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

I have to give this a 5 star rating because the renders and animations are so top notch. Also the story is very compelling and enjoyable, the characters are distinct and have their own personal dramas that keep things moving along.

The MC is a very broken shell of a boy. The personal trauma he experienced when younger has left him devoid of feelings...sort of like emotionally crippled. He starts attending College and after meeting the other classmates, begins to regain some social status again, as exhausting as it is for him. Increasingly more, the girls from College begin to rely him and realize he has a gift for helping others despite his own damaged state.

As the story progresses, there are a few hot girls interested in him.

The one who stands out the most is Bella. She is initially a potential enemy early on, but can become a serious love interest when both her and the MC share their common childhood traumas. Both have much in common and have anger issues. When the first kiss happens, it's really sweet. Both fighting against their feelings...

The drama is compelling in this and although there is no real lewd scenes, the story is more than enough to hold your attention.

Oceanlab is a very talented dev that knows how to hook the player in his own dark fairytale.

I so recommend this to anyone. Try it and you won't be disappointed.

One if a kind game. The only thing that i am scared that author wont be able to finish this beatiful game. Every single character is pretty interesting. Kinda dont like the fact that most of them are weirdos but that makes game more enjoyable i think. So thank you for doing it. Hope you will continue your good work. Love

I played through chapter 1-4. Up to this point, I don't get where this story is going or what the protagonist is aiming at. The entire plot can be summed up into one sentence: the mc lost his first love many years ago and is finally trying is get over it (also the sister has a crush on him). It is as mediocre as it sounds. The mc may seem like he is moving on by finding other love interests, including the sister, but everything from the visuals to the plot screams that's not the case. He looks down on everyone because no one matches up to his first love. He actively hurts females psychologically because of a supposed moral high ground. Not only is he not moving on, he is falling into depravity on a subconscious level. There is not even an illusion of choice here since the dev doesn't want anyone to interfere with his supposed masterpiece.

If what I said above is not the dev's real intentions, then there are serious massive issues with both the narrative structure and the personalities of this game (if we can even call it that).

The last and most egregious problem is the game's façade of normalcy. If every single girl around you falls under your spell, then either you're a millionaire or it's just a dream. Most devs understand this, but not this one. The desperate drive for everything to seem normal and realistic is extremely childish. Now, it is the very thing that drags the story down. The lewd and reality does not and will not mix. Every other dev builds a realistic environment as a backdrop for fantastical storytelling, this one tries to make everything real but somehow there's impossibly lewd models in it, doing weirdly normal things. And is there a clearly defined reason for that? No. Now it both looks and feels ridiculous.

To conclude, the story has no anchor point. It's just words floating in the air right now. The mc is inching very close to a weird egomaniac, and the sheer desperation to imitate the real world causes grave Ludonarrative dissonance.

Quite honestly, this is one of the best games I have encountered.

Stunning graphics with smooth detailed animation. The females actually look like females...not the usual parody of gigantic boobs and a ridicuously sized arse.

The backstory is great, as is the main story. The slow burn is fine by me as it's not padded with repetitive dribble talk that adds nothing but filler to a poorly thought out story .

This is a dev. that has real talent and I hope to see many more of these types of games in the future

Excelent game - interesting story (side stories are bit inconsistent tho) and outstanding visuals.

Mandatory warning - for those who are looking for a game with MC getting an easy lay with every girls that steps into the game - not a game for you.

Few porn game made me stay/saved them, but this one will definitely have a place in my PC. The new story (ch 4 beta) just take it further. I hope you can keep on making this great drama without a problem.

Amazing game, every update is better and yes, is more a erotic visual novel than a porn game, leak sex and is slow burn like a star, but the story and the characters are amazing and well, we have a lot of games, something different is always welcome.

Although this game plays like it's still in its infancy, it's been around long enough to write a review. Too long.

It's one of the most visually impressive games out there. Gorgeous renders and one can tell there is a lot of care put in creating scenes fitting the storytelling. Small things like glances, expressions, subtle touches all add to impressive visual storytelling.

And all these little visual cues (alongside the writing) add to this game's strongest point for me. Creating sexual tension between characters. This doesn't have any porn yet. But it does such a good job creating tension between its various interesting characters, that it keeps the mood spicy. And it has plenty of interesting characters. Distinct personalities that aren't written as copypasted fuckdolls for this game's least interesting character. The player one.

That brings me to my first major gripe. The mood gets as spicy as its frustrating player character allows it to be. That dude is quick to smash any expectation for second base from any of the dozen chicks wanting some of him. He is supposed to be a traumatized emo dude, but it's so over the top that it becomes annoying. The amount of teen angst and razor edge this dude has, seems like it comes straight from the silliest 00s stereotypes. I'm just waiting to see him cutting himself for no reason at some point. It's supposed to add complexity but it ends up making him act like a little bitch, overreacting to pretty much everything.

And while I appreciate the tension and character building, I'm not sure if it's feasible to ever see payoff. This game is crammed with insanely hot women and it makes sure to establish sexual tension with pretty much everyone. Even his psychiatrist is obviously shown wanting to fuck the crazy out of him. But since this hasn't even progressed to second base with any of them, you have to wonder if it's feasible to even expect it with so many different characters. And if it's not, then why all the teasing and flirting?

Which brings me to its most important problem. I really don't see how this game, at its current development pace, can ever meet expectations and resolve its plot. I'm not sure I can even see it getting completed. Its development moves at a snail's pace and, combined with all those open plots, I don't see how it can be done. Which practically makes this whole review pointless, since I genuinely think it's only a matter of time before this gets abandoned at best, or get yet another long-winded rework at worst (worst because at that point, the intention behind it would be obvious).

And while the last part alone would be enough for me to rate it one star, it has enough passion and care behind it that it wouldn't be fair. I just hope my cynicism is wrong for once and this changes course to realize its big potential.

Chapter 4 beta.
Game is really good the story, renders, animatiosn, music is great. The story of the characters that almost everyone seems to have problems in the past and trying to overcome those problems during the game, MC wanting to be normal again is a journey very interisting, there is no sex yet since the game build first the relations between the characters and the world but there is some intimate scenes here and there that it just feel normal because of how well is build up the "tension" between them. Game is really worth to play it

If a game has terrible fetishes and lewd scenes, it can be overlooked with good writing and story progression. Sadly, this game is mediocre at both. Decent renders but I just can't get along with the story. It's like a child wrote it. Well at least hoped for some nice action and lewds but sad to say...that fails too.
Instant pass from me.

Before anything, I'd just like to preface that I rate VNs differently based on the game's focus, which I've divided into two: Strictly porn and story-driven VNs. The first one is when it's obvious that the developer intends the VN to just be a pornfest with little to no story and as such will only be rated based off of its sex scenes and animations; the latter is when a game puts emphasis on story first and the adult element is only an added bonus, like BADik, as such, I rate it based off of its story.

However this game is none of the two. It claims to be "story focused" yet the story is absolutely terrible marred with inconsistencies, unnatural characters, unrealistic events, and god forbid don't even get me started with the protagonist who came fresh off of anime land as he acts like the typical anime protagonist who thinks he's more important than everyone else because first love gone, me no care anymore!

So I can't rate it as a porn game and the story is crap. I usually try to be understanding towards people that rate VNs I dislike highly, but this one literally has no redeeming qualities other than it's incredible renders which, like the story itself, are inconsistent as well. Why is this game rated so highly? Surely having gorgeous renders doesn't warrant a 5 star review?

In short, eye candy game with crap story.

Oh and if you're still going to try it out, watch out for these three people as they are the most annoying: the protagonist, the wheelchair girl, and the sister.

Well, here's another "I never write reviews but for this game I will". I figured as a show of appreciation for this game, I would give it a good review and hopefully convince someone unsure of trying this game out just that final push to do it.

Summers Gone is the VN that makes me come back to visual novels in general. When I look amongst trending games, I look with the hope that another novel grabs me as much as this one (despite its flaws). Unfortunately, so far I have rarely found it.

I guess this mostly has to do with the fact that I am a lover of cinematography in movies, and boy does this game have beautiful renders. The precision and love with which the renders are handled clearly show that Ocean has a love for cinematography as well. The lighting in the shots is superb, the girls are beautiful and the camera angles really know how to draw you into the story. The great music and animations contribute to this as well.

What I also love about this game is that the MC isn't just another pushover and doesn't drool over girls as a lot of MC's do in visual novels. This isn't simply his personality, but there's a psychological reason for it which so far works well. I will state that sometimes this persona is a bit too much and then the MC tips over to an edgy asshole (especially in the beginning of the story), but it is not frequent and not much of an issue to me.

As I said, the girls are amazing as well (partly because of the great visuals). Up to this point (chapter 3.5) there are no sexual acts. You'll have to decide for yourself whether this is the kind of game you're looking for. I wouldn't say it is something the game does 'wrong' nor that it is doing something 'right', just decide for yourself based on your personal preferences whether that is something you are interested in. Speaking of girls, Bella, my god, so far the best LI I've encountered in any VN.

Now some points I'd still like to have improved (or at least mention):
- As of chapter 3.5, I feel a lot of new characters and girls are introduced that don't always look that different. Towards the end of chapter 3.5 I sometimes felt like I was loosing sight of who was who, who is important for the story and who is a possible LI (or are they all? )
- Towards the end of chapter 3.5 I felt there was a bit of inconsistency with MC's character. Suddenly he's a team leader and all into sports while before he didn't really care about anything. I could see this transition happening but it could have been explained better. Also other characters mentioning that he's becoming more muscular while he's been in the gym once makes me think he has either found some kind of new steriod that gives a godlike increase in muscle building or it's another inconsistency.

All in all, amazing game, I urge you to give it a try with an open mind, and you'll find yourself constantly looking for VN's that draw you in like this.

(3.5)

+
Renders improved dramatically over time. Some really nice ones in latest chapter.
Tries timed montages, which is relatively unusual for games.
Tension between MC and Bella is good.
Tension between MC and sis-type is good.

-
Basketball stuff is a lot less interesting. I think there's enough plot without it. Shift in tone from traumatized guy to team leader doesn't totally fit.
Not all LI's are equal and they are multiplying. Not sure how they will all be wrapped up unless it goes WVM and he starts banging everyone.

I think there is a weird little world somewhere here with messed up beautiful people in it and I'm more interested in that than I am everyone falling for MC or sports rivalries.

Never written a review but this game was so great I had to. I didn't know if I would like it because it had no sex scenes but the story and characters were so great it didn't even matter.
The renders are phenomenal as well, its just a superb game in every way can't wait for more.

Dang why is this VN so good?? the multiple girls in this game are gorgeous and the story and interactions between the characters are beautiful as well! a job well done! so far no sex scenes but that didn't matter since the story kept it entertaining !

So I installed a mod that was supposed to correct grammar and spelling mistakes and after playing the game I'm wondering how bad the dialogue is without the mod because I still found it kind of bad.
The premise doesn't make much sense, especially the ending of the latest update. Why exactly was it so important to go that far to win a practice game? Lol. What even is this whole "sports ball" thing they're doing? What's the point and why is every relevant character participating in it? The MC just comes off as a whiny emo who wants to be dark and edgy. I mean he just looks ridiculous. He went from looking like a myspace era emo with the bucket hair to just about the most oddly "coifed" hairstyle.

I know you're trying to make this an adult novel and not just another "adult" game but I really don't think the writing is good enough to carry it alone. What usually makes games on this site bearable through the broken English and melodramatic story are the sex scenes. Not everything has to be so dramatic. Not every character has to be cool and edgy. There are definitely some parts I liked about the story but overall it's mediocre at best. (That is if you really want this to be treated as "not a porn game").

I'm not expecting a great literary work from an adult game. Though if the writing did improve I'd probably be donating instead of here just waiting for an update where I'm finally not blue balled.

Seriously the female character models all look great and they're written in a way that makes them attractive. That's what I liked. The soundtrack is also fantastic. So 3 out of 5.

It was pretty good. The story is too spread out between multiple girls, and it pushes you in one direction while giving the allusion that there are multiple paths. It's got a LOT of flaws, between the choices you can make for the MC and then how the MC actually acts the rest of the time, almost like you're just along for the ride if you want the MC to be more assertive and then he reverts right back. Considering where it's at right now, I probably wouldn't check it out again, especially since the creator said they want to rework the beginning.

Perfect, just perfect. Interesting plot, amazing renders. MC is an interesting character, many choices, you get to choose how you want to do it, but it's not "all or nothing", you might miss some content and some score points if you don't want to play a certain event, but that still allows you to have a chance with that character (it's not like if you don't ask out somebody today, you'll never be able to do it again...). Couple of flaws: blonde characters look very similar to each other when they tie up the hair or get the same hairstyle, if not for the names popping up, you'd wonder who you're talking to; next flaw is that there are no lewd scenes (just some nudity) as for 3.5, BUT, both the story and the renders are amazing, so can't give less than 5 stars, very good job!

It's an amazing game bro. This game really helped me to how should I respond to the other girl's actions towards me. For example, if I am with a blonde girl during the workout. I will act like I'm failing at doing crunch and wait for them to sit on me.

I honestly was not expecting to get invested in this story as much as i did but i should have expected it if Where It All Began is any indication.
I really enjoy the relationship building aspect i haven't seen an AVN take this approach before and i like it.

This is a really great story so far and i am looking forward to seeing the story of the MC's past unfold as well as the future between the MC and the other characters.
I am looking forward to the relationship development between the MC and Bella the most from what i have seen as of chapter 3.5 i think they both have a lot of hidden emotional trauma and can help each other greatly with it.

I guess to say overall the story is great ocean's renders and animations are unlike any other AVN i have seen. I am looking forward to seeing where the story leads.