Nostalgia is a tricky force to harness. There’s nothing wrong with looking back fondly on the past, but getting lost in the feeling can leave you numb to the here and now. The My Summer Vacation series has always walked that fine line, lovingly re-creating the vibes of summers long past while highlighting the beauty of nature that remains in the present. New on Nintendo Switch, the spiritual successor to that life sim series addresses nostalgia a bit more directly, while still maintaining the simple joy of a lazy summer.
You could see Shin chan: Shiro and the Coal Town as a game made up almost entirely of fetch quests. You’ll spend most of your time in the game catching bugs and fish, searching for machine parts, and trading all of your discoveries back and forth with a large cast of NPCs. But rather than feeling like drudgery, Shiro and the Coal Town is a laid-back treat thanks to its clever writing and the immaculate atmosphere of its world — well, worlds.
Shiro and the Coal Town begins with your character, Shin chan of the titular anime and manga series, arriving in Akita in the Japanese countryside for summer vacation. The first few days pass at a leisurely pace as your grandpa teaches you to catch the various critters that call the rural Unbent Village home and sell them off to a bug-obsessed local.
Events take a turn when Shin chan discovers a self-driving train in the woods outside his grandpa’s house. As the game’s extremely literal title spells out, hopping on the train takes Shin chan and his dog, Shiro, to a mysterious place called Coal Town. It’s immediately clear that Coal Town is more than just a stop down the road from Unbent Village.
The vast natural spaces of Akita exude a sense of calm that’s in direct opposition to Coal Town. The countryside is lovingly rendered in a lush, painterly style, with rolling hills fading into the distance and wildflowers lying in a thick layer on the ground. A far cry from the sprawling fields of Akita, Coal Town is dense and industrial, its streets crowded with buildings that tilt and lean in on each other. Every hint of nature has been paved over, and the sky is frozen in a perpetual sunset. It has its own sense of chaotic beauty, but also suffers from the consequences of industrialization, namely pollution.
Shiro and the Coal Town seems at first like it’s setting up a simple dichotomy between the beauty of rural life and the stress of the city, but it’s actually got more interesting things to say. Despite Coal Town’s problems, its citizens seem just as happy with their home as Akita’s are. In moving between two distinct environments, the rural and the industrial, Shiro and the Coal Town has a lot to say about what’s lost and gained through human progress and changing lifestyles, but never settles into easy platitudes.
In some ways, Shin chan serves as a bridge between the rural Unbent Village and the industrial Coal Town. Vegetables you grow in Akita can be turned into recipes at a restaurant in Coal Town, and the rewards you earn there can help you complete other quests back on the farm. It’s up to you whether you want to spend each in-game day in the village or in Coal Town, but whichever you choose, it will involve a lot of shuttling items around and stopping to appreciate the gorgeous views both environments offer.
While playing Shiro and the Coal Town is a chill experience that’s all about basking in vibes, it’s got clearer goals and a good deal more to say than similar life sims like Animal Crossing. Even if the game’s deeper messages don’t win you over, it’s hard to imagine not being charmed by its silly sense of humor and strikingly beautiful art. Its slow pace and daily routine make Shiro and the Coal Town the perfect game to play a little at a time over weeks or months, so like Shin chan, you can experience its version of a summer that seems to last forever.
