Chill painting game Été beautifully captures summertime in Montreal

There's nothing quite like a summer inMontreal. After several brutal winter months, the city bursts to life and its residents make the very most of the warmer weather. Été (French for «summer») is a relaxing slice-of-lifegame that deftly captures the essence of Montreal at this time of year, warts and all.

You play as an artist who is spending the summer in La Metropole. The first order of business is to set up an easel in your apartment, which has little else but a mattress in it, no thanks to your somewhat brusk landlord. Once you have learned the basic controls, it's time to explore your new surroundings.

This version of Montreal is effectively your canvas. It's colorless at first, almost as if it's covered in snow. You can fill this world with watercolor, a little at a time. Developer Impossible pulls off a smart trick here as each object you color becomes a stamp that you can use in your paintings — your artist character is literally taking inspiration from the world around them.

I spent several hours ignoring the main missions and exploring the various levels, enjoying myself as I restored color to a market, alleyway, front yard and park. Just like moving into a new city or neighborhood, the more I explored (and colored in) the world around me, the easier it became to navigate. And as with much of life in this city, you do things at your own pace.

While the narrative is fairly paint-by-numbers, the characters of Été are surprisingly rich for such a short game (it would only take a few hours to beat by focusing on the main story). Montreal is a melting pot and the game does a deft job of reflecting that in its NPCs. The characters you encounter may be gruff, friendly or a mix of both, and you'll run into more than a few arguments.

Talking to the people you encounter is a smart idea, since they'll often commission you to paint something for them with specific elements included. So if you've yet to find all the letters and symbols for an «I heart MTL»