VN - Ren'Py - Summer Heat [v0.6] [Naughty Fox Games]

Luh calm game, nun too opulently ostentatious. Came for a story, and it delivered. Sound design, visuals, and UI are remarkable. The characters have a lot of depth, and the dialogue felt NPC-like at first, but it got better later in the game. The flirty glances were a bit weird and repetitive, but I didn't mind them. There is no impact to your choices or any available routes, and I hope that gets addressed in future updates. I like how you can change the color and font of your name and how every character has their favorite color as their name and/or clothing and/or accessories. Undoubtedly going into one of my favorites.

One of the games with the most promising graphics! I know only a handful of games with models like here and this is truly my top 1. The new update has exactly the right amount on content, but sadly that it took and the next update will take so long. But i guess so nice graphics consume a lot of time.
Cant wait for the next update!

Review as of [v0.5] for Summer Heat by Naughty Fox Games


SPOILER-FREE REVIEW


My Synopsis:
Step into the shoes of a 19-year-old photographer, alongside your trusted companions, Mike and Mia, as you venture into the captivating town of Rosewood. This picturesque town offers a haven for creativity, where you'll refine your photography skills and uncover the hidden mysteries that lurk beneath its serene exterior.

Amidst the enchanting landscapes, you'll forge new friendships and perhaps even find love. But Rosewood has its secrets, and your journey will intertwine with enigmatic tales, leaving you with choices to either unravel the town's mysteries or remain an observer. Through this artistic odyssey, you'll navigate the complex tapestry of art, friendship, and discovery, forever changed by the secrets of Rosewood.

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Renders – The character designs in this visual novel are a cut above the rest. Unlike many others, they use distinct models for various characters, which adds a lot to the game's appeal.

In the recent updates, I'm truly amazed by their utilization of lighting and skin texture. The way they incorporate lighting dramatically enhances the appearance of the characters' skin, accentuating their skin pores and achieving an impressive level of realism at times.

Furthermore, the developers' deft utilization of the first-person perspective is nothing short of exceptional, a rare feat in this genre. This perspective lends a unique depth and intimacy to the narrative, allowing players to forge a profound connection with the protagonist, and further feel the intimacy with the love interests, which is indeed a praiseworthy achievement.

The environments and ambiance almost always feature vibrant colors, a multitude of gradients, and consistently match the summer concept, even in locations where it might seem challenging to achieve. Well done, developers.

Story – This visual novel is all about its storytelling. Right now, it's really focused on developing the characters and building the world.

I've been enjoying the plot's direction, with its elements of mystery and intrigue, and I'm curious about where it's heading, potential conflicts, and maybe even some more explicit scenes.

What's cool is that each character has their own distinct personality, making them easy to tell apart, which not every developer manages to do.

The pacing is very slow, in the story, it hasn't even been three days. Probably, only a day and a half has passed? Not even. BUT, while playing it, it didn't even feel like the story's dragging on. The story's very compact and it seems like there's a lot going on which seems important. And it's very entertaining.

The art of "show, not tell" has been vividly demonstrated. There are instances where other writers might have resorted to words to depict a character's emotions; instead, they employ the portrayal of the character's facial expressions to effectively convey their intended message. Truly brilliant.

Animations – There isn't much to say about in-game animations because there aren't many of them. However, when they do appear, they're done really well and blend seamlessly into the game.

Despite the limited animations, the game shines in the sound department. I'll discuss this further in the sound category, where the soundscapes really deserve a closer look.

Sounds – It's absolutely flawless, a perfect 10 in every regard.

I often find myself pleasantly surprised by the quality of the sound effects (SFX) in this game. Every time you click and move to the next scene, there are well-placed sound effects. For instance, in scenes where characters hold hands, there's a subtle touch sound effect, which adds a nice touch of realism. There's also a scene with three characters talking in a room, and one of them is about to leave. However, the camera angle is focused on the other two, so it doesn't show the character leaving. Instead, the devs cleverly use a door opening and closing SFX, which enhances player immersion in the environment.

For those who typically play Adult Visual Novels (AVNs) with the sound off, I highly recommend trying this one with the sound on and avoiding muting it. The sounds are a key part of the game's appeal and contribute to its unique personality.

UI – Their user interface excelled. There are hints for keybindings, such as pressing TAB to fast-forward, which new players might not be aware of. There's an in-game walkthrough that provides choices to advance relationships with characters. Furthermore, there are subtle cues where choices, when hovered over with the mouse, are color-coded to match the favorite color of the love interests.

Additionally, the theme of the user interface (UI) seamlessly adhered to the established color palette of the game, adding a unique and delightful aspect to the overall experience.

Grammar – It's quite good. I just saw one, maybe two errors, so it's evident that the developer dedicated time to thorough proofreading.

Dev - The developer has been open to suggestions, and as a result, changes are routinely made.

Conclusion:
I'm awarding it five stars and eagerly anticipating how the developer will further develop the strong foundation they've established for the plot as it unfolds.

Easily one of the best of the newer adult games out. The visuals alone are fantastic, but the writing really helps sell them. The pace so far has been outstanding, with there being a lot of smoldering, sexual chemistry with many of the love interests. We're five chapters in and it doesn't feel like the writing has been deliberately dragging at all.

The subplot going on, that comes roaring into focus at the end of chapter 5, is intriguing and feels unique enough that you can't just guess at what's going on. There's some genuine mystery there, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story leads.

If I had one complaint, it would be that there's not a lot of diversity among the women in the game. At least, not physically. While they each definitely have their own personality, appearance-wise they're remarkably similar to one another. This is a minor gripe, though, and one that doesn't significantly detract from the game.

All in all, definitely worth your time.

As someone who's taken a closer look at this game, I can appreciate the craftsmanship that's gone into the character renders. The attention to detail is undeniable, and the array of characters adds depth to the visuals.

That said, I'm sharing my personal take, and I must admit that the heavy reliance on the slice-of-life genre doesn't align with my preferences. Roughly half of the in-game conversations come across as unremarkable, and the remaining half often feels like filler content. By chapter 6, I had hoped for a more substantial, overarching plot to emerge, but it remains elusive.

It's crucial to bear in mind that this review reflects the current state of the game. It remains a work in progress, and I can see the potential it holds. I'm not writing it off entirely.

I'll continue playing for the sake of the character renders, which are undoubtedly praiseworthy. However, if you're seeking a more profound narrative, it might be wise to await further developments. This review remains subject to change as the game matures and evolves.

Awesome game. Usually don't like these college slice of life type games but the dialogue is pretty immersing, does a really good job of showing things that don't need to be said (something more "visual" novels need to realize) , and it's just got a really relaxing yet never boring atmosphere about it. The characters are all pretty distinct , a few of them are a bit one note(so far) but its really not a big deal. Oh and obviously the renders are great. Can't wait for more

The game is fantastic.
Its funny, fantastic character building and has great renders.
The only downside i can see so far is that there isn't more of it and the fact that i have to wait for more.
I cant wait for the next release.
Keep up the great work

Once again I wish the rating system had more increments as I hate handing out fives, but flat 4 doesn't feel like enough. 4.5 feels good. The potential for this game cannot be overstated. Excellent visuals (renders and animation), charming and beautiful LIs, simple but engaging and interesting story despite being in the very early stages.

I'm VERY excited for the continuation of this one. I think it's going to be something special. Hopefully a highlight in the years to come.

what a banger, this is one of the games that make you stay for the story. beautiful renders, insanely cute girls and well written dialogue. can't wait for the next update to come, so i will patiently write a review for it.

If this game has one thing going for it it’s that it’s pretty, the characters are great models and are probably what drew you to click on it in the first place.
But I just wish the story had a bit more momentum to it. They’re kind of just meandering along and I’m not expecting things to get properly hot and heavy with most of the girls for a long time.
It’s also more or less ticking the cliché boxes for character types, but I’m holding my breath we at least get some subversion down the line.
Overall It’s an inoffensive story with really good art that struggles to be anything that special to me, it’s got potential but it needs to pick up the pace a bit imo.

Pros:

Renders are high quality. Girls are very good looking. Even though a few of the milfy ones aren't my type... I can't deny objectively quality of graphics and animations are really good. It's not "THE BEST EVER" as some have said. But it's way above average for a Ren'Py game.

Slowburn games are cool, the minor jealously and competitive dynamic between girls makes for an appealing progression. Some VN's have this effect where you start to really like the characters, this game has that appeal 100%.

Cons:

Lack of content and sexual content. Chapters fly by with basically nothing happening, the game at times feels like a big tease. Is there going to be a point to Mr Miller? Such a weird character. It feels dev is leaving some characters and the story very open ended and I'm wondering if they even know where it's going at this point...

Dialogue and girls are a bit one dimensional. It often breaks 4th wall where you become a bit too aware they are just pixels there for MC's enjoyment.

Lack of real choice, as per above...I feel if the choices actually made some girls dislike or hate you. It might help fix the flat one dimensional dialogue and story if there was actual good/bad choices that pushed some girls away and some toward you. I don't see this being a Harem game, so it might be a good way to go.

Overall I still liked it 4/5. It's one of those games where it could go either way. The cons can all be fixed or turned around with good updates . So I'll checkback here in a year and this could easily be a solid game. Good-luck to dev!

i really like it, renders are honestly good and characters are pretty interesting. however there's barely any content currently and it's really just an introduction, a prologue. maybe with future updates it could be really good.

It is a game that is totally worth it, from the beginning of a game you see its quality with the first render. I love the themes that the developer plans to bring; I totally recommend it, the only bad thing is the duration of each chapter and in general

This is a game everyone should check out and I am really looking forward to how the devs will improve on a solid foundation they have built.
The writing in the game is good and is in a lot of cases very clever and funny.
The character models in this game is probably one of the best once I have every seen, they are unique and pretty.
With that said the game is great and I am looking forward to the next update.

v0.4.1

Up to this point, visuals look amazing, and also story seems like it will be something meaningful, rather than another gotta-fuck-'em-all type of game. I'm very much interested in how it will gonna develop and have high hopes for it.

...and here comes the BUT. Despite version being 0.4 and few thousand of renders, what we have now, it's barely an introduction and nothing more. We just met (all?) main characters and didn't even learn much about them, just exchanged greetings, and that's it. So while it looks very promising, I can't give it max rating just yet. It's definitelly worth to try, but for like a 30 minutes of gameplay, it's not really worth being 5-star game.


So.. While I do have high hopes for this, after experiencing dissapointment multiple times with other titles, it's solid 4/5 with high potential.

This really surprised me, I thought it would be just another light-hearted bonk-fest, which it is, but it's also more and really left a mark in my memory.

First of all, the art is fantastic. Some of the best I've seen on this site or others. Models look unique and beautiful, backgrounds are believable and fit the scenes brilliantly.

Speaking of things fitting the scenes, dialogue feels really natural and truly enjoyable to follow along with and the situations, while nothing earth shattering, just feel comfortable and homey.

Sex scenes, at least at the time of leaving this review, are few and far between but feel all the more rewarding for it when you do stumble on one. Here's hoping for more of the same in the future.

I've been trying to rack my brain for a reason to not give this game full points and I just can't find any, nor do I really have any constructive criticism, I just really like everything about it.

Really enjoyed this. Decent writing, excellent renders, nice variety of characters (personalities and faces are quite distinct, though a little more variety in body shape would be good). Looking forward to more.

Dialogue is unfortunately a constant pain in various Adult VNs, be it contrivances, unfunny and untimely jokes, pacing issues and many more. But at the end of the day, you are playing these games for the porn, not the prose.
This game is a first thought, the dialogue in this game is so bad that instead of making me want to skip like others badly written novels, it made me want to stop playing entirely.
As an example of early conversation that happened in the game, paraphrased:
FL: Do you remember my name?
MC: No lmao
FL: No how could you, wait you joking haha lmao, but I remember yours.
MC: No lmao
FL: what?! Oh no I got got again lmao
This may seem overly negative but if you play the game you will know the scene if you play through it. I am to believe that this is a story about young adults ready to shag each other, but the dialogue makes it seem like I am watching children flirting with each other.
Maybe if you start the game by skipping through it you can enjoy the renders and leave with a better impression but otherwise, be prepared for the most juvenile game on this site.

Long story short: This game has the best character models I have ever seen in an AVN, the story has some intrigue, but the characters are a little cliched and behave in unusual ways, leading to some bad dialogue.

I want to congratulate the developer on the character models because they are so much better than their closest rival that it is hard to believe they are using Daz3D at all. Only Kaylee in Projekt Passion comes close to the quality here.

The environments are also quite exceptional, from the run down little shopping precinct, to the house and fields behind it, I have never seen a 'real world' setting look so good in an AVN.

The UI is fantastic and alleviates a lot of the boredom I was feeling with the standard ren'py layout. There's some really good graphic design work.

There's a few nice mysteries here, with the behaviour of the male tutor, the empty buildings out in the fields, and the reasons why the camp went FUBAR in the days before the story begins. I hope this isn't just a reason to reduce the number of characters, but actually ties into the plot.

The bad is that a lot of short cuts are taken. Instead of having scenes developing relationships in a believable way, some of the girls just teleport ahead and start behaving in ways that are completely inappropriate to the time they have spent with the MC. This inevitably leads to some rough dialogue that is painful to read.

Because I put such an emphasis on dialogue and character, I have to dock two stars. Which is a shame, because all the technical and visual art elements are as close to perfect as you can get. I hope to see some improvement to the characterisation and dialogue in the next update.

My favorite VN despite the little content there is so far. The renderings are so beautiful and I have often re-listened to the sex scene aviable until now in the game.

Very excited to see what's nextl!!