There’s a very specific appeal to games that make you work for something simple. Not saving the world. Not winning a championship. Just getting a rusty car to start.
My Summer Drive, developed and published by DEZVOLT GAMES (DEZVOLT APP & IDEI SRL), lands today on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 after originally launching on Nintendo Switch in April 2025. It positions itself squarely in the shadow of PC cult hit My Summer Car, but with a console-friendly, streamlined approach.
The pitch is simple: build your car piece by piece, survive in a rural open world, complete odd jobs, and keep both yourself and your vehicle functional. It’s a niche genre—part mechanic simulator, part survival sandbox, part rural life sim.
The big question isn’t whether it matches its hardcore PC inspiration. It’s whether it successfully adapts that formula into something console players can genuinely enjoy.
From Empty Chassis to Road-Ready Rustbucket
The heart of My Summer Drive is your project car.
You begin with little more than an empty chassis. From there, you install the engine, mount wheels, attach parts, adjust the carburetor, and fine-tune components until the vehicle is theoretically roadworthy. It’s hands-on without being overwhelmingly technical.
Unlike the brutal realism of some PC counterparts, the system here is simplified for accessibility. You won’t be juggling hundreds of tiny bolts or consulting online diagrams just to install a piston. Instead, parts are interactable and logical through controller inputs.
That’s not to say it’s shallow. Engine temperature matters. Fuel consumption matters. Tire pressure matters. If you ignore wear and tear, your car will punish you.
But the game walks a careful line: enough realism to feel satisfying, not so much that it becomes hostile.
Rural Open World, Slow Burn Pace
Once your car can actually move (and that’s a big “once”), the rural map opens up.
The world isn’t massive, but it’s cohesive. You’ll find:
- A garage
- A grocery store
- Various job sites
- NPC homes
- Long stretches of quiet road
The atmosphere leans cozy rather than oppressive. Fields stretch into the horizon. Roads hum softly under your tires. The environment feels deliberately slower than most modern open-world games.
Cruising is the real pleasure here. Windows down. Engine rattling. Watching your fuel gauge nervously. It captures that oddly meditative feeling of driving a barely functioning vehicle through the countryside.
There’s charm in its simplicity.
The Job Loop: Funding the Dream
To keep your project alive, you need money. That’s where the job system comes in.
NPCs around the map offer odd jobs—deliveries, repairs, basic errands. They’re not elaborate quests, but they provide steady income for parts, fuel, and survival supplies.
The loop becomes:
- Fix the car.
- Take a job.
- Earn money.
- Buy parts.
- Fix the car better.
It’s cyclical and deliberate.
There’s a satisfying sense of progression as your junk heap slowly becomes reliable. You feel each upgrade in performance. Acceleration improves. Overheating decreases. Handling stabilizes.
It’s not glamorous. But it feels earned.
Survival Lite
My Summer Drive includes light survival mechanics: hunger, sleep, hygiene, stress. Neglect them, and your efficiency drops.
Fortunately, these systems are forgiving.
You won’t be constantly micromanaging meters. Instead, survival acts as a background reminder that you’re not just a mechanic—you’re a person living in this world.
It adds immersion without overwhelming the gameplay loop.
Compared to the PC survival-heavy inspirations, this is dramatically toned down. There’s no permadeath brutality or complex bodily failure systems. It’s survival-lite—and that’s likely the right call for console audiences.
Console-First Design (And Why It Matters)
One of My Summer Drive’s biggest strengths is its controller-focused interface.
Many simulation games struggle when ported to consoles, relying on awkward cursor-based menus. Here, interactions are mapped cleanly to controller inputs. Installing parts feels natural. Navigating inventory is manageable.
On PS5, performance is stable. Load times are short. The DualSense doesn’t add major haptic depth, but driving feels responsive and smooth.
It’s clear the game was designed with console players in mind rather than awkwardly ported from a mouse-and-keyboard system.
That matters.
The Jank Factor
Let’s talk about physics.
There’s jank here. Vehicles can behave unpredictably. NPCs sometimes move stiffly. Collisions occasionally feel exaggerated.
But much like the game’s inspiration, this jank is part of the charm.
There’s a slightly absurd, crude humor running through the experience. NPC interactions feel awkward in an intentional way. The world has personality without trying too hard.
That said, the jank never crosses into game-breaking territory. It’s noticeable—but rarely frustrating.
What It Doesn’t Do
My Summer Drive is not:
- A deep mechanical simulator
- A cinematic narrative experience
- A competitive racing game
- A hardcore survival punisher
If you’re expecting hyper-detailed mechanical realism, you may find it simplified. If you’re expecting constant drama, you won’t find it here.
This is a slow, loop-based game. It rewards patience, not adrenaline.
Value for Money
At £11.99, My Summer Drive sits comfortably in mid-budget territory.
For that price, you’re getting:
- A full open world
- Meaningful vehicle customization
- Survival mechanics
- A steady job progression system
There’s enough content to sink 10–20 relaxed hours into, especially if you enjoy optimizing your vehicle and exploring at your own pace.
Replayability is moderate. Once your car is fully upgraded, the core loop stabilizes—but for many players, that gradual climb is the appeal.
Where It Struggles
The biggest limitation is repetition.
Jobs don’t evolve dramatically over time. The map, while charming, isn’t packed with dynamic events. Once the novelty of building and maintaining fades, the experience can plateau.
And while it captures the spirit of its PC inspiration, it doesn’t quite replicate the chaotic unpredictability that made that genre infamous.
It’s gentler. More streamlined. Less punishing.
That’s both its strength and its compromise.
Final Verdict
My Summer Drive successfully translates the “car survival sandbox” concept into a console-friendly, accessible experience. It trims the brutality, keeps the mechanical satisfaction, and wraps it in a cozy rural atmosphere.
It’s not a deep simulator. It’s not a fast-paced racer. But it nails the feeling of earning every mile you drive.
For players who enjoy methodical progression, light survival systems, and the oddly soothing rhythm of rural car maintenance, this is an easy recommendation at its price point.
Just don’t expect it to scream at you when your engine explodes.
