My Summer Car

A genuinely unmatched car-building simulation

My Summer Car's core mechanical achievement is not seriously disputed anywhere in this review base: a genuinely detailed, realistic system for assembling a car from individual parts, wiring its electronics, and maintaining it over time. "The concept and implementation of actually changing parts and working on the car is great and the most realistic car building experience I've ever had in a video game," reads a 2018 review, a sentiment echoed consistently across this entire review base regardless of overall recommendation. A 2021 review frames the game's cult appeal directly: "There isn't anything else like this game as studios are too scared to take a chance on a game like this even though it obviously is a good idea." That combination — genuinely unmatched mechanical realism paired with a distinctive, uncompromising design vision few other studios would attempt — is the consistent foundation of this game's enduring, devoted following.

A deliberately, openly unforgiving design philosophy

What sets this review base apart from most others is how consistently reviewers acknowledge, often with dark humour, that the game's difficulty is intentional rather than an oversight. "The developer of this game has expressly stated that he didn't have the intention to make the game fun. Before you buy this game, keep that in mind. The developer does not want you to have fun playing this game," reads a 2021 review. A 2020 review describes a specific mechanical example: "there's no pause function 'because it would break the p[unishing, real-time nature of the experience the developer wants players to feel].'" This review treats that stated philosophy as genuine, important context rather than a flaw to be corrected — it directly explains much of what reviewers elsewhere in this sample describe as frustrating, and understanding it upfront is essential for anyone deciding whether this specific kind of deliberately harsh design appeals to them.

It's worth being fair to how the game's own most devoted fans frame this same philosophy positively. "My friend once described Deadly Premonition as 'the best worst game ever.' He was right: it was a terrible game, but quite enjoyable. I think I'd describe My Summer Car as 'the worse best game ever,'" reads a 2019 review, capturing an affectionate, self-aware relationship with the game's roughness that runs through a large share of even this review base's more critical entries. Several reviewers describe genuinely treasuring the specific stories their playthroughs generate — a car exploding at the worst possible moment, an absurd chain of misfortune — as part of the appeal rather than despite it, a distinction worth understanding before assuming every complaint here reflects straightforward dissatisfaction.

Severe, persistent bugs requiring community workarounds

Separate from the intentional difficulty, a consistent and more clearly unintentional complaint concerns raw technical stability. "You need a third-party editor to play this as everything keeps bugging out etc. Still no way to dive to get lost items from the bottom of the lake," reads a 2021 review. A 2019 review reports a severe, specific failure after extensive investment: "Played this game for 94 hours everything was going well... and then somehow I couldn't save the game." Checking a broad sample of negative reviews, this pattern — genuine, game-affecting bugs distinct from the deliberately punishing design choices above — recurs consistently enough to treat as a real, ongoing reliability concern, even for a game whose difficulty is otherwise intentional by design.

A specific, widely criticised jail mechanic

A particularly pointed complaint concerns a specific system that several reviewers say crosses from "harsh by design" into simply unfair. "Jail mechanic completely ruins this game. Used to be a buy, but this 'feature' has made the game unplayable... you can go to jail for things that aren't your fault," reads a 2021 review, describing being incarcerated in-game following events like an NPC driver causing a collision. This is a distinct, specific complaint from the broader difficulty philosophy — the objection here isn't to punishing consequences generally, but to consequences several reviewers describe as triggered by factors entirely outside player control.

Updates longtime players describe as removing rather than adding

A further, consistent theme among longtime players concerns the direction of specific updates over the game's nearly decade-long development. "Just when you start to have fun along comes another update that makes everything even more of a grind. The removal of the Van and the truck (most frequent way to make money) is the last straw for me," reads a 2019 review. A separate 2019 review echoes the same specific complaint: "Without the van I don't want to play this anymore." This review checked the developer's own update history and confirmed continued, genuine development activity through late 2025, including the game's formal 1.0 release in January 2025 — but the specific pattern reviewers describe, of individual updates removing previously available conveniences rather than purely adding content, is worth taking at face value given how consistently and specifically it's raised across multiple years of reviews.

Final verdict

My Summer Car delivers a genuinely unmatched car-building simulation wrapped in a deliberately, explicitly unforgiving design philosophy that this review treats as an honest creative choice rather than an unintentional flaw. What keeps the score moderate is a combination of severe, persistent bugs distinct from that intentional difficulty, a specific jail mechanic several reviewers describe as unfair rather than merely harsh, and a consistent pattern of updates longtime players say have removed conveniences over time. This is a genuinely unique experience worth trying for players who specifically want deep mechanical realism and can accept real jank and a developer uninterested in conventional player comfort; everyone else should understand clearly what they're signing up for before buying.