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

This is a jewel!
...and my absolute favorite so far...
Not only beautiful renderings but a captivating psychological story. Ive played over 2 dozen games all with approx 4 stars + review scores, but this game made my heart hop all over the place.

The characters are well thought through which gave them each a unique personality, something that is often forgotten in other novels. The way the characters are 'dancing around each other' in strategic and sharp dialogs ...trying to outsmart one another.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THAT! and that by itself made it a delight to read. ...and so much that all other games now seem somewhat lacking in dialogs .
Can't shake the feeling that the absence of lewd scenes only concentrated the story without really disturbing it.

The story is very good and as it develops it becomes emotional and very captivating.
Most of the main characters are very well detailed in terms of their personalities, although with several unknowns in their backstories that will be discovered as the novel progresses. I consider this to be the strong point of this visual novel, you really get attached to the characters and want to know what will happen to them in the next chapter. Although at first it is difficult to empathize with the psychologically traumatized and sexually inhibited protagonist, following his constant internal battle against depression and his small achievements supported by the beautiful friends he makes, can make you change your mind about him.
The graphics are excellent, especially the female characters are exquisitely represented. Awesome work.
I have played the first 5 chapters and there is still no sex, but I really hope that after this long introduction the best will come, because it has everything to become one of the best Visual Novels for adults.

Delving into 'Summer's Gone' is an enthralling experience, marked by a compelling and nuanced narrative that transcends the typical adult visual novel tropes. Unlike many in the genre, this game skillfully navigates the intricate landscape of human emotions, expertly manipulating perspectives through meticulously crafted images. This artistic finesse, coupled with a carefully selected soundtrack and a masterful interplay of colors and light, positions 'Summer's Gone' among the premier visual novels available.

Despite having only five chapters, each segment boasts a substantial length, ensuring a rich and immersive storytelling experience. The game introduces a diverse array of characters, each equipped with intricate backgrounds and captivating personalities. Noteworthy is the absence of major bugs, with only a few negligible orthographic errors that, given the riveting narrative, easily escape notice.

In essence, 'Summer's Gone' emerges as a standout VN, distinguished by its deep storytelling, artistic brilliance, and a cast of characters whose complexity adds layers of intrigue to the overall narrative

Another very good work by OceanLabs. The writing is very well made for most characters. You can see the MC changing with his interactions with people. I personally really like Bella's character, it's well made because you can really feel her personality through the dialogues and it passes my test of "could I recognize this character if every character had a basic skin". Nami also passes this test and Sonya but it's cheating a bit because she is the only very introvert character. The other characters need more development but I understand it needs time and it's normal Bella is the most developped character yet since you interact with her very early. In term of technique, I am not an expert but compared to some other Ren'py games, it's very clean. It's rare to see devs putting lots of time developing the characters so I am really happy that some devs take the time because the story is much more meaningful.

The following sentence is not really a spoiler but it's a guess of what will surely happens.

Just be careful when Summer will be back (I assume when you chose someone to have a relationship with) because it could be very cliche and already seen depending on how you write it.

I didn't put 5 stars because as a lot of people said, the game is very long to make. I assume it's because the devs decided to have 2 projects going on. I know quality take times and I am sure you are a very small team maybe working during your free time, I don't know but I think you should have focus on 1 project at a time even though "Where it all began" is also a very good VN.

This game is a loop, in each update we keep repeating every scene to scene and get close to nothing new. in 2019 we already played the basketball scene, we knew that bella and ayua are racers we did our hair like 10 times already at the barber with bella, knew that the mother character got a new boyfriend that Nami is into us, we stole the heirloom and went to therapy 10 times mc still impotent(which doesn't add anything to the whole story, just a nuisance), mila is still accused of stealing, saw victoria getting hit by a car on and on and on. And after 5 years of development, we are getting The Same story once again, but with better visuals. I'm usually not some1 to degrade some1-s work or anything, but the game states its a slow burn game, but in reality its a loop for the dev to improve his daz skills and not to tell a story. 5 years of visual updates and close to 0 new content. I wish the dev is not getting better at blender or we might repeat the circle. i honestly can't think of any story segment which we didn't see or knew in 2019 already.
As for the 2 star: this game has incredible visuals, but in my opinion 0 progression . The rating might change depending on the 2nd season.

All these new hardver and the updates are not coming any faster at all. 5-6 months for SG and 1 update if ur lucky per year for WiaB.

this game is shit

the only good thing about the game is the renders and models of nami and bella, the rest of the girls are copies of each other with no interest because they are untouchable, you can t ( you who plays) feel close to any woman besides nami , the only one getting some phyisical contact with MC is her and stop

I dont know what the fuck is wrong with the people, chapter 1 and 2 are short, i expected a lot of fucking text and nice story if the dev doesn t do sex scenes,but, what the fuck was this ? man for real, worst story than a lot of games with fucking trash renders. with sense of shortness in the episodes, girls are raining in and dont stop falling from the sky, and each of them are the same big tittied girl with same face and same body.

this fucking garbage is a 3dcg game with a girl in scene which have 400 angles of camera showing her butt or tits clothed while having bullshit of conversations, truly meaningfullness

damn, 5 episodes and so many years to this shit? i regret downloading this game, it didn t even make me hard, maybe if i were a virgin with social problems i would've find interesting this game of girls with nice bodies always clothed with a lot of shots of their bodies from different angles

But no, that doesn't make it anymore for me, and this story is so stupid that i wonder if people has lost their minds or were high when rating this

Like for real, a lost love who dissapeared? okay that's sad but where is the fucking story besides that? we don t fucking advance, we dont know nothing after years of milking, jesus , my respect to the dev, he managed to fool all the supporters and even made me download this pile of shit

The first thing is that the name of the game is about a character that does not exist, but exists in memories
The second thing is because the developer built the game and it does not have scenes for adults, and I think the reason is that the developer is ashamed to add any scenes that involve relationships.
All you will find are beautiful girls wearing clothes that reveal their bodies, or after waiting, perhaps you will see moments of some girls completely naked.
If you were hoping to see sexual relations, no, you will not see anything in this game. In fact, it is a frustrating and time-wasting game that only has the quality of cinematic animation, pictures, and a lot of dialogue between the characters.

I've never played such a good AVN in my life. Sex is not that important. The story is so good, so perfect, I was hooked. The animations are extremely high quality and the music playing in the background puts you in the environment very well. The story is extremely interesting and I'm looking forward to the second season right now, I'm extremely curious. I started creating all kinds of theories in my head and reading on forums. Definitely play this masterpiece.

An excellent VN, here are some of my impressions:

1. Story: It was pretty good, a litle "far-fetched" at times but still interesting and engaging. Something I didn't like is that we are pretty much kept in the dark about MC's background story, I think the developer is trying to build up expectation for what's coming next but at same time this makes some dialogs incomprehensible, also is taking too long (5 chapters already).

2. Characters: The MC is a bit annoying at the beginning (kind of a drama queen Emo and then turns into a psycho xD). Most of the Girls are great though(Bella, Nami, Zara, Mila), Personally I'd like to see more of Nadia in next chapters. Overall very well written characters.

3. Renders: One of the best renders I've ever seen, only a few could compete with this VN in this category, except for that chapter 2 but Ocean already mentioned it wil be updated.

4. Animations: Excellent as wellSadly Non-lewd yet.

5. Music: Songs are great. I already added some of them to my playlist.

So, to be honest this VN is pretty dam good but It is not "legendary" yet (might be... depending on future updates). As of now.. I'd give it a 9/10. It is a great job. Totally worth checking out.

Summers gone.

Visuals 5/5 stunning visuals, beautiful characters and fantastic audio

Story 2/5 Ocean seems to focused on the visuals and the story seems scrappy and doesnt seem to be following a structure. theres too much going on for the MC and earlier developments seem to have been forgotten, theres too many love interests for the speed of development and no one can really tell you what the story is about and with the introduction to yet more characters from his other work its only going to get messier. I suggest Ocean really focuses on getting his story into order so it matches his incredible visuals.

Development 0/5 Im sorry Ocean but your speed of development is painfully slow and the fact that you decided to work on 2 projects side by side is an insult to your summers gone fans, you have developed a cult following for summers gone because of how beautiful it is and your paying customers deserve your full attention, my advice keep your other project on ice and fully focus on completing this novel, then give them the prequel. your rivals are catching up fast with their visuals and audio and it wont be long until you lose the edge in the visuals department.

final words: your visuals are keeping me interested but its not in my top 5 of novels because of your story and development speed.

The development process is very slow. The content so far is not interesting enough. The problem is not just that there is no adult content. The story is linear, not gripping or with enough choices for the player to make an impact. The beautiful visuals are all that's left, but they're not enough to keep me investing this much time. At some point, the developer will probably realize that he can't get out of it and that he's messing everything up and will abandon the project. You can look at all the similar games and you won't find any of them with more than one or two episodes that are extended to set up the story. In the case of Summers Gone, even after a whole season of this slowness, we still don't have a clear story with a beginning, an end or a middle. Season 2 will probably add what needs to be added, but considering that five episodes have been released in four years, the second season needs at least four more years. Nothing is worth waiting so long for.

This game is top notch. Yes it is a slow burn but so perfectly done, along with a real good written story. I love the interaction between mc and the other caracters. This is not a game where he drops his pants and all the women are instantly dropping their knickers to get fucked, but you can sense the tension building up and that is some perfect writing right here.
Only thing i am worried about is that i`ll have to choose at a certain level who is going to be the one. Thats gonna hurt because i love all of them.
Take the attraction which is building up between mc and Bella, mc and Nami and actually between mc and every other woman he meets, you really dont want any of them to be left out, so it is going to be a lot of diiferent paths to play and a lot of women to disapoint.
So if you want a game that has a great story and beautiful women but is a very slow burn, this is it, you cant find a better one.
Thats why i gave 5 stars and wished i could give more.

The dialogue is perfect and funny, I enjoy reading it. The images are beyond perfect!
I've got a problem with MCs hair since the beginning, it got better after the haircut but still the guy needs to get a nicer haircut. It looks like an anime character, looks weird to me.
The girls are fantastic, love that everyone have their own personality.
The story is every immersive to the point that I don't mind not having sex involved.
One of my favorites.

The only part that I find myself drifting apart is at Nadia's sci-fi board game but I understand that is to please everyone's taste and to be different from other VNs.

Story: 5/5
Render: 5/5
Gameplay:4/5
Girls: 5/5(Bella Milla Sasha Cheeto)
Potential: 10/5

One of the top tier AVNs out there. the graphics obviously is the one of the best out there if not the best. This is a slow burn story with no full sex scenes yet but I enjoy the love stories

One of the top tier AVNs out there. the graphics obviously is the one of the best out there if not the best. The LIs are just drop dead gorgeous. All the paths seem natural and not forced and the dialog is good and moving the story well. This is a slow burn story with no full sex scenes yet but I enjoy the love stories (pending the paths you choose) so much that I don't really care. When there will be sex I'm certain it would be awesome.

Summer's Gone [Ch. 5 Beta]

Pros:
Great Renders
Good Music

Cons:
Boring Story
Some Characters are really pointless and boring
The MC is unlikeable
Way Too Slow-burn
Lame Dialogues

Conclusion:
It's totally fine if people like this game, but to me this feels like one of these "great renders=5*" games.
The story is really not "great", drags at a milking pace, and just bores me to death.
You pretty much feel at a stand-still and don't advance in the story for the whole game, making it feel like a total waste of time.
If the pace keeps being the same, then I will bet that we will never see this game be completed.
The writing is just a chore to read and doesn't feel engaging at all.
There are some characters that I like, but most lack purpose and storytelling.
Others like the MC feel unlikeable and he comes off like a pussy, which is why it's so mind-boggling to me, why he is liked.
I have no problem that the game doesn't have sex, even though this is a Adult Porn Game Site XD.
But when you focus everything on the Story, then the Story better be good and engaging, which it is not.
From a presentation standpoint of the visuals and ambiance, this is truly a masterpiece.
But from a gameplay/story perspective, this feels like a huge waste of time.

I dont know what the developer is doing. The story aint that great that several chapters needed to be redone completely.

It looks very good now but the dialogues are a chore and the VN play out the same no matter what and is not engaging at all. We still dont know nothing about what happend to Summer and we are at chapter 5.

This VN still has no lewd content that contain sex and MC has no sexual urges... bruh its a adult game.

So no lewds, no story. Not as good as advertised.

Warning of blue balling is right lol

Ch.5 Beta

Story: 5/5
Render: 5/5
Gameplay:4/5 (Simple Story driven AVN)
Girls: 5/5 (Bella and Sasha HOLYYYYYYYYYYY amber also)
Potential: 10/5

it is story driven (which I like), blue balling I must say or maybe boring for some and maybe the build ups feels like no ups. yes it is not for everyone (esp if you want to fap), hell most AVN game i will only hold control key because the story does not engaging.

but this game, the story, the build up, the girls, the potential HOLYyyyyyy. Easily in my top 5.

I read some reviews about this game and its just pure hate lmao the dev stated that if you want lewd & fap you play the wrong game this game has none (for now maybe?).

Congrats on the game and good luck for the dev.
So season 1 wrapping soon right? cant wait for more!

Time of review Ch.5 Beta

Amazing game, i played hundred of Vn's over the years but this one stands out as my favourite right now. Quality over quantity

I love a lot about it, renders are stunning, models mesmerizing, the music is just captivating. I can empathize with the Mc , someone who struggles with life and we see weakness and vulnerability but also the silver lining on the horizon. The romantic love story with Bella is for me the best i have ever experienced in a Vn. By far! Don't know how Ocean managed, but it is really magical. Overall i felt a lot during my playthroughs and it really growed on me. I find it unfair to review it so low just for the lack of sex scenes, you get warned about it alot, the quality is obviously extremely high.So after years of lurking i decided to finally write a review and speak up.

If you got time, patience and love good stories with romance I strongly recommend the game. Oh and it also has Cinematics, i mean wow

Boring story, boring cast for the most part. Main character and some of the girls are cool but this is one of those games with a type, where every girl feels more or less the same and if that is not your type, well... Graphics are awesome. It has potential.