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

Ch 3 final

There is only one negative aspect:
I don't like the look of the mc.

Positive - Everything else.
For a CH 3 episode there is a lot of content.
Very good story building, with many different characters (there is a but .... see below).
Good renders.
Perfect models.

I don't care that there are no sex scenes until now, the story makes up for it.
But I really fear that I need much more than one playthrough when this is finished. There are just too many interesting girls (in different ways, looks, personality and so on) and I don't think this will be a harem fuck fest.

That will leave the dev with rendering a lot different scenes and will probably (sadly) result in even longer update times.

Thanks for this and keep up the good work!

Review for Chapter 3 Final version. No spoilers.

A warning: I wouldn't consider this game as my type of game. So, some negative points I will make in this review will reflect that. But before going further, i have to mention that i totally respect and understand how many others loved the game and perhaps this can guide others as to if this game can fit them or not.

The good:

The photography, the graphics and the scenes all look excellent and very well above average. You get good angled shots with proper lights and effects to accentuate the emotions portrayed by the character.

The characters are excellent, with various recognizable traits that make them interesting to read and to see. They have various, well-made expressions and body poses which greatly enhance the connection with the characters instead of lifeless looking dolls seen in most other VN games.

The dialogue is very well made and characters have appropriate reactions, jokes and grounded responses that fit their persona.

All of that combined with a few, well-made videos and decent animations, it's an overall excellent game visual and writing wise.

I absolutely appreciated how i never felt forced to take any choices in the game. You can pick what you feel is right and pick stuff that interest you (I.E; you can choose to date a girl or not). So you don't have to worry about getting a game over screen, picking up relationship points or some other BS.

The bad:

The lack of lewd scenes is an obvious one.

Now now, i get it. It's not a fappy game, it's not a game meant to portray a bunch of perverts having scenes on the first occasion they get to. And i know that the literal first thing the game open to is a warning about this.

Despite this i always felt that i was missing something, and the long buildup i've gone through didn't go nowhere. I want to interact more with the characters and get personal. But i know very well i will need to wait a long time before being able to do that. Which lead to my next point.

At the time of this review (23 January 2021) the game has come out in May 8th 2019 on F95. That's 20 months and 15 days total. Yet we only have about 3 hours of playtime with no H-scenes beside some nudity. This only tells me that it will surely take years for this story to be anywhere complete and completely enjoyable, especially due to the time-consuming method of rendering unique still scenes one at a time.

And i can't stop but feel disappointed when i think about this.

Finally, the melodramatic aspect felt irritating near the end of the game. I get it, things were bad and many of the characters all had trauma and emotional scars because of it. But since there isn't really a pause about it and doesn't look like it will stop in future updates, it can cause a deconnection to the story because it's all so grim and depressing about it.

Life is all about the dark and good moments. The bad ones amplify and differentiate it from the good ones and provide them with value. But you have to have some good moments for that. When it's all dark, melodramatic and mysterious about it, it gets tiring and irritating. You want people to enjoy the experience, not come out of it all shitty and depressed.

Conclusion:

Despite all of that, it's obvious it's a quality game that is way different from the bunch and strive to eventually give great content. It's most definitely not my cup of tea. If you think it's yours, have at it. You will have a great time.

A VN that is extremely thought-provoking... whatever next? I feel like I have just been kneed in the emotional ball bag after being treated to a visually-stunning and gloriously complex plot. Oh look, its by the same author (Ocean) that does Where It All Began. Nice... really nice!

one of the best game from this site. Great graphics, main plot was very interesting and the best thing about this game is its writing. its short, sweet and simple. not lengthy unnecessary dialogue. Just good humor and to the point so you can read every dialogue rather than skipping it.

Great game and amazing story, can't lie that I am a simp for Bella.
The thematic about this game is fantastic, Ocean did a wonderful job with the storyboard and the game quality, the characters are all interesting each of them, and the mystery about Summer, excellent

the characters have alot of personality. they all have a uniqueness about them like they are SUPPOSED to be there in a college. and the animated parts MY GOD you cant help but notice EVERY TINY detail that was put into them from the way the actors move act and even the eye dilation. the music in the animated parts aswell just suit the tone and environment of what is going on all in all i will definatly be eagerly waiting for MANY updates to come

Really good renders and some interesting characters. Better writing that 90% of VN out there. Looking forward to more storylines. I don't really need all the music video moments but that's a stylistic choice. Great work.

After seeing a lot of hype for this game I decided to give it a try from the beginning. I'll start with the positive aspects, of which there are many.

The render quality is exquisite and the animations are breathtaking. Every scene is lit and captured like a studio set from Hollywood; drama takes precedence over realism. The camera zooms, pans and dollies around characters doing even the most plain of actions, giving every moment a sense of movement and visual intrigue. The blocking and composition are very competently done and the developer has a clear visual style in mind.

With the visuals out of the way I'll move on to the characters and discuss a few in detail. They are all competently portrayed stereotypes that go through the motions you would expect. The MC is the brooding damaged young adult that slowly learns how to relate to others and yearns to have a 'normal' social life. Bella (like another character of the same name in a popular game on this website ) is a tsundere with a bitingly sarcastic sense of humor. If you've seen one of those characters you've seen them all and this rendition won't change your opinion of them. Nami is the sisterly character that is fiercely protective of the MC and gets uncomfortably close at times. The rest fall into their own boxes and the player will get either a thrill or sigh based on their already formed opinion of them.

Now on to the plot that our cast of characters play out for us. It will either suck you in or feel like overwrought melodrama trying too hard to be 'edgy' and 'dark'. I personally fall into the second camp but can see why other players would differently. I don't wish to spoil the plot or prejudice readers so I will leave things there and restate that that is my personal opinion on the story. A player could easily have story beats and dialogue strike them as more authentic and gripping.

Overall, this is a very polished game that I wish I could enjoy more. 4/5 stars.

great game, story, romance, plot, characters, visual renders, animation, all that.
also, story-driven, not fap-driven. So thats a plus for me.
Cant wait for more but i imagine it will take a year to get a couple more chapters, so probably 2-3 years till completion. That makes me extremely sad

I was initially wary when I saw the warning stating no sex scenes but I had time to kill and decided to check the story out based on posts in an unrelated thread. I'm so glad I did! Became a patron the moment I finished chapter 3 even.

The story is interesting without being overly dark or corny, the renders are the best in the industry but what makes Summer's Gone really shine has to be the characters.

Each one feels fleshed out and unique. I found myself actually falling for the one I expected to hate right off, while feeling guilty for leading on the ones I initially thought I'd be pursuing. Certain moments really made me feel the emotions the MC was going through and the music certainly helped set the tone. I get the sense of ulterior motives from a few and that simply raises more curiosity. The reason for the MC being oblivious to lewdity was spot on and will make the eventual path we choose more rewarding. Even with the occasional grammar issues I still found myself hanging on every word like I was binging a tv show!

What a fantastic game this is turning out to be. I was wary, at first, of the odd grammar and spelling that cropped up here and there, but now that Ocean is addressing those issues I am all in. The story here is interesting, the protagonist is damaged without being obnoxious, and the overarching story has a lot of play left in it. This is a beautiful game, with a lot of craft and care put into it.

I would say that in general speaking, I don't like to be blue-balled. But this games is in many ways a real exception. The story is super, the renders are great and the characters are intriguing and genuine. I love the pace of this VN and think it has some really beautiful people in it.
If I have 1 comment, it is that it is really hard to choose between the characters, as you get the feeling of guilt leaving others behind.
Also, an extra point of this VN is that the MC is really transforming mentally, something which a lot of others out there forget.

This is really one of the best games out there. Ocean really is an undervalued dev I must say, the rendering of where it all began and Summer's gone really is marvellous. No offence but even DrPink be awestruck after seeing them. There are only a handful of VNs out there which have such a robust character development and engrossing story. I know most people here expect VNs to be good fap material but a great story shouldn't hurt. If fap material is what you need then take the Blue balls Police seriously!
Coming to the characters Nami really is by far the cutest redhead out there(except Sage from Being A DIK). The renders really become great chapter 3 onwards. I personally love Bella because of the shared ground between her and the MC. Having Nami as an LI would be really great as well.
Robin, Amber, Sonya, Cindy and Coach Hill are worth mentioning too.
Ocean should focus on getting updates faster may be breaking the chapters down or something, the HUGE waiting periods are the main reason for Ocean being so undervalued for such great work. If they can make regular updates do-able then there will be no rivals for SG and WIAB.

Simply brilliant VN.

Outstanding graphics. Great sense of humour. Intriguing story. Very likable characters.

If I am to fault with anything, it would be only that the "Victoria" behavies and speaks as if she is mentally retarded, or like as if she is 5 years old. I guess I understand where does this come from, and beneath that pose there is hidden something true, but for now that is too much.

Really looking forward to next chapters.

I only made one playthrough, focusing on Bella cause i think the story just came naturally. I will ty to follow other paths, but i feel like there is no other. I want to be wrong.

First i want to talk about animations. Most of them i would consider i waste of render time, really. They are not good enough for the time they must take to produce. Theres a couple that give you something.

The story is interesting, theres some typos here and there like "material arts"
Some decisions i dont like, for instance the wheelchair girl that triggers something but at some point the game just forgets about her. and introduces another character. I want to to think that its related to the choices i made.

The absence of sex is fine, as long as there is build up, but there is actually none. At some point there is someone who is naked next to another person but there is 0 sexual tension or innuendo. Most of the girls dont know what a bra is and still nobody cares. We get to see a lot of shots of tits and transparencies and butts, but those are only for the player, not for the MC, he doesnt know and doesnt care.

Yes, the MC doesnt care about anything, he doesnt know what a boner is, only a person who is not present in the game can trigger him, so obviously he is not interested in sex.

The warning about blueballing its pointless, because unless you are less than 18, i dont think this game is gonna trigger any sexual response at all.

Thats it so far until the end of chapter 3. A decent game, for its story if you like mistery, but in this game so far everyone is asexual.

I love the story, the girls are beautiful and interesting.A little more animations would be a plus, but it's already good as it is. Would love if the updates would be more frequent, but if the quality remain like this, it's worth the wait. Good job Oceanlab, keep going !

Great 3 chapters so far
The story and events are actually interesting to follow and explore
The characters/girls: oh my, don't even get me started, every girl definitely deserves her time to shine, and all are appealing in their own way (Already created 6 saves for every different route, but will probably need to add more down the road)
Shows great potential with beautiful renders and well-put occasional cinematics
Definitely 5 stars

Summer's Gone is one of the best, if not the best, visual novels I've come across, almost everything from the renders to the story with amazing character elaboration is good in it, and of course, special attention should be paid to cinematic inserts that are difficult to even describe. I could rant and sing praises for a long time, but it will be difficult to do without spoilers and some weird fan theory, so just try it yourself.

Let the system of assessments in zone provide only 5 points, as one game reviewer in my country likes to say: - 10 out of 10 are in the emotional area. And for me, Summer's Gone is a solid 10.

Finally got to play the novel that everyone was waiting and talking about for months. One of the best story-driven novels by far. Renders are great, girls are great. The plot... Well, that's the whole other story.

From the very beginning, it drags you into this very dark place and you get to know the MC's tragedy. There are no questions left about why he is that weird, and why he acts as he acts. The suspense of the story is incredible, the whole time you spend in front of this novel you simply can't stop thinking about what happened to Summer and where did she go. The whole atmosphere is pretty dark as I already mentioned, but it just makes the narrative better.

The MC is a pretty depressed and anti-social guy with a lot of issues. Now, imagine this kind of a person being a freshman in college. An environment where everything around you changes in a blink of an eye. New people, friends, enemies, challenges, and problems to deal with, whether you want it or not.

I believe that it could be a good premise for a new Hollywood show. So, if you're tired of simple "mother-son" or "sisters-brothers" relationship kind of stories this is just what you need!

I'll give it 9 out of 10 due to the dev's constant shifting of a release date.

So... this return just brings me back flashbacks from the first time I played the game.
Almost a year has passed, still, It was nice to play from the beginning and watch the transformation and evolution in the game.
The renders and cutscenes are just dazzling, the way it's displayed, the angles, zooming in and out and others, it's a real piece of art for this genre.
The plot and characters are immersive, no one can say otherwise.
I posted that the story and evolution of the MC would be the core of this game and I still believe that.
The characters are solid, connections to each one will vary on your choices.
It seems some characters (others than the obvious ones) have a 'strong' background and may have more impact on the long run.
The Dev set the story on a high bar, read the dialogues, they are worth it.
This could be one of those games that the outcome is unpredictable and can go in many ways.
No sex scenes, and to be honest, I couldn't care less. I would still support this game for everything else and to aim for a different purpose.
Sure, it's not perfect, but then again, what is?