TANUKI: Pon’s Summer Review - The laziest hero you’ll love

While I do enjoy and play a lot of indie titles when I need a break from the AAA games or multiplayer madness I sometimes indulge in, I never really expected to be cosplaying a mailman, and not a regular one, but one that does some sick BMX tricks.

It’s a bit out there to combine delivering mail, which could be looked at like a somewhat boring job, with an activity that is usually tied to the younger generations, mostly the rebellious parts of it. Have you ever seen a mailman wheelie? Well, me neither, until I played this game. Now that I think about it, if mailmen did these tricks while they delivered our post, maybe more kids would want to be like them.

TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is cosy, cute, and full of personality, and its Japanese influence is more than obvious right from the start. It’s the kind of game that doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s there to make you laugh, smile, and give you a relaxing place to unwind for a while.

A tanuki on a mission

Let’s get one thing straight first. While you might think otherwise (like I did), Pon is not a raccoon. He’s actually a tanuki, which is a Japanese raccoon dog. Despite the name and the mask-like markings, they are not even related to raccoons, but are part of the dog family, closer to foxes and wolves. In Japanese folklore, they are known as mischievous, shapeshifting tricksters, and their statues - usually with round bellies and straw hats - are a common sight outside shops and restaurants in Japan, where they’re considered to bring good luck.

Now that we got that out of the way, our main character is a tanuki named Pon. He’s somewhat lazy, good-hearted, but not really a trickster. If he had the choice, he’d rather sit in his room, eat snacks and play video games. However, the Great Tanuki Festival is approaching, and the local shrine is, well, in horrible condition. It needs to be fixed, and the animal to do that is no one but Pon. To do that, he needs money, which he had in the shrine’s secret fund, but that was all used up by the usual (and only one) suspect. So now he needs a job. And since no one else wants to hire him, he manages to secure a post at the post office.

And from there, he’s running around the island and delivering parcels, meeting villagers, and helping them with their requests, while the money he earns goes into repairing the shrine. Along the way, there are friendships built, the shrine gets restored and decorated, and things are getting ready for the big festival.

The island itself is fictional, but it’s inspired by real Japanese places such as Kyoto, Aomori, Sapporo, and Beppu. Guiding you through the game is a narrator, which is later revealed to be Danzapon, the great tanuki god and one of Pon’s ancestors.

There aren’t any serious topics explored here. There is a lot of funny dialogue, and the characters’ humour plays a big role in the overall atmosphere of the game. There is something really funny about a chubby, clumsy tanuki rolling around on a bike and being responsible for saving the day. Both the game and the protagonist have a lot of charm and personality, and it shows in every interaction.

Wheelies and wonders

TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is a cosy and open-world adventure and life-simulation game that combines relaxing atmosphere, everyday activities, BMX exploration and tricks, and a Japanese slice-of-life adventure.

At the heart of it all sits delivering the mail. You pick up packages and put them in your storage, arranging them so they can all fit, think kind of Resident Evil style. Some deliveries are easy and straightforward, while others lead to little stories and activities with the villagers. Each town also has its own quests and objectives, although I did notice that sometimes, if the activities turn into fetch quests, it can feel a bit repetitive.

You’re delivering it all on your cool BMX, and riding it is really fun. You can jump off ramps, perform flips and tricks, grind along rails, pull wheelies, race, and complete time trials. There are over 100 BMX challenges scattered across the island, with different difficulty levels. The controls can feel a bit stiff at times, but jumping around and pulling off tricks is still a blast, and you won’t feel bored riding through the world.

While this world isn’t huge, it has charm and there is still a lot to explore. You’ve got beaches, coastal areas, mountains, villages, the shrine, and the surrounding countryside, all with a cute minimap to help you out if you get stuck. Exploring on two wheels, you’ll discover shortcuts, meet unusual characters, find new activities and quests, and learn more about the island as you deliver. The more you ride around, the more the residents turn into familiar faces, and your relationships with them develop.

The money that you earn goes back into rebuilding the shrine, and that’s where the cosy side of the game shines. You can place decorations, choose furniture and objects, paint parts of it, add stickers, and customise it however you like, making it look beautiful again in time for the big festival.

There are plenty of mini-games to break things up too, including sumo wrestling, sushi making, cooking, fishing, bug catching, baseball, bartending, and a few others. I found them fun and not too demanding, which felt fine as this is an easy-going, cosy game. There’s always Dark Souls for anyone who wants a real challenge.

If you’re an Animal Crossing fan, you’ll enjoy the bug and fish collecting. You can unlock a fishing rod, an insect-catching net, and a collection encyclopedia, then explore different parts of the island to catch fish and insects for your collection.

Pon can also get different hats, some of which are referencing other indie games, such as Silksong, Hollow Knight, and PEAK.

Overall, the gameplay isn’t all that deep, and you’ll breeze through most of what the game throws at you. But that isn’t really the point, this game is about taking it easy and enjoying the ride.

Rock'n'roll on two wheels

The visuals are colourful and charming, and the art style matches them perfectly. It’s a 3D mix of a Japanese film, a cosy Nintendo game, and a storybook. You’ll encounter bright colours, soft lighting, chunky outlines, Japanese-inspired architecture, and beautiful countryside scenery coming together in a style that’s simple and very pretty.

Pon himself is very cute and fun to watch. He has different reactions when he interacts with characters and cute movements when he’s on his bike or just walking. There is a lot of physical comedy present, as he never really says a word but replies with facial expressions and emotions. That’s all he needs anyway.

There’s no traditional voice acting here; instead, the characters communicate through little expressive sound effects, which suit the game’s charm and give everyone some personality. Everything you hear around you, from the ambient sounds to the general buzz around town, makes you feel like you’re in Japan. They painted a convincing and cute picture.

The soundtrack is nice, and my favourite thing about it is how it changes depending on what you’re doing. It’s going to be relaxing and mellow while you’re walking, but as soon as you hop on your BMX, it transforms into upbeat rock, with guitars and drums. Some people might feel like the music gets repetitive after a while, but I really enjoyed having it with me as I travelled around.

Regarding performance, I have nothing to complain about; my PlayStation had no problems while running it.

Signed, sealed, delivered

TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is the kind of game that’ll make you laugh, smile, and simply have fun. It’s comforting, charming, and relaxing, and it never really asks for much of you, except to simply enjoy your time while you’re playing.

It isn’t perfect, though. The controls can feel a bit stiff, some quests get repetitive, and the gameplay isn’t all that philosophical and deep, but none of that really gets in the way of what the game does best, and that’s letting you ride around a beautiful island, discover new tricks and things to do, and spend time with a cast of characters you’ll grow genuinely fond of.

If you’re after a challenge or a massive open-world game, this one isn’t for you. But if you’re looking for something to unwind with after a long day, a game you can pick up anytime, ride around for a while, and put down feeling a bit lighter, then this is a great fit.

I wasn’t sure what I would get with this game, as I usually do I found it cute and went for it, but I found myself having fun while riding around, doing tricks and whatnot, and being the best mailman that I could be.