I’ve never really understood the bad rap summer has with gamers. Okay, sure, not a lot of games are released during the summer months, but in my opinion it’s the best time to actually play games. You have more free time, and come on, it’s not like you’re going to spend most of it outside. There’re bugs and heat and annoying people who might try to foist a game of Frisbee on you out there!

In fact, I think there are certain kinds of games that should ideally only be played during the summer months whist covered in a glistening layer of sweat. Such as…

Beach & Playstation controller via Shutterstock

A Good Meaty RPG

Being a major RPG fan I’ve of course played them during all seasons, but the ones that have really stuck with me are the ones I’ve played in marathon sessions over the summer. No other season is better for sitting down for a full afternoon of delicious grindy catatonia.

Need some suggestions? A new, sadistic-as-usual Atlus dungeon hack, Shin Megami Tensei IV hits this week, or you could grab the super beautiful Studi Ghibli RPG Ni No Kuni, which came out earlier this year. The latest Fire Emblem is pretty goddamn great as well.

A Game You’re Afraid Might Be Bad

Summer’s a time to let your hair down, take some chances and have some fun. Summer doesn’t judge man! Now’s the time to buy that game that got dumped on by reviewers, but you think looks totally fun anyways. It’s understandable if you don’t want to take a chance on something potentially bad during the holiday triple-A crush, but what do you have to lose during the summer? Currently I’m playing a lot of Game & Wario (Metacritic of 61) and having a perfectly cromulent time.

Find out if Remember Me is really as pretentious as people say. Grab that $5 copy of Resident Evil 6 and see what all the hoopla was about. Man up and play some crap!

Something Chill And Portable

Summer isn’t really a time for sweaty, challenging action gaming. It’s too humid for that s–t. No, it’s a time for immersing yourself in relaxing, undemanding games you can preferably play on the beach or in the car on the way to the cabin. Like, say, the new Animal Crossing that just came out, or a Pokemon or Harvest Moon game (any of them will do really). Build some s–t in Minecraft on your iPad. Your gaming thumbs deserve a vacation as much as the rest of you does.

All Those Sidequests You Never Got To

Forget buying any new games, just play through all those sidequests you’re usually too busy to complete other times of the year. Not only is it an economical option, but sidequests usually aren’t terribly demanding. Collect all those Zelda hearts, grab the Assassin’s Creed III Ben Franklin pages, find every one of the billion Riddler trophies in Arkham City — actually have some fun in those exquisitely crafted sandboxes you’ve barely explored.

Actually Play Through A Entire Game Of Civ

The Civilization games are so addictive and time consuming I pretty much have to pretend the series doesn’t exist during most of the year in order to, you know, remain employed and stuff. During the summer though? Forget being a functioning member of society — I’m finishing an entire Civ campaign! Lying in bed in my underwear with my laptop on my chest playing Civ all day is pretty much the definition of summer for me. Wait, did I just share too much?

How about you folks? What are your summer gaming habits? What kind of games do you think are best suited to these lazy, hazy summer months?