UPDATE: Played through the 0.5 - my rating of 3/5 remains the same.
All of my previous points still stand - the game looks amazing*, has well-done UI and SFX, and writing is clear of any obvious mistakes.
Unfortunately, this is still a chore to play through. The dialogue is "meh" at best, the characters feel far too acquainted with MC despite extremely short time-frame (less than 24 in-game hours), and we're adding more characters that aren't properly fleshed out.
We got a second-ever full-on sex scene, but it felt extremely awkward to me, having almost no "sex appeal". We got a couple new characters that have almost no bearing on the plot. We got a new "mysterious" bad guy that has absolutely no bearing on what's going on.
And, lastly, we have the final scene of the update (starring Mia) that left me completely befuddled as to why it happened. She suddenly jumped weeks into the future of her relationship with MC and gave him a handjob and a blowjob. What.
Overall, I cannot fully recommend this game. Not yet.
* Pretty much all images in the 0.5 are compressed a little too hard and that leaves some character models (especially the face and neck area) looking oddly blurry and sometimes even blocky. Really odd choice for a game that has clearly talented artists behind it.
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Reviewed version: 0.4.1
Let me be absolutely clear: the audio-visual design of Summer Heat is excellent. Very much in the top-of-the-line category with titles such as City of the Broken Dreamers, Dreamland or ACQUAINTED. Beautiful renders, easy to use GUI, and overall polish in this department. Also, props for error-free writing - it's obvious that the text was proofread by someone knowledgeable.
That being said, the rest of this visual novel is... subpar, to put it simply. Why? Let me explain.
Characters. Oh my sweet Lord, it feels as if the devs decided to "draw 25" rather than use non-cliche, memorable LI's (or even side characters) in the story.
We've got: the "shy and obviously-in-love" childhood friend, the "trust me, bro" best friend, the "edgy and mysterious" girl who almost instantly warms up to MC despite her "long-standing trauma", the "(...) and they were roommates (...)" girls with one being "cheerful and bubbly" and the other not. Sure, we get to know them better during the "playground" section, but it's far from perfect or enough.
Then again, the MC is inoffensive (he's neither clueless nor genuinely interesting), the "art camp" couple has some intrigue brewing (but there's not enough focus on them so I can't tell how it's going to play out) and the "car lady" is absolutely unequivocally fire (don't @ me).
One thing that bugs me and combines the two aforementioned points: Why in the hell all female characters look at the MC so... suggestively? There's this constant "smirk" on their faces that looks jarring and makes me feel at little uneasy as a player/viewer.
The next "meh" part of the game - Pacing. I don't know what the plan is, but after four "major" updates and thousands of renders we barely progressed in the single day. That makes me skeptical/worried about how long this game will be developed for. I get that perfection takes time, but some people will simply forget about the title if it takes years to complete.
Combine it with two "okay-ish" teasing scenes and one (admittedly top-notch) sex scene and you have a slow-burn mess that doesn't yet know which way to progress. Is there something more behind the cold facade of the husband? Is the camp actually a mysterious "hunting ground"? And what the fuck is that "ugly" girl doing there?
Just wait a couple more months. Maybe then we'll know more. Or maybe we'll just get another hour of... summer heat(stroke).