A new game called Été, seven years in the making, captures the essence of Montreal

Summer is a time of metamorphosis in Montreal. It’s the well-earned reward for having endured the winter, the city covered in a blank, white blanket of snow. So there’s no irony lost in this indie, watercolour game Été, where you bring colour to the city through your paintbrush.

Creative director Lazlo Bonin was born and raised in Montreal, and it shows. “With many months of harsh winter in between each of them, it seems like the city suddenly comes alive during the season, everyone scrambling to seize as much of the moment as they can,” he says.

In Été, your landlady Marianne welcomes you to your apartment — the third floor of a traditional Plateau-style walkup. You collect colourful bubbles as you paint over the world with the reticle, which fills a petal meter. A full petal is like a painting power-up that adds colour to a larger area.

Marianne is your only contact when you arrive in Montreal, and she immediately hustles you for all your cash in a sketchy rental scheme: your “furnished” apartment has no furniture except a fridge and stove, which is the most authentic Montreal experience by far.

Beyond your bedroom window, the sweet summer sounds of the cicadas, the neighbour’s wind chime and construction vehicle backing up ring through the air. Orange and white traffic cones line the streets. The café feels like the original Cagibi on St-Laurent (RIP) and you can collect items like the Quebec flag and the STM logo. Iconic Montreal landmarks include the Mile End water tower, the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Monument (aka the high-fiving angel), victorian turrets and Plateau architecture.

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The gameplay is cozy yet satisfying. This is a calming game that feels like a therapeutic colouring book. Roam the alleyways, befriend a random cat, chat with locals and get supplies at the dep or market.

With a fully functional in-game painting module, you can create stamp-based paintings by integrating the objects, colours, hues and dyes that you have discovered in the world. You explore to find more stuff to make paintings with, then auction or barter your work for cash around town

Use your cash to buy maple syrup, croissants and furniture for your new apartment, of course. Arrange things wherever you want — spend your time getting through the story, furnishing your home, painting and selling your art or filling in the whole world with colour. If only life were this easy.

Interact with the NPCs to learn about your neighbourhood and, of course, the drama between characters. It’s really a journey of discovery. At the end of each day, you get a recap of how you’ve done and which story missions you’ve completed.

The soundtrack is playful and cabaret-style, led by piano, strings and xylophone, peppered with tuba, accordion, horns, woodwinds and flutes. Depending on the mood or time of day, there is whimsy everywhere, as the world in Été is unique and full of possibility.

This game is very, very cute and one gets easily lost in it. There are daily quests along the main story path, but other than wondering if you can romance your downstairs neighbour Pierre-Alexandre, you are encouraged more than anything to paint and embody the joie de vivre that makes Montreal the special city that it is.

Montreal-based studio Impossible Games took seven years to develop this title, and that dedication is apparent. This is a well crafted, deliberate experience that captures the essence of our city.

Toronto may have the raccoon sim Trash Panda, but Montrealers should be extremely proud of the homage to our city in Été. ■

Été is available now on Steam. This article was originally published in the Aug. 2024 issue of Cult MTL.

For more Montreal arts coverage, please visit the Arts & Life section.