VN - Ren'Py - Summer Scent [v0.6.6a Steam] [The Naughty Captain]

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.

Other than the beautiful renders , pretty LI's and a good story (in which thank god the father isn't killed off ) the best part of the game that I found is that choices have a good impact in the game. Unlike many other games there are quite few where a choice made in past affects the future consequences and this game is one of them.

This is a great game, I can't recommend it enough. Does it have flaws? Yes, it does. There are fairly frequent grammatical errors and it's overly punishing when you pick the "wrong" dialogue options. With a game this good those are fairly minor concerns though, just make sure to use a walkthrough. The game looks good, has great characters and is fucking hot. I like the limited number of LIs that the game offers, as it allows the dev to focus on quality over quantity. I also love how this game offers multiple paths for those characters, allowing you to see very different sides of them and explore different kinds of relationships with them. I think that last part might be the game's biggest selling point for me. A game where you can either share a beautiful and tender romance with your sister or turn her into a loving sub is a win in my book.

This is an excellent game, with good dialogues, solid plot (as these games go) and good characters. Also, some endings can flat your brain. I long for a game this good but with female MC. There is precious small number of them.

Honestly, Eve is the only reason i tried this again.
Tempted to give it 4 stars but my brain couldn't come in terms with my heart because he had to do the most hard work try not to get a bad ending. First of all enjoyed the summer scent and really love the Eve character, her behavior seems out of place sometimes but was cute nonetheless. Story seems quite a bit unrealistic on occasions considering the way family handled Eve and other way around.
About the paths, if you decided to be on solo with either of the girls the content gets expectedly shortened. If you choose throuple path then unavoidable lesbian waiting for you, which i don't mind at a time or few.
Sex scenes are great, i mean the intimacy of the moment is really alluring, i would have loved some animations though.
Coming to the dark endings, first of all let me say this, i absolutely wouldn't mind dark endings, provided you know what you did wrong or going to do followed by the consequences. But these surprise bad endings literally caught me off guard. Had to keep my phone with walkthrough opened in one hand and another one on keyboard, and some of the choices you won't even believe will surprise with such.
FEMDOM isn't my thing so Cassie is off the menu.

@The Naughty Captain Many thanks for a simply great game. 100% more than I expected when I started to play it. The best part is the story telling, simply superb and at times very moving (shitty childhood memories which never really go away); both good (story still progressing) and bad endings but of which are well handled (I haven't played the hate options). Many decisions matter which is unusual in a story-type game.
Although Eve is the MC's adoptive sister (from a close family friend) I fully get that Eve and the MC would have viewed each other as brother and sister. Therefore I fully get the issues with the MC being an arse in school (such feelings at that age easily equal jealousy)... Personally I won't entertain incest games or the thinly disguised versions but here that isn't the case and the way the love relationship with Eve is handled (so far) is great (possible and maybe necessary for both parties in terms of the story but difficult to deal with as they'd also pay a price in loss of a sibling relationship).
The writing relating to Cassie is also very well written and believable with the caveat that things progress very quickly, albeit I guess that it's a story set over a short time span and the ages of the participants.
Turning to the Kelly path; that's a bit close to home for me (touched a few still raw nerves even after many years) but again superbly written so far. I ended up with a good ending (so far). I hope that'll be the case here too. This is how I ended on the 1st play through as I wanted to fix and retain a brother/sister relationship with Eve and also going with Cassie would put pressure on that. The new update develops this very well.
The graphics are excellent and in the latest update the girls blinking up close are superb. All 3 girls are different but beautiful in their own right.
Not for the feint hearted though and I guess that the "hate" routes end really badly!

Just a wonderful game, every choice matter, every line can impact your story and how you get the girl you want more.

Naughty Captain have great writing you start the game and just suck into the story immediately. Cap's renders are amazing, each scene you can see he worked a lot to make it perfect, the lighting is fantastic and realistic.

The girls are beautiful, Cassie best girl! all hater should get purple dildoed.
Every interaction with the girls feels so good, close to real life, if you are shy or unsure, every choice effect not only one girl but everyone around it like it should.

Even the "bad" ending is wonderfully written and rendered.

Love this game, love the dev, people should play it, and come prepare to play every single route just to really feel what the game can offer.

I remember seeing somewhere a quote along the lines of 'If your game needs a walkthrough then it's badly designed' and I think it fits this game perfectly.

Because of some obscure choices, that the user can in no way interpret, it can lead to a certain terrible ending which totally puts you off exploring other paths, after all if the dev can lead you into a bad ending once, they can certainly do it again. Choices only matter in games when there is some logic and correlation between a choice and a result.

Renders / Character designs are okay but nothing special for Daz assets.
The writing is generally okay but the MC is a bit spineless and you aren't able to make obvious choices. Plus some writing didn't make sense to me, like:


Anyway, apart from some dialogue I found confusing, I think the game needs a clearer spoiler at the beginning, something along the lines of completely random choices will likely lead to a crap outcome.

A really good game. There's branching, you have 2 love interest (Eve and Cassie) + a 3rd one (Kelly) that comes in later and you can decide how you approach them.
For exemple Eve Love, Cassie Love, Eve Sub, Eve SubLove, Cassie Dom and Kelly Love.
And you can mix and match (except Kelly Love which is only available if you've done none of the others).
Admitedly some complaints are right that you can fall in traps easily but I don't feel like it substracts from the enjoyment.

Got to give it to the Dev cuz the writing is fabulous with every character behaving like a real individual in a given situation. All the characters are likeable with pretty rendering.

The branching is also phenominal as each choices could end up giving different sex scenes & multiple endings though I guess paths with the sis & BF r still WIP,i did get an ending where u end up with Kelly something which I did not expect though it was pretty dark still was quite realistic.

My only gripe would be the lack of sex animations cuz there were plenty of erotic moments especially with the sis which if animated would have been fking fabulous to watch

Actual good and well written compelling story, which can provide a real sense of connection with the characters. That connection puts weight behind your game choices which 95% of the other games seem to struggle with. Definitely worth the time to read and not skip through.