Usually, I can't be bothered to write a review, but I enjoyed Summer Heat, and I appreciate the developer's work and ambition on the project, so here's a 'proper' one:
PROS:
- Finally, a developer who understands how crucial the 'visual' part of a 'visual novel' truly is. The renders and animations are used as the primary vehicle for storytelling, successfully replacing long text paragraphs. You can understand character motivations and reactions by their facial expressions or mannerisms. It's a sort of a big deal, considering how many developers release smut games with bad writing but make no effort to use the other strenghts of the medium to their advantage.
- The visuals themselves are top-notch, arguably the best in the biz for now. Impressive render work and animations with very high attention to detail, seen even in the UI. Subpar renders or animations are few and far in-between.
- I liked the implementation of music and different ambient sounds. They are used to complement the visuals and open up every scene, but in a way that mostly makes sense. There's no monotonous royalty-free/elevator music playing from start to finish. It's a quiet game.
- The characters are distinctive. Even those presented in a negative light are sympathetic enough without becoming an annoyance.
- There's a somewhat subtle brooding feeling and creepiness to the story, which I liked, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
CONS:
- The writing is a hit-and-miss. It gets the job done and works well enough for telling the story, but it's generally uninspired. There's no engrish or similar hilarity, which is always a plus.
- There was a lack of player choice a few times in the story where there should have been.
- And finally, the big one - slow updates. Two years of development have passed, with only one in-game day of content released. It's safe to say there won't be a completed tag soon, if ever.
Overall, the game is a top-tier 3DCG title and a must-play.
5/5