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

Came for titties, stayed for the feels and emotional investment.
"Shame" that all the girls are actually likeable and are easily empathised with. I will have to play it more than once i guess. RIP time, rip guilt for choosing only one girl at a time and having other ones sad.

I rarely ever care to write a review and I've been on this site for years, but this game, oh man, I can't just leave without rating this game.
The things people care about in a VN game is amount of content, quality of renders, models, animations and story. And this game even just consisting of 3 chapters as of now, has more content than other completed VN games, has the highest possible quality renders, THE most attractive and unique models (not copy pasted from other games), the bestest cinematic animations like you're watching a Pixar movie, and the story, oh boy, the story is just way better than not only all of the games I've ever played but most of the movies I've seen.

This is one of the few games im actually, really waiting for. The characters are the best, pretty, hot, intriguing and interesting. A very well made game. Its not a porn game, as of yet, as there are NO sexual scenes (expect one or two innocent ones), so that department needs some work, to be frank, but its still a really good game.

Great game with a gripping story, strong and interactive characters, interesting choices, amazing renders with a touch of beautiful, carefully placed cinematographic, and lastly, all girls are best girls.

Can't wait for the new chapter to drop in

This game deserves 5 stars, why?
Because you know that this game is good when you have played it, just for the writing and characters.
The version I have played had no sex scenes, but I didn’t care frankly, when the story is interesting, I can certainly look above anything else, and at least the game has created the basis of all the characters and story to arrive to the sex scenes.
The MC is actually a compelling protagonist (He has a personality!), even if can come at first unlikable he has a touching character development.
When I played it, I was so immerse that I chose the actions that he would have probably done, not mines.
The story even if is not concluded, it will make you hungry for more, it’s actually sad and sometimes deep, the best way to the describe it, it’s like a voyage into the five stages of grief.
The interactions and dialogues are fantastic, most of them are realistic and smooth and the small ones that aren’t don’t break the immersion.
There are little jokes, all Hilarious
Renders are incredibles, there some models and scenes that are visual astonishing.
All the characters have a personality from the female to the male ones, the models aren’t ugly, most girls are gorgeous.
I have not found many cons, maybe I fear that too much characters could be forgotten and abandoned or that the story won’t wrap up smoothly, but I have faith in this game.
Even if there are no sex scenes, I recommend it, just play the first chapters that are out, you won‘t regret it, I highly recommend it.

Psycho main char that kinda sucks but everything else is to a very high standard. It's looks great and all the characters are interesting. My biggest complaint is not a lot has really happened outside the start.

I'm glad that I randomly discovered this game, because it proved to me that Daz can look beatiful.
Character models are excellent with some minor exceptions.
1. Mila and Bella look very similar to the pre-made Daz models and they're supposed to be major characters.
2. Sometimes, some body parts look unproportional to the whole body. Mostly it happened with Bella and Nami. Nami's ass 60% of the cases looks like she has a pelvic fracture lol and Bella's ass looks like it's got some implants in.
3. Summer's model from flashbacks looks kinda like a scaled-down adult person's face. A little bit creepy, but bearable and you can make a head canon for this anyway.
Otherwise, bodies and faces are fucking awesome. They look BEAUTIFUL AND NATURAL at the same time.
Little visual "movies" in between scenes are exhilarating.
One of the things that surprised me is the level of details that was put into backgrouns and scenes, like realistic furniture and decoration. Man, this is greatly appreciated.
UI - a lot of effort was put into this one. Especially the gallery menu. I dropped my jaw when I saw this shit.
Story - great story, really looking forward to seeing it develop in the future. Characters really make me empathize to them. If I was not mentally ill I would probably cry at some of the interactions. Mila, Bella, Victoria, her sister, they all make me feel something for them and that is 100% attributable to writing. One of the shortcomings of this story is the MC, because he is way too edgy. Being edgy is OK and it's believable, but what IS NOT believable is people's reaction to his behavior. Victoria remembers what you said when she broke her spine, but does not react in the future unless you chose encouragement. Mila changes her opinion of you only slightly if you act like a prick and you can still comfort her and take her out for a friendly dinner. Otherwise, everything's consistent and believable.
Sex - there is none, but this game is still sexy. You can easily jerk off to some scenes even though there is no sex because the models are so good. But yeah, the game blueballed me a little bit, because I expected a handjob from the disclaimer and I only got a nurse examination.
Honestly, I didn't play Where It All Began, so I don't know if the author is any good with sex scenes. Because making a good model or just a good animation is not the same as making a good sex animation, so we shall see. And if author is not sure if the animation is 100% worth it and is 100% at the same level as models and backgrouns then I think it's OK not to add any at all. Freeloading Family is still hot as fuck without a single animation.

Suggestions for improvement: Bella's and Nami's models, namely their asses. Maybe add some consequences for MC's edgy behavior in the past. Like, Mila's date goes smoothly, but she does not grow much closer to the MC because of their initial interaction (if you picked misanthropic choices).

Rating:
Presentation: 4.99/5
Story: 4.99/5

I like the characters but

where are the scenes with the girls??

I kept playing to see scenes but there is no scene at all. This game was intended to be played by adults right? or is it some kind of visual novel targetted for teenage boys? And really do not understand why MC did not do Nami. She's literally there for him for gods sake

And Ayua and MC were supposed to train in the gym or something but it never happened. Ayua seems nice

Well, I mean it's an amazing game, no real other way to put it. It is a slow burn but the character development is some of the best and the story is dark but grounded to reality, 5/5

It has no sex scenes or anything really of the sort (maybe a handjob or two) but it instead has robust character development and it really gets you attached to them.

The models are really good towards the chapter 2-3 part of the game, they can look a bit artificial in chapter 1 tho, although the dev has said that he's reworking the first half of that chapter.

I rarely do reviews but this game deserves it. I love the story the art, music, animations are amazing in good quality.
The whole game is immersive I can just recommend to try it. Can't wait until the next update

In general, I almost did not go through the game, but I just have to speak out.
The camera work, the music, the characters and the storyline ... Just my compliments, just incredible work. Why haven't I seen this game before?
Oh god ... No, the music is driving me crazy. It's just incredible.

This is quite a surprise, considering the dev is working on another - very different - game.
As it says in the first screen (nice touch - blue ball police) it's a slow burn and although it has about 7 or so hours of gameplay for now, it doesn't have any sex scenes. The renders are absolutely amazing, really. It's stuff you'd see in big devs (with a lot more patreon support). I cannot stress this enough, the characters look and feel unique and the only thing I could complain is that I didn't wait a few more months to start it and so I can't binge it for a few days straight.
And the story... If it wasn't enough that we get a well polished game with a lot of attention to detail and amazing renders, the story is really great. It's different and original. It's quite interesting to play as someone so broken and slowly pick up the pieces to maybe start feeling whole again. Each character has it's own personality and motivations and that's made very clear from the beginning. You won't get horny stepmom cliches here. They feel like real people.

TL;DR: One of the best games in here, both in story and render wise.

Great game and an even better story.
It's an adult not pornograhic (for now) game. Some people might see themselves in the player. His financial situation , single mother and a sister and the love conundrum makes the story appear genuine. The music is so point on and mesmerizing so the story keeps the player engaged. As they know the MC we see lots of sexual tension building. Heavy on the emotional side. I hope they dont screw up the ending of the story. The starting is a little confusing because of the symnolism used. White spiders are harbingers of death in some folklore and the white flower , idk what it means.
One star is being withheld until the end)).
Best of luck

Summer's Gone by Oceanlab

This is just my personal experience with Summer's gone


I saw on another game thread, People were really praising this game. So i thought i tried

Clarification

Want clarify i really dislike how some assets in Daz Studio or other programs. Make children look by just shrinking heads and body's. (This freaks me out a little. And i can't blaim the developer for this as its out of his control, And he has to work with what he got )

Story

Like i said above the intro freaked me out a bit when i started playing.
The story is just increasingly drawing you in more and more. You just start to feel with the MC and the interactions he makes. Some characters that are not the main focus of the game, Can instantly make your blood boil. With how they interact with MC or other characters.
Other characters in the game are all developed on the same lvl as the main characters.

So i have to praise Oceanlab on his story telling 5/5

Renders

What can you say it's 5/5

For all the renders in this game. They fit the story line so well
Nothing is out of place like girls look stunning and realistic
No weird boob sizes that start at the end of the alphabet
Eyes are amazingly done So are the other parts like facial features
Sometimes you see weird smiles in games nothing like that in this game.
Animations are super fluid no jittery or wonky animations Just excellent

Cons

There is only 1 con , I have But i can't really blame Oceanlab for it
When he writes the story, He thinks in his native language.
So he translates/ formulates, The story/question part with his native language in mind. And you have weird sentence or story structure

To Oceanlab if you by any chance read this .
Keep going ,hell of a story and you should be proud of what you have accomplished

amazing game, one of the only ones I've played multiple times that has no sexual content, the characters are amazing and so are the relationships, by far my favorites are Bella/Mila/Nami in that order

I've played hundreds of games on this website, Summer's Gone beats them all. The characters are so vivid and engaging, that's only possible with superb writing. Nami and Bella are both in my top 3 heroines.

There's great humor at times but dark topics such as loss are also handled superbly. It's a bold approach to tackle such dark issues but it's handled excellently and the game is better as a result.

The main way I assess games visually is through the quality of the renders (clarity, lighting, attention to detail, angles) and the beauty of the heroines. At the end of the day we obviously want them to be drop dead gorgeous.

Out of all the games I've played Summer's Gone ranks first in both of these areas. It's stunning and the only game where I've taken the time to save some screenshots .

Overall the dev is a genius. Slow updates is the only real downside but he is making two games simultaneously and work of this level takes time anyway.

Came for the art, stayed for the story.

Truly a good story so far, you can really feel with the MC in the story, but when you then learn a bout some of the girls... Damn, the feels hit so hard, and no I'm not crying, just a goddamn onion ninja skulking about.

Play it, you won't regret it one bit.

His story is very interesting and compelling, both his past of the protagonist that is a mystery although in some parts of Nami and Bella they made me laugh. Their character renderings are charming and their personalities are all different from one another.
I would stay with Mila even if I like redheads.
I have great hope for the creator to be motivated even more by continuing to develop this game

What can I say?
The story with the MC trying to get out of his misery mental state is breathtaking. The mystery of Summer really gets you going. The animations are banging, the female models look amazing and their characters are so unique and fitting.

I really love Nami, since her childish personality is opposing to ours, but she fits so well. I hate that she's the sister, because I'd love to see some lewd scenes with her but I doubt this game will use incest.

The animations also rock, but sometimes are a bit too much. What I mean by that is for instance the last one which shows us preparing for our date. It took like what, a whole minute? That's a lot!