Summer Story is a renovation game that features a bubble-popping element. The player helps a woman named Kate repair, demolish, reconstruct and decorate an island mansion and property that she inherited from an uncle. The property is so run down that she needs help renovating literally everything. Her cat, Snowflake, assists the player with earning pink stars used in trade for renovations by completing bubble-popping tasks, such as freeing birds encased with bubbles. The player also earns gold bars as another form of currency that helps them buy extra renovations.
During the bubble-popping and bird-freeing side games, the player receives a ring shooter with two projectiles above a blue whirlpool. They use a laser aiming line that matches the color of the main projectile to target a cluster of two or more matching bubbles. When they make a hit, the game drops the bubbles into the whirlpool.
Summer Story rewards the player. They then use the pink stars to perform renovations. For example, they might pay for the reconstruction of the roof with a star. The game usually offers a free option to speed up the renovation.
