I have this loosely defined made-up genre I call "Summer Games".

It started a long time ago subconsciously. At some point I realized that during the hottest time of the year I gravitate to certain games that I mostly play on a small device (laptop/switch/steamdeck), laying in bed, late at night, when I have trouble sleeping because it's too hot. A friend of mine once said that the reason she loves super high temperatures so much, is that what you experience leaves more vivid, burned in, memories. I think she has a point.

The criteria aren't super rigid but I hope you get the "vibe" and might know some games that fit:

• Low-stakes/chill gameplay. I'm already sweating, I don't need sweaty gameplay right now

• a warm aesthetic/color palette and/or setting. My outside experience shouldn't feel too different to the games inside experience aesthetic-wise.

• It feels like a road trip, adventure or vacation. I want to get a summery memory out of this.

• the game leaves some kind of impact.

Games I played in the past that evoked that vibe perfectly:

• Kentucky road zero
• oxenfree
• road 96
• firewatch
• sable
• rime
• steins: gate
• life is strange

Games that have fit okay-ish

• tunic
• journey
• citizen sleeper
• nightcall
• no umbrellas allowed
• the talos principle
• the solus project
• the witness
• the vanishing of Ethan Carter

If anyone has a recommendation, I'd be thankful. This year I have started to play chants of Sennaar and it seems to fit the criteria so far.

Ever since it came out I have heard only good things about this game. And it sounds like a perfect fit for me. I enjoy figuring out puzzles, I enjoy figuring out lore and I love to explore.

I picked it up during a sale a while ago and since then I had 3 or 4 attempts of trying to get into the game but after a few hours I'm just too frustrated and give up.

My problem is, that I am so horribly bad at moving around, it infuriates me like no other game ever has. Like, I want to go to that planet, I board my ship, I fly towards the planet. I either slow down too late and die crashing into the planet or I slow down too early and by the time I get to my destination the planet has already moved away too much. So I either wait until it comes back around or I try to follow it wich usually ends with me crashing into it. It's like slapstick comedy. The autopilot let me crash into stuff blocking its path so I gave up on that too.

The few times I managed to get to a planet, I couldn't enjoy exploring, knowing I will have to pilot this spaceship again. When I think about having to be at a specific location at a specific time, it fills me with horror. Moving in lower/zero gravity is also not enjoyable for me.

I want to love this game so bad but I just can't. I know this game is a one-time experience so I am torn on what to do.

Are my problems with this game so fundamental that I should just give up and watch someone else's playthrough on YouTube? Or are my experiences in a normal range and I should keep trying until the movement clicks with me?

I fear that the longer I wait the higher the chance that I randomly encounter a huge spoiler somewhere in the internet.

Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any recommendations, advice or feedback

Edit: Thanks a lot everyone! I will give it another shot and use a combination of autopilot and manual movement. If that doesn't work I'll look at some mods. If that also doesn't work I'll give up and just watch someone else play it. I feel like I'm extra bad at this because my spacial awareness sucks in real life too. Can't tell if a car in the distance is moving or parked and if it's moving how fast. Don't worry I never even bothered to try to get a driving license lol