VN - Ren'Py - Summer Scent [v0.6.5] [The Naughty Captain]

So, first and foremost I have largely enjoyed Summer Scent. It is, in some respects, well written. The main characters are engaging and, up to point believable. In a literary sense, I ‘d say they are fairly well drawn. As a reader I find I want the best for them. They are all flawed, but likeable and appear to have an unexpected level of emotional depth, at least as far as the genre goes. The story is, again, up to a point, not without merit and serves as a suitable background for the vicissitudes of the characters. Overall, however I can’t help but see this game as a missed opportunity. It’s as if there are two, somewhat conflicted writers behind it…





One of whom seems to display a nuanced and relatively sophisticated understanding of human relationships and the other of whom simply wants to throw a spanner in the works or, very un-subtly to try to ‘spice things up’. The whole conversation between the PC, Cassie, Eve and Kelly could have been a relatively moving and even, dare I say it, profound scene (Dual Love Path) instead there is the horribly jarring and narrative breaking moment when Steve and Jane call up and have risky sex over the phone. Not really a problem in and of itself, but the fact that the somewhat intimate and vulnerable moment between the characters is highjacked by it utterly nukes all the trust and suspension of disbelief that the reader might have built up in the preceding exchange. Not to mention the fragility of the MC’c acceptance of a polyamorous relationship. The fact that both C (Cassie) and E (Eve) instantly ditch the, as advertised, difficult conversation with Kelly and the PC in favour of some utterly random conversation about sex with a total stranger, not to mention E’s sudden shift from wanting punch Kelly in the pussy to her acceptance of her as a friend is not only narrative breaking but it also renders their characters less believable in terms of the overall story ark. Are they a couple of naughty girls of no more than depth than the average porn game fucktoy only interested in salaciousness and the manipulation of the rightfully confused and overwhelmed PC, or are they two young women struggling with there burgeoning sexuality and love for the same individual? As it a reader it is very confusing. Which generally means that the writer is also confused. There is nothing wrong with introducing confusion, doubt and misdirection into a story, it is often a good thing when handled correctly. Sadly, I have to say that none of these techniques are handled well here.





I’d like to go on as, ultimately, I feel that Summer Scent is one of the few stories/games on this site that deserve proper attention. But it is late and I am tired so let me finish with the observation that if there are two or more writers behind this game then either get on the same page or do your own thing. If there is only one writer then have the courage of your convictions. It is ok to explore ‘real’ stuff in this genre. If it is a team, then focus the fuck up and decide who is in charge.

There's not a lot to love about this game, and the little there is ends up lost among the branches of the paths and needlessly contrived storylines.

For starters, the game needed to better compartmentalize it's different plots. A lot of what's there feels redundant of unnecessary, and most of this could be solved if the game trusted it's emotional weight to stand on it's own, but it doesn't do that.

Instead, you get to be bombarded with weird storylines about some Steve and some Kelly and rapist twins, all dancing around ever increasing stakes that really didn't need to be there, while ocasionally getting big ass internal monologues to remind you of the core emotional conflict that you lost track of 4 scenes ago because so did the writers. Also, it's the same monologue every time.

I understand wanting the game to tell all these stories, and that's exactly what branching paths are for, but the overlap between those paths makes no sense.

It feels to me like the writers were afraid of the game being too dull to allow it to be just one thing. And that made for a dreadful story

Renders -
Reasonable, not main pull.
Kinda turns perfect when invested.

Dialogue -
Engaging, Dev strong suit.
Never skip , different variations In same days.

Satisfaction -
Reasonable player agency, feels good moments, love story. trauma for glue.


Fetishes -
Yes

Great game.

This is my first review here, but I really wanted to tell the dev and whoever might read this review that I liked every aspect of the game... and loved most of them.

First the graphics, they are clearly top tier, especially the renders of the two (and potential third) Love Interests.

The story provides a good setting to explain why the MC is going to spend the week with three potential LIs. We also understand where they come from and discover that the narrator (ie the MC)'s view on Eve is based on biased and false assumptions, which he will have the opportunity to reconsider during the game. So even before the pursuit of an intimate path, you'll have to start fixing the past issues and build trust.

Now the building of these intimate paths is what I loved the most. Not only you can decide what kind of relation you want in an exclusive (ie not harem) path, but my favorite aspect was that by pursuing both LI (Eve and Cassie), as the bounds between them is very strong, the way you treat one of them might change the dynamic of your relationship with the other
Overall, while the story is linear (some scenes might be absent from the path you're following, but they are played in a fixed order), the writing is the best part of the game, and the diversity of relation types and all their combinations give a high replayability.

If you enjoy reading books repeatedly, this might be a good game for you. On the other hand, if you get bored replaying VNs, you'll likely be disappointed by this VN, for two reasons:

• You'll have little direct control over how the story develops.
• A single path through the story is only about six hours long.

To expand on the first point, you'll be presented with seemingly inconsequential choices that will lead to dramatically different paths and you won't know, even in retrospect, which choices lead to which outcomes. Worse, when you find that you're dissatisfied by the evolution of the relationships between the characters, you won't be able to meaningfully recover: You'll have to just go back to an earlier save.

So if you're looking for a game in which you have agency over the story, this will be a poor experience. (Since you can't tell what affect the choice you make will have, and you can't tell what affect it had, afterward, you might as well just flip a coin.) But if you want to just follow a walkthrough, or you like trying out different choices, repeatedly, to see different different paths, you might enjoy this game:

• There's convincing intimacy and affection between the characters, who are portrayed with above-average emotional depth.
• The scenes are detailed, and the characters are posed naturally, the lighting is excellent.
• The writing isn't quite fluent English, but it's close enough not to be distracting.

When considering whether you'll want to replay the game also consider that the pace of development is glacial: A single path is approximately six hours, and the game has been in development for over three years.

I'm sorry I just do not get the love for this game at all.
I hate giving negative reviews and I know first hand how much work goes into making games. However I felt after seeing such glowing reviews I'd weigh in.

The game starts with decent back story and catalysts for potential relationships.
That I'm afraid is about all the positives I can think of.

The writing doesn't feel natural for the characters.
The graphics are dated.
No animations which is fine if the pictures and/or descriptions are great, however I don't feel that here at all. It just feels like a grainy slideshow.
Limited lewd scenes.
Some really unsatisfying routes/outcomes.
Weird sexual progression with characters.

Overall I'd really struggle to recommend this game as I feel it's just been left behind on too many levels by so many other more deservingly high rated games.

v0.6.2
Pros

• Eve and Cassie are beautiful
• Good renders

Cons

• Boring drama story
• MC beta next level
• Unoriginal MC design
• Poor romance development
• Feels like a forced romance
• Sometimes characters are bipolar as f**k
• Realistic? no god no
• Lack of good and interesting choices
• Unsatisfactory choices
• Some choices are useless
• When you need a choice ... there is none
• Unsatisfactory hot scenes on some paths
• Few lewd scenes
• Lack of content on some routes
• " per update if you play a single path
• Absurd personality changes in the "dark paths" make me laugh
• If you wanna see all the content ... play again and try different choices (it's repetitive and you spend more time)

A short (I finish the current version for about 4 hours) yet interesting story to enjoy. I only choose the Dual Love Path (and I intend to only play the game this way) as it is in my opinion the best one that maximizes my wholesome mind: you are being a throuple relationship with both your sister and her best/only friend. I really love the emotional struggle and dramas the game provides with, which makes the relationship building more believable and rewarding in some senses. I don't like the developer putting efforts in creating "bad ends" contents but that's my nitpicking. The hilarious fact about MC's premature ejaculation also relates a bit of reality. Renders are very well crafted and the good story certainly makes me ignore the lack of animation.

I tried really hard to like this game but..when I played the (Eva) sub route there was 100 scenes of pussy licking (?) instead of MC doing what a normal guy whould do in that situation, when I tried the Cassie dom route it's basically all forced digusting things on the MC and no pussy licking or physical enjoyment from her.. I mean wtf? It makes no sense, I really don't know what's in the head of this dev but it kinda ruined it for me.
It's totally inconsistent.
Too bad, since all the rest is pretty good.

I don't give perfect marks very often but this game has no faults. The base storyline is super entertaining and the characters have a great depth and richness to them. The variety of paths you can play blows my mind. Each has its own uniqueness, and the way they match the 'common' scenes that tie everything together is genius. The renders are superb and the dialogue is flawless. The sex scenes are erotic and believable. I eagerly look forward to the next chapter. For anyone who likes playing 'roommate' themed games, you would be missing out if you passed this one by.

Cheers!

Have only been playing VN's for a few month's now but have quickly become hooked. There are so many types and stories, it's great that there is something for everyone. My list of favorites is growing fast and Summer Scent is now one of them at the top of the list.
In reading reviews it's clear that no game will please everyone but I do encourage all to try this one at least once. Those looking for the average fuckfest or easy harem with more straightforward motives and characters I can tell are the ones that may not have as much fun with this one, I still recommend giving it a shot though. It can be played multiple times with very different results, and the characters are few but so deep and real that I fell in love with all of them. Anyone looking for a great story with some pretty visceral moments of emotion I feel will fall in love with this one too.
The writing hit's me pretty hard with the inner dialogues, maybe I relate to some of each of them a little too much at times in my life to be healthy lol. A simple thing but the posing of each character in scenes is so real and natural that when I go through even some of my other favorite VN's now I cringe in how much this one puts them to shame.
I really can not thing of any meaningful criticisms, other than acknowledging this wont be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure is mine. I can't wait to see the story continue!

A really excellent first project which really distinguishes itself on its writing.

The characters are distinctive, believable, and well written, and the branching paths actually make a difference to the story in a significant way. It can't be understated how much better the writing and characterisation here is than the vast majority of games. Most of the time when there is an attempt at a somewhat serious story, or "emotion", it comes off as melodramatic or otherwise ridiculous given the context. Here there is none of that. Other creators should take note of how it's done.

The renders are good, and are supported by and support the story and characterisation. The lack of animation may put some people off, but I think everything else is good enough that it doesn't matter too much. If there were good animations added it could kick things up another gear and make things truly exceptional.

Finally!! A creator that understands if you can't do an animation right, don't do one at all. You can still get a 5 star game without them IMO. Renders are really good and the story is even better.

My only concern is that there are so many paths that it makes me worry if the creator will be able to get them all in. Also one of the paths is emotionally really hard to go through, but I'm still glad they allowed us to go through it. Just like choices we make in real life they a lot of times have unintended consequences.

Excellent renders, diverging paths based on your choices(this is very rare), good characterization. Really shows how far you can take even a super basic premise of young people hanging out in the summer.

This is a fantastic game if you're into the more heady aspects of erotic, combined with some good although not extraordinary renders.

Your choices REALLY matter and can radically alter the storyline. There are many fully fleshed out paths the MC can take, ranging from love to cruelty, submission to dominance. The paths are so different that the replay value is substantial, and the dialogue is well written and well considered with believable character motivations.

5/5 and absolute gem of a game. Cannot wait for future updates.

Edit: I typically go for Sandbox games over VNs because I dislike linear stories, but this story is anything but linear. Despite the lack of a sandbox the feeling of freedom is substantial. Even if you're like me and associate AVNs with mindless clicking and boredom this one is worth checking out; 5 minutes of reading will hook you and the choices MATTER.

Review v0.6.1.
Summer Scent is one those few games that I believe have the most realistic characters on this site.
It's a fantastic game, well written, dialogues are fluid and interactions do not feel cumbersome or clunky.
The story is a perfect example of "summer love", it starts normal, mundane before you find yourself tangled in a vortex of emotions and choices.
The choices are amazing, every choice you do has a weight and you can find yourself stuck in too many promises, with many paths it's a joy to experience this game (And no, I didn't use a walkthrough).
But beware if you are expecting a game where you can build yourself an harem by choosing all the girls, then this is not the game for you, characters are not mere puppets and if you cheat prepare for the consequences.
Only con that I have found is that without the incest patch it does not make much sense the problems with Eve, but that can be fixed by downloading it.
Overall incredible game, I do reccomend it, it's a waterslide of emotions that keeps you wonder till the end

This is the only game that effectively punishes you for trying to woo too many characters. (Unlike other VN's where every women is basically up for grabs or wants to be shared).

The "surprise" ending came as a bit of a shock, because it came out of no where. It's like saying: "The sun was shining as they were walking in the park and OH WHAT IS THIS, IT'S A TORNADO!! EVERYBODY IS GOING TO DIE!!".

It just felt random. But overall, if you commit to one girl I think it's a pretty sweet game.

This game is absolute masterpiece for me, it's probably the best game i've ever played ngl
I really enjoyed this exciting story, it was mind blowing sometimes
MC was a bit stupid but i understand him
Was a little scared by the comments on gamcore,but i understood that all this hate comments because of the bad ending
I expected a good game, but this game is on another level.
Thanks to developer for the best game i played so far!

I really liked the game and the first thing I want to say is:

Play it several times!

I'm getting to know the game at 0.6.1
I played with Walkthrough Mod.
Yet still I tried playing it like 5 times.
And I went for Sub Dom relationship trying to get both, for love relationship trying to get both, in both cases I failed.
I tried only Eve as sub and that was awesome,
I tried being friends only with both and going for Kelly and that was so wholesome and I was surprised what Cassie and Eve did even though I was clear about not wanting to get romantical/sexuál...

It's rare in a game that your choices matter so much and that you can go in between. It's rare that all paths are written well and sensible and the entire thing looks good.

It was fun and pleasant to play....
Though there are some complaints I have to make that you see in other reviews.
At the beginning it's a bit wierd then chapter two you get shit on heavily....
But it makes sense in the story and depending on which path you go, things change quickly...
This is not a game who will force you to go harem and enjoy it. If you wanna go harem you will have to read a lot of thoughts of MC of regret and what kind of asshole he is.

But I think all that makes sense, thats why still 5 Stars.

If I want to play a harem game that makes me proud to be in a harem from the get go I will go play parental love or midlife crisis.

But back to the game at hand:
Good Visuals
Well written
Character Growth and they stay true to themselves

Give it a try and stay a while if you don't like it at first...

the game has a strong start but right on the second day, it fizzles out!

the idea of the story is solid but the execution will only appeal to the type of guys that are into being humiliated and get off from that; because right after the first day the girls constantly berate and humiliate and threaten the MC and all he does is apologize and take it. I'm fine with bitchy girls in the game, they're actually fun, but in this game, the MC doesn't even stand up for himself a little. he just let them constantly call him "idiot" "moron" "imbecile" and threaten to hit him.
there isn't even an option to avoid these, the girls will do these things no matter what you chose and the MC won't do anything no matter what you choose!

anyway, I stopped playing cuz I don't have the patience to take days of humiliation so eventually, the girls finally start treating the MC like a human being.