I appreciated the time the game spends fleshing out the supporting cast and giving them stories that I cared about. I also appreciated the little sleeping cats strewn about. Did not appreciate the tank controls 😞👎🏻🚫 he is a little boy NOT a large armored vehicle, you are being ridiculous

Looking past that (honestly I got used to the tank controls as I played, still mad about it though), this is a wonderful game that I loved playing. Boku no Natsayasumi 2 feels like stepping into a memory. Thank you to fan translator Hilltop for bringing this game to a whole new audience and helping me to discover a new favorite :)