Secret Summer

8/10

I discovered AVNs during the lockdown and by now I have my favorites. This is one of those and this would be my third time playing it but for the first time on steam.

This game has no sound whatsoever. That may be odd, but it's no dealbreaker to me. Mind the content warnings. If you're not into this type of story, then there is little for you here - there is exactly one character with an added 'step', but playing just for her story would be leaving out most of the game's content, at which point I question whether it's worth the price. But if you enjoy this kind of story, then there is a lot for you here. All five Love Interests are quite different from each other, both in their appearances and personalities, and there is enough variety that you can find your favourite among them. This is also one of several VNs made by SuperWriter. I got it as part of a bundle, together with Picture Perfect, Reconnecting and Sun Breed. It brings a smile to my face seeing the characters from Picture Perfect making cameos in this one, in several scenes in fact, making the world feel more real and not just a small isolated corner where MC's family can't be touched by what is going on outside. Knowing that other people have similar dilemmas, and understand what MC and the girls are going through, is a very humanizing, heartwarming addition. I feel like this story has perhaps the best pacing among SuperWriter's works. There is an overarching story, MC has his reasons for coming back home as well as a 'deal with the devil' he's trying to escape, but each of the five love interests has her own secrets to find and problems she needs help with, and going back and forth through them all helps the pacing - while waiting for some actions to bear fruit, you can help another character and check back in after a while. The graphics are quite good, the writing is evocative, the plot twists and reveals are on the clever side, and the sex scenes are definitely worth it (even with no animations, which admittedly would've made the game even better but also increased its required memory by a lot, I'm guessing). The integrated walkthrough is a huge help, since every choice has a 'right' and a 'wrong' choice, not necessarily a good or bad one - but if you want to progress a girl's storyline, you have to score enough points to see all the scenes, and some choices (like applying make up with Coral) would be frustrating guesswork without the hints. The gallery is a very nice touch, split up into categories for all of the love interests and the harem scenes (although the girls never quite join forces against the MC, they do acknowledge and support each other) with easy navigation for when you want to replay the scenes. I don't know what the 'dream shards' reference at one point, but I am just glad there's no added complication when you already have to collect points to unlock the scenes in the first place. The confrontation with MC's father is a bit anticlimactic, I can't argue with the results, but I wish he put up more of a fight and tried to win MC over / put him in his place rather than surrender to his demands, then the scene would've been more rewarding. Zoe also has two intertwined plotlines - the blackmail plot, and MC helping her write her romance blog, so while she gets a lot of scenes her pacing feels off compared to the others, because the blackmail isn't quite resolved until near the end - and even then, that also feels anticlimactic, with the 'Mafia Mom' agreeing to MC's and Zoe's request without issue. In that sense, the build up from infiltrating a secret society feels kind of wasted, although I must admit resolving that situation peacefully might have been difficult otherwise. In short, I can definitely recommend this one, and if you enjoy Secret Summer then you may want to check out other games by SuperWriter - best if you can get them on sale in a bundle. This one is a decent starting point, despite not being the first (that would be Picture Perfect instead), but with its consistent quality you can get a sense for what to expect from this creator.

I like the game ! Good history and I have so much laugh with the jokes between them hahaha at the end when the MC's and Irene goes to Portugal and the mother say's "You're pregnant, not sick or die" HAHAHAH that's typical portuguese's people but I don't know about the original name of Irene. I never heard this before but after some research, it's a very old name and it's really rare name in this time. And I'll never think Irene was portuguese but thanks for introduce this. It's just a shame there no animations, that's all. Great job with all that !! (Sorry for my english ^^')

Decent visual novel Story needs time to get interesting. No animations in scenes, only pictures.

dommage des scenes de sex qui n en sonts pas

Love the story.

grate read

it is fun, the lightsaber battle is the best scene though, LoL

This game makes me feel really bad in so many ways. Not sure if the girls in the game are "friends" or sisters. And if its the real mother playing a part of the "harem". Never liked games based on incest.