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

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.

went in after reading about it not being a fap game and not expecting much but boy was i wrong, I'm invested in this game and the characters especially Sasha as of writing at 3.5 its a good few hours worth of content, visuals and CG cutscenes are amazing. The one downside for me is the sudden introduction of the other students and them all being like best friends instantly, makes me feel like a part of the story was either skipped or overlooked but other then that I've enjoyed this and its definitely worth a download!

Absoutely incredible in every possible way! Amazing visuals, stunningly attractive and believale characters and all woven together with truly excellent plot lines that give you great freedom of action to influence events as they unfold.

I found that I actually became genuinely infatuated with a couple of the characters and actually daydreamed about the fine times we would have together if we dated - and it takes an exceptionally good VN for me to admit to being thatt much of a sad case

One of the most visually stunning games out there. I am absolutely in love with Nami and Bella, if only we could have them together at the same time. The MC at the beginning was quite annoying, not my favorite but he's definitely gotten better as the story progresses. Only negative about this game is the long wait times in between updates, other than that...phenomenal

Terribly laughable at the start won't spoil anything but it gets better as it goes trust the pepe he is usually right.

The main reason why I give this a three stars is the amount of fucking sexual tension there is in this game(all renders are absolutely gorgeous) which is like hello why is there no pipi in the hole?

I mean if his game was drawn like good girl gone bad or life is strange or even trouble in college than yeah I wouldn't be there with a weird sense of blue balling going on with how good the models of everyone is.

But elas no action is present yet, but enough tension is there to make you believe that you are playing a game made by staunch conservatives who will not tolerate anything about premarital courtship but somehow allow all kinds of degenerate words to be spilt.

In addition to the rest, the story is nice-ish although do hold some disbelief (shocking for a game in this site.) The grammar is good but its just kind of difficult to understand your goal at the moment so feels a bit aimless in my opinion although it is certainly good enough for me to play the entirety

All in all, this is utter blasphemy which the people of Kekistan should be cautious of when venturing into this bold game of little value but of passing time that gives you high chances of catching the blue ball disease.

"For the frogger land!
The Keks shall lead us to freedom from suffering!"

Gone are the days when the lord's of animation throne was without a challenger. Oceanlab came up with the next generation AVN. Summer's Gone defines maximum quality in many ways.

SG differs the most from other AVNs mainly in the areas of animation, which brings players a cinematic experience. The game also shows high quality of static renders. The graphic instruments, together with the music, then create a deep atmosphere in places, which helps to create a strong immersion with the narrated story.

It is too early to judge the overall story (version 3.5). But I can already say that the cornerstones of the story, the characters, are formed with brilliant depth and complexity. The LIs in this game have the potential to become ancient Helena, who will be fought for long waif-wars.

Character relationships are consistently built for the greater pleasure they ultimately bring taht way. However, this has a disadvantage for players who consider sex to be an essential part of AVN. Sex will be present with all the pros of longer development. In the meantime, I advise these players to wait. But for others, I have a question, how come you haven't played Summer's Gone yet? You have no idea what you're missing.

Love the story, characters & so far their development, and the quality. And for this game it is about quality not about a multitude of sex scenes which fits this game because it is story-rich and there is lots of information to learn. The quality is good I would not care if this game did not receive any sex scenes at all.

This is art
the story is gripping with belivable and loveble characters.
the visuals are amazing and the scenes are shot in an intresting way,
This has got to be the best game on this site i have ever played

Well after playing this game for 4 or 5 times i finally decided to comment.
First things first this game probably has the best art style i have ever seen, im not even joking fucking 10+9 out of 10.
Secondly the story is interesting as fuk, it has such a big potential and can lead to sooooo many sad or action scenes in the futuer. I even got fucking goosebumps with that Vic scene in the last chap overall 69/10.
Overall so far i would consider this game probs one of the best porn realated games i have ever played if not the best(and i did play a lot of shit).
This is my first 10/10 .
For u god who created this game i beg you dont stop ... please.

I finally got the chance to sit down and play through this VN after seeing all of the hype for it on F95. And, yep. It's pretty fucking great.

I do have some issues with it;

The MC is a dickhead, especially for teasing Bella about her trauma, and she had every right to be pissed at the dude. And for her mom to brush it off by saying, "Oh, I know you triggered my daughter's trauma intentionally for the fuck of it, but it's all good, 'cause her ass was unstable anyway." Like, really? Get fucked.

But, then again, at least everyone but Bella's mom (for some reason?) told the MC what an asshole he was for doing so.

MC is a prime example of a malcontent. He's miserable and wants everyone else to be, as well. And, bonus fuck you to him for dismissing Haylee as a "cripple" (which is a literal slur) despite her being a fucking wonderful human being. Wanted to stop playing after that part, truthfully. But, I was willing to brush it off as the dev purposely writing the MC as a garbage human, that would hopefully grow.

My other tiny complaint is with how the characters are written. The game seems to be set in a world where nobody has a filter and everyone just says aloud what they're thinking constantly. And instead of others reacting like, "Um, why the fuck would x say y?" They'd often say something equally as odd.

Just a bit strange.

Now, for the good;

The fucking renders are the most gorgeous that I've seen in any game ever. The cutscenes/transitions are beautiful and are often effectively used to introduce new characters, which I really dug, and said character models are absolutely stunning. Words can't even do them justice. I found myself liking Mila's design the most, in particular. Total babe.

The music is fucking sick. You know it's good when you find yourself sitting on the title screen menu just vibing. It's all amazing and the song choices fit the game's vibe wonderfully.

The plot is engaging, and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The dev did a great job of interjecting drama without it being over the top like in other VNs.

Despite my disdain for the MC at times, and the weird use of slurs by the dev, this is a borderline masterpiece.

Edit: I will say that basketball subplot stuff kinda seems pointless and just drags and drags. A unisex basketball team? What? I honestly found myself skipping most of the practice sequences. Felt like filler.

Also noticed an abundance of grammatical errors and broken English in the later chapters that annoyed me just a tad.

Not quite a 5* but way better than a 4.

Guess I'll call it a 4.5

Despite some unnecessarily edgy dialogue and non-socially acceptable slurs, it was a very enjoyable experience so far even without any kind of sex scenes. Bella and Nami are goated characters, definitely top 5 of all the games I've played from here.

The renders might be the most impressive thing besides the story. The details on Nami's face are crazy.

Hopefully Ocean hits their next goal, this game deserves to hit it's full potential.