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

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.

Incredible story, with complex and beautiful characters. Each character has a different personality and style. This is also one of the most stylized game with each character being amazing to look at.

There is no sex scene, but if you aren't a horny 15-year-old, you can appreciate the slow burn. The story had me hooked and at the end of this part, it left me with a hole in my heart like other great works of art I have read or played. This is going to be and is a 10/10 in my books.

I am definitely looking for it to be finished, and it will definitively be my favorite AVN.

Played the version with Ch 5 beta.

Incredible story, I love the fact that the game is focusing more on mental issues and the emotional side rather than just sex scenes on loop. And if you are able to relate with the emotional side of the game you will enjoy it a lot more I think.

A lot of work has been put in the characters you can feel it, whether it be physical appearance or personnality.

The events taking place in the story are pretty well made, nothing really stands out as odd or forced in my opinion (still a VN game though, remember).

In this way I found the cohesion between characters and events taking place really good. And I don't think it's easy to do that so good job.

I will advise you to pass on the game if you're looking for more action, because there's not a single sex scene in the 10 hours of story for now.

All around it was a great experience for me, I really enjoyed the emotional side of the game as it made me reflect on some similar things about myself, so thanks again for creating this gem.

Good luck with future development.

Amazing world and character building.

Bella is the Top1 AVN LI and all the girls are gorgeous and mostly unqiue. The connections to Wiab make everything feel even more alive.

This AVN has by far the best/most beautiful renders compred to all other AVN's. The Dev really invests a lot of time into producing very high quality.

The MC isnt the usual perv/moron and not spineless at all yet still flawed/troubled.

The amount of bad reviews because of impatient whiners having tantrums is unfortante even tho the avn is upfront about it.

OK lets try to unravel this one, oh boy.
First off, one of the best VNs on the site, no doubt there, top 5 easy.
Super detailed scenes, models are gorgeous, 11/10. Music is phenomenal.
In my opinion, too many side characters are being set up, i hope all of them get enough content to be worth the addition.
Story is a VERY slow burn, like nothing happens in like 200 slides, definitely not for people who just came to rub one out.
Updates are very inconsistent and far in between, probably because dev works on two games at once. Still has enourmous potential, wishing to see this get completed in a few years.

Insane...

It's insane because it has excellent models, because the narrative is captivating and moves many feelings, even though it doesn't have more graphic scenes yet, it's excellent to play this novel, I hope it continues like this without losing what has been achieved so far, and the only drawback is the wait for new content ... but it's really worth it - congratz

Great game, but...

This game has all the hallmark characters to be imo the best adult VN out there hands down. It has among other;

1. An interesting protagonist that is emotionally very shutoff to the point that its debilitating but the character does show change and growth with a lot of potential.
2. The characters look beautiful, sometimes you'd say they are too attractive, but its a game and its fantasy so its more than justified.
3. Animations are great and spice things up nicely, even the short movie scenes show a quality game that gets much attention from the developers.
4. Story is interesting, this ties into point 1 above. Its interesting simply to see how the MC interacts with everyone in the game, their stories and his and how it affects each party. Though the concept or setting is one that has been done before many times over.

There are other things I can add to the pros but I feel these are probably the critical ones for me. Now the cons, which are not many but are significant;

1. Probably the worst aspect of the game is its slow development, yes I am calling it out. Yes, we get quality over quantity true, but lets just look at this bigger picture. Are we expecting this game to go on for 10 years? The reason I ask is simply at how slow the game progresses. I am not talking about sexual content even, that which is there is still fine when it comes to sexual aspects. What is concerning is that the game has a lot that it can do, in terms of story and content. The issue is that either the devs rush the game towards the end and ruin what has a strong start or they end up dragging this game out while milking it for all its worth. (which from a business pov is not stupid, its just frustrating) and it loses its luster. I believe its getting to a point where things need a stronger and more deliberate direction. Some purpose to the MC.
2. I will level with you, trying to express myself above in point 1 is tricky and I am not doing myself any favours as I have explained it. Long story short, the game needs more frequent updates for the type of content we are getting. There is very little substance to any of this content, nothing driving any particular story or narrative to any significant conclusion or even sub story. The MC can help Bella and so far thats almost the only real thing only because it was mutually beneficial, that as a sub story or plot is good, but we still see little to anything on that really. That what is there is just extra "fluff" if you catch my meaning. Which is fine and very nice ONLY when you get regular updates and not half a year or more between half a chapter work and maybe 1 chapter a year if you lucky...added on top of that that there is no lewd either.

Again, great game but I have my concerns and I feel I have some argument to be made here, but its well worth the play, just maybe not well worth the time between updates. So don't wait for this one, it will take years at this pace to come to a completion and if they rush it it could lose great potential, but they need to drop more updates more regularly.

Absolutely phenomenal.

Some of the negative reviews on here are absurd. Some of you are calling the main character weak, or calling him too aggressive, or too much of an asshole, or too much of a pussy. What do you think trauma does? This is a game for adults, and if you can't handle an emotionally complicated game that is based on story not Magical Big Dick SyndromeTM then maybe you should fuck off someplace else.

For those of us who can enjoy a story-driven narrative, this is a gem. More than that, this is an example of what happens when you take a genre like AVNs and elevate them to stories. The characters pop with personality. The main character is damaged and broken. There is uncertainty, there is pain. There is CONFLICT. So many of these games are essentially fantasies where the MC gets a free ride to explore as many of his desires as possible. That makes for a wonderful fap experience. But those make shitty stories.

Summer's Gone is agonizing in a different way. I started this game assuming I would hate Bella and love the Cheeto. But the worst case scenario happend - I loved BOTH. Bella is by far the best love interest in this genre. I was angry, then conflicted, then confused but excited, then sad, then intrigued, then flat out in love. If Bella walked up to me in real life it would fuck my life up, like wreck my existence because of what I would do for her. And the story isn't over, so there is more to experience.

Ocean, dude, bravo. Keep fighting the brave fight for story over instant gratification, for quality over quantity. You're making something special here. Lean into it, follow your instincts.

And for God's sake, let us end up with Bella.

UPDATE: I played through the final Season 1 version. It's somehow even better. It was like I had never played it, all of those emotions just rushing back and tearing through me. Fell in love with Bella all over again. Did another playthrough to finally show Nami love. And now, sitting here, knowing that Season 2 starts SOON but not NOW... brutal.

I bought it on Steam. I've never done that for an AVN. If you liked this game, support it. Few deserve it. This one does.

Cheers Ocean. Oh, and still let us end up with Bella.

The best I've played in this kind of games.... Nice story, well characterized characters, nice dialogues, good music and excellent renders. Also the connection it has with WIAB makes it even more engaging.
(deepL)