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

Truly one the best VN around ; gorgeous visuals (have you seen those previews ? It's even better now), great musics (more and more to make an even better atmosphere) and truly outstanding writing (you will find yourself attracted to some characters).

I could gush about it for hours.

If you're looking for immediate sex or easy boobies, you've come to the wrong game. Here, it's all about relationship building and world building. There'll be sex eventually but only when it's deserved and relevant.

But if you're looking for characters you'll fall in love with, gorgeous renders with wonderful writing both in story and characters ; then search no more. You're home. Welcome.

Summer's Gone [Ch. 3.5 Fixed Beta]
Easily of the best Visual novels available to play on this site. Though some renders and scenes may look slightly awkward (some animations and how some characters look different in ch1 than ch2). Theres a large cast of characters which are each unique and can be seen to have their own part in the story. The MC's 'Trauma' seems to be realistic enough to be believable and the way other characters approach it doesnt seem fake or forced. The best quality the game has is character interactions and developments. Relationships dont seem to come out of nowhere and by not rushing into lewd content the developer actually makes time for real friendships and romances to develop. unlike some other games..

Excellent game

When i played this game for the first time, i actually got a bit emotional about how messed up the MC is and the effects that it has on people surrounding is. A car accident happens it front of him and he thinks "what an interesting turn of events". Having seen a car accident happen in front of me I undertand how messed up you must be to be this calm and numb about it.

The game then continues to develop meaningful and strong relationships with great dialogue. I specifically like the Bella path, I have never seen a mean/b*tchy type girl path been done this good. Its so exciting how both the mc and bella have this broken pasts and are slowely coming out of their shells. There dialogue is unique and fitting for where they come from, its like they just dont know how to act normal with each other because of there interest in each other.

The other storylines are also intersting like Nami (supressed feelings), Mila (difficult background and situation) and Victoria (supressed feelings about the accident). I cant wait to see all these storylines progress. Pretty much all of the female characters in the game look nice and there are many side girls with lots of potential. All in all what a masterpiece! The unfortunate part is the waiting time on updates but the dev is working on 2 games at the same time, so fair enough.

The decision to leave sex out off was great ! Loved every character, the story is really good. I finished it all in one sitting without even realizing that I didn't even saved everything was great, its like a whole different experience from all the games that throw sex on you for a quick fap, you get to know every character also the MC has some real depth , you don't see that very often.When there is a real build-up everything feels more natural.Highly recommend everyone to play this game! 10/10
Oceanlab love youu!! keep it up GOAT !

Version 3.5 Review

First off, I love the blue balls disclaimer at the very beginning of the game. In my opinion, that was very clever...and humorous!

Speaking of humor, I found myself laughing at many scenes in this game. This wasn't because it was dumb or silly. It was out of shear hilarity. The dialogue is good and has humor and sarcasm riddled throughout the dialogue.

The characters look great. I didn't notice anything negative to mention about it. I haven't decided who my favorite character is yet. I like Victoria and Mila's personalities and story and look forward seeing the development. As far as looks, Robin has caught my attention. However, all of the girls look amazing! The one character that I would like to know more about is the girl with the scar on her face (Sasha?). I'm curious if a small story develops with her. I am not particularly interested in anything between her and the MC, but just her back story.

The game's story is amazing and sucks you right in. I look forward to the next update.

What an incredible game! The story, the music, the cinematic scenes in between, everything is phenomenal! The character design and development is astonishing as well. Love the hate & love relationship between Bella & MC. This games makes me crave for more!

This a gem. Girls are hot AF, and the story has giving me a lump in my throat, and made me laugh more then one's. Nami is a cutie. Awesome renders, great music, love the cutscenes. My only complain is I want more........... Waiting is not my strong suit

I have been a member since 2017, and played a lot of great games, but non has prompted me to write a review, that should tell you how great I think this Gem is. Thank you Oceanlab for raising the bar.

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.