I love delivery games. From trekking up mountains with a baby strapped to my chest in Death Stranding, to the considerably more laidback experience of Lake, I love connecting characters by bringing them stuff. TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is a cute entry into this weird sub-genre, and while certain elements didn’t gel with me as much as I’d hoped, it makes up for it by being stuffed with charm.
This starts with the titular Pon himself. Before I previewed the game I thought it was going to be a cute, cosy time riding about on my bike delivering packages as a chunky little raccoon. While that is technically true, Pon is more of a lovable rogue, and easily my highlight of the entire game. He’s the custodian of the local shine which he’s let fall into disrepair, spending the money squirreled away for maintenance on video games and generally shirking his duties and raising hell on his BMX instead.
If this were set in the UK he’d have an ASBO and probably an ankle-monitor too. With a big festival coming up though, he’s given a month by the Great Tanuki God to revitalise the temple and so gets a job at the local post office, delivering mail and helping the townsfolk with a huge number of different errands to raise spirits and capital to repair the shrine.
Pon might be a little layabout but he’s also incredibly cute. He’s got a slightly boxy ungainliness to him: when you sprint he awkwardly splays his arms out, and when you pop an ollie on your BMX he squishes down before springing back up. It’s delightful, and even for all his faults you can’t help but love him now that he’s trying to make things right. Conversations will often let you choose between one of two options to progress them, and while there’s never any dialogue for Pon, your options are marked with adorable little emojis of his face letting you know if you’re agreeing or disagreeing. It’s a lovely system and it’s clear how much love and care was put into making Pon the scamp he is.
While your day-to-day routine generally consists of delivering mail, this often feels secondary to all the adventures you have along the way. After collecting your mail from the post office you’ll usually have 3-5 objectives for the day, and although some of these will be simple deliveries, they instead often lead to quirky encounters with the colourful characters working and living nearby. A simple delivery to the unscrupulous owner of a local arcade might need you to then go and collect some dodgy goods before he’ll accept the delivery, threatening to dock your compensation if anything is damaged.
There are constant diversions like this, leading to Pon getting in situations completely unsuitable for a tanuki, such as assembling sushi, pulling pints, transporting frail elderly people, refuse disposal and many more. They’re all accompanied by minigames, and while they didn’t all appeal to me, none of them ever outstay their welcome and you’re back on your bike before long.
Much of your game is spent on your trusty BMX, and while it allows you to get around the (surprisingly large) map at some pace, I have to admit I never quite felt in control of the thing. Controls are odd, with the left stick used for movement, including acceleration, while RT/LT are for boosting/braking accordingly. This strange combination combined with the floaty physics can make you feel like you’re skating across the world more often than not, especially when spinning, flipping and tricking your way to your destination.
The world’s packed full of ramps, grind rails, quarter pipes and other installations that are just begging to be used, but I often found myself keeping both wheels planted on the ground as it made it more efficient and less frustrating to get to my destination. That said, there’s a surprising variety in the tricks you can do, and between flips, grinds and wheelies you can build up some serious lines that wouldn’t feel out of place in any extreme sports game. There are BMX challenges all over the map for those that want to test their skills, but these weren’t really my cup of tea.
When you’re not out on your bike you’ll be back at the shrine putting your hard-earned cash to good use. Completing missions unlocks new items in the catalogue which can then be purchased and installed in/around the shrine to create your ideal layout. There’s no limit on how many items you use, so you could fill the entire thing with vending machines or giant statues of sumo wrestlers if you want.
For those of us that like to take things a little more seriously, there are options to build walls so you can section out areas of the shrine to build seating areas, amusement areas etc. It’s neat, and while I never spent much time with it, it’s nice for those that love customisation.
While I didn’t quite connect with TANUKI: Pon’s Summer mechanically, I loved the way it looks and sounds. Visuals are bright and cheerful with chunky outlines on the characters and a ton of variety in the NPCs. Everyone feels distinct and their expressive faces help you through the many, many conversations the game constantly throws at you.
Nintendo fan will be pleased to know that TANUKI: Pon’s Summer runs like a dream on Switch 2 too, with a smooth framerate and sharp visuals. I also loved the audio, and there’s a cheesy, slightly punky set of tracks that kick in once you start pedalling that fit the tone of the game well, but I was most surprised by the music while on foot. Some of these tracks feel like they’ve come straight out of Breath of the Wild, and I couldn’t help tapping my toes to them.
TANUKI: Pon’s Summer is seriously charming, and that goes a long way to papering over some of the issues I had with it. Pon is the lovable star of the show and while a month with him is enough for me, I know there’ll be people out there who want to stick around on the island long after the festival has finished.
