VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - Summer's Gone [S1 Steam + DLC] [Oceanlab]

If there ever was a Blueprint on how to make a AVN this would be it. What Ocean has created here nothing short of God Tier.

Everything about this game is just outstanding the writing is up there with best the authors and certainly better than anything Hollywood has produce in the last 20 years. It is deep and meaningful.

The characters are fantastic everyone is distinct, from the highly troubled main character (who I can relate to) Nami the MC's quirky but highly loving sister, the easy going, positive and try to see the good in everything Victoria. Bella the rich, bitchy, a bit self destructive and equally as troubled as the MC girl (who is my personal favourite girl). But it is not just those character every character in this game is interesting well thought and well written. I seriously do not how Ocean has done it.

Graphics again top notch some of if not THE best renders in a AVN, beautifully detailed and the small amount of animation that there is in the game is very well done. It just fantastic to look at.

Music for what there is well picked out and suits the game great, a special mention has to go to the brilliant brilliant son by Grace Mesa Long way, first time I heard it was on this game and it is now one of my favourite songs ever just fantastic.

I know people will scoff at this game as there is not sex scenes, but in all honestly, when the story, characters and the world surrounding them is this well done it does really need them. I hope Ocean can keep this outstanding quality up for season 2, and I wished I supported this creator from the start.

Now I need to Play Where It All Began while I wait for season 2.

Than you very much for this Ocean.

Story 10/10
Graphics 10/10
Characters 10/10
Music 10/10
Presentation 10/10

Amazing story, art, characters and pacing. I loved every minute of it. Perfect blend of dark and light moments. Lots of different physical/personality character types - so there is someone for everyone. A lot of thought and care went into this masterpiece. Can't wait for more.

summer gone s1 caught me off guard for real
thought it’d be some basic school romance avn but nah the writing hit way too hard characters feel real visuals clean pacing smooth as hell
we NEED s2 asap 12/10 i’d replay this till my mouse breaks

Great game, the characters are interesting and well developed, and the story grabbed me more than i thought it would. The MC is very emo (sometimes maybe a bit too much (i mean, that hair...)) but i enjoyed the flashbacks and mistery of what happened to summer.

Also, oh shit, summer is gone, we're in autumn, i probably should have gone to the beach more or something

Same comments in regard to quality, which I've given to "where it all began", which is from the same developer. Highest quality in regard to the character drawings. And it is a novel, it has a real story and is going deeper into the human soul than most AVN I've seen - also true for both novels. If you are interested in mini-games, in lewd scenes every 3 to 5 minutes, then spare your time watching it. This is not the core of this novel. If you love to influence the path of a story about young people and their problems, issues and concerns starting adulthood, then support this novel

This is my first time caring enough to rate a game. SG has insane art and renders and good music with some of the songs being really good. There are no sex scenes which is unusual but man the renders are so good that I do not care.

The negative in my opinion, is the main characters development. Going from a dark and traumatized person with dark triad personality traits and sadism early on he smiles when the guy asks him to hold the elevator for example, yet after that you pretty much lose that element and Ocean has not capitalized on that as much as he should have, what remained is his personality of being an intuitive introvert making him quite smart at reading people and noticing small things that dont add up which I thought was very nice.

Worth the try in my opinion.

Only game I've seen so far where literally all the girls are hot. Ocean has taste, the man knows what we want. So straight 5 stars.

Ok, giving it 5 stars for just that doesn’t do it justice. The visuals are incredible, so much effort went into all the tiny details. The lighting in this game is next level too, and great animations. This guy’s seriously talented, and no surprise it takes so long to make.

The only small complaint I have is that the story starts off a bit rough, but just stick with it- you’ll likely find yourself getting more and more invested as it goes on.

And if Season 2 ends up being almost as good as Season 1, then the wait will totally be worth it.

Amazing work, Ocean.

Once one of the most promising VNs out there, came out pretty disappointing. All the dark vibes around the MC, the surpressed aggressions and his high school past thrown away for someone who hides in the shadows with panicattacks. Imho a very boring decision
It had been an intense immersion to think about what could happen when the MC looses it, but now I know he will be shivering in a corner
The rework comes with so many connection problems, I found at least 5 in 1 playthrough...
And why deleting the cg kiss between Summer and the MC in the beginning of the game ? It showed their love perfectly and set the gravity of his loss,
The mystery of her disappearance seems to be forgotten in the later chapters anyway
And the cliffhanger for season 1 about Bellas sister... don´t get me started... it is another missed oppotunity to put it kindly...
Yes, the quality of the renders is good and so is most of the writing, but storywise isn´t there much to it anymore
Let´s be real here, Ocean lost his Mojo to write a good and interesting story and I doubt he will do any better for season 2 even if there is still a little hope in me, because I want it to be good again

Despite being billed as not a porn game, and as a story focused game, this is in reality a slice of life game that is not story focused. It is a porn game without porn.

The inciting incident still hasn't occurred, and the disappearance of "Summer" still has not been explained/mentioned in 6 years. Every character is hyper sexualized. Seriously, what is with the outfits if this is "story focused"? No one dresses like that outside of porn. The "story" is sexual tension between the Gary Stu MC and every female character he interacts with. So far, there is no "plot" - you can opt into characters like Bella or Victoria, where you have "side stories" - i.e. screwing with Bella's neighbors. That is the hallmark of slice of life.

The models are attractive, the writing is well edited, and the characters are well written as far as AVNs go (if you can get past the cliche of every character panty dropping for the MC, while the MC cant get a boner outside of "Cheeto"). But it is hard to give this anything more than 2* when there is so little plot development and character development. 1* would be unfair given the production quality.

Story: 6/10
Renders: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Characters: 10/10

Let's talk about good things first. Amazing visuals and animation, the music and sound are also good. This game has a lot of characters, the character designs are fabulous, all of them look amazing.
The main problem with this game is the story is going nowhere. After completing Season 1, you would expect something, but no, also not a single NSFW scene, and this game has very little content overall despite it being in development for so long.
There is very little chance that this game will ever get completed, and most probably it will be abandoned or have a rushed ending.
Still, I am very invested in its characters, and I am looking forward to Season 2.

Summer's Gone is shaping up to be one of the more compelling visual novels out there. The first thing that grabs you is the gorgeous rendering every scene is crafted with care, from the lighting to the character expressions. It’s clear the devs are putting real effort into making this world feel alive.

But it’s not just eye candy. The story so far is genuinely engaging, with layered characters and emotional depth that pulls you in. It’s a slow burn, sure, but one that builds anticipation in all the right ways.

That said, I do hope the wait for the more intimate scenes pays off. The buildup is there, and if the storytelling continues at this level, those moments could feel truly earned rather than just fan service.

If you're into story-driven adult games with high production value, Summer's Gone is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Let’s just hope the payoff matches the promise.

The best looking AVN I've played. Cinematography is superb and really alleviates the atmosphere/feelings of characters. This game also has the best music in this genre easily. Tons of unique characters who are likeable and intriguing. A plethora of hot girls to pick from but this is a very slow burn game which I'm fine with, so no spicy scenes yet. MC starts off as an anti-social edgelord but that's one of the main aspects that makes this game so engaging and unique. Highly recommend!

I really hate that you can't date multiple girls at the same time, so much wasted potential. Other than that, the MC's personality and some of the characters are very well done, as are the renders....

Hands down the most overrated AVN on this site. Granted it has some of the most beautiful girls you will ever find in a game, great renders and good music but that is all there is to praise. You play as one of the worst main characters ever written. Let's first adress the elephant of the game: He can't get a boner because his childhood sweetheart is missing... Ok. His personality is a unique blend of depressive, cold, arrogant, zero empathy and negative charisma. Whenever he opens his mouth you just want to roll your eyes and puke at the same time. It's impossible feel a shred of simpathy for this guy. On top of it all he has a unique set of skills that allows him to embarrass himself whenever a girl tries to get too close to him, for example there's moment where he has the hottest chick in the game on his bed wearing nothing but wet panties and she tells him she's horny... imagine what the faggot hero does? Absolutely nothing. In result she puts her clothes back on and leaves. And yet somehow this guy is woman magnet. Logic that only make sense in the SG universe. But hey, if humiliation is your favorite kink this is the perfect game for you.

Gorgeous renders,
Interesting, different and engaging characters with nice supporting cast and their impact on the story.
Nice and riveting story so far, awaiting impatiently for the next episode.
Continue the great work.

I absolutely hope this review ages like milk, but I'm mostly writing this because, by God, Ocean simps are like no other animal I have seen.

Let me preface it that despite the rating I'm giving this, I like Summer's Gone. No AVN is perfect, but this one gets way too much praise for what it actually is right now. Screw it, I'll even extend an olive branch and start with...

The Good:
1. The most obvious part, the visual quality. If anything, the game indeed feels cinematic, the details can be seen, the lighting is on point.
2. The premise of the story is interesting.
3. Whenever Ocean actually remembers about that, the atmospheric moody scenes of the game can touch the soul.

The mediocre:
1. The writing is hit and miss. Aside from the slow burn nature of the romances in the game, there is actually very little character development, something I saw other reviews downright raving about being excellent, where that is factually incorrect - the majority of the girls that are supposedly MGs, in 5 chapters and thousands of renders in, have very little impact on the story itself, or any presence to speak of. There are also inconsistencies on when events happen, idioms that don't translate too well from German to English, some events that have been fully rendered out have no actual value to the story.
2. Coming from the previous point, the character cast is way too big for one game, and Ocean is simultaneously attempting to make two games at once. Game is supposed to be 30 chapters, but only 2.5 of the 10-12 main girls have had any real time spent with the MC.
3. The music. That part is subjective, but for me personally, even the "restored" version of the music is more annoying than it is helping me get immersed and I turned it off.

The bad:
1. This is an attempted joke that very likely will fall flat... unlike the majority of the female characters.
I don't know if Ocean grew up around women with no tiddies and he's overcompensating now, but it's easier to list the girls with what would be considered reasonably big tits in real life but are categorized as "small" within the game. Even if you have not seen what the game used to be before, currently your choices are "big tits" and "really humongous badonkerous" or however that copypasta went.
2. I don't care about the "fucking retarded"phrases encountered in the game, but shit like "bibi" and "wormy" make my soul die inside a little every time I encounter them, I could easily do without them.

Bad things outside the game itself:
1. Ocean simps are like nothing else, man, I swear.
2. This is obvious, but the dev times. Unless Ocean speeds up dramatically, neither of you who somehow reached this part of the review, nor me, nor Ocean himself, will live to see this project to the end.

You are allowed to like things, you can also be touched by them like nothing else, but you also can be realistic when talking about it. A shiny McBurger is tasty, but I am also fully aware of what it does to my health.

In short, it's not a game. It's fucking art. I've read a lot of books, played a lot of games, and watched a lot of movies and TV shows in my life. And some of them, with their gigantic budgets are completely unprepared to stand comparison to what Ocean does.

The characters are 1000/10. Each one of them is alive, with emotions, with their own worries, problems and shit in the closet. And it's very interesting through the episodes to learn everyone's story. Nami <3

The scenes are absolutely stunning and gripping. The chemistry between the characters is visible to the naked eye and it's all enhanced by the incredible soundtrack. So good is it all that I've saved many scenes separately to revive fond memories in anticipation of the new season.

Many thanks to Ocean, for all his hard work and time invested in this masterpiece. This is one of those stories that I can recommend to everyone with a completely clear conscience.

Ever since the rework this game has never been the same...
As if it couldn't slow down any further my heart breaks at the fact that it will likely never finish.

Playing it feels like a chore now because there's too many side branching stories that really don't progress the main plot at all and has since create a stagnancy of a game where you're clicking with no goal in sight because your favorite Li's content hasn't moved due to new characters and poor decisions in writing. Its a shame I truly enjoyed this once because this was one of the first VN's that focused more on 'plot'

First time playing a Complete VN. Non half VN with sandbox mode or farming whatever. I didn't expected to have my complete attention in the first 5mins. The story is very interesting and have a good balance in every thing you can think. If you read this, try it and remember! isn't a full porn game, you will see some adult content, but don't expect too much