Ren'Py - Summertime Saga [v21.0.0 wip.4468] [Kompas Productions]

I can see why this game is so well-reviewed. It deserves it. Great art, action, repeatable content, story-lines, puzzles, quests, objectives. This game is great. I've enjoyed how the protagonists relationships develop and while I'm not close to finishing the current content, this game has gone above and beyond what most 'porn' games would be. That's not very fair, I don't consider this a porn game, i consider this a game that just happens to have porn. Give it a shot, try it, enjoy it, review it.

Probably the only porn game I was ever genuinely invested in? Like, shockingly fun and witty. Very enjoyable.

Maybe I'm weird, but especially coming back to it... the sex stuff, the actual meat of the game, doesn't grab me as much. Animations are stellar and all that, but the scenes themselves feel a bit quick and samey to me. Just my personal take. Probably enough there for anyone to rub one out, though. That oughta be enough.

For version 0.20.8:

Summertime Saga is great as long as you like the art. There's a lot to this point-and-click adventure and caters to most people. There is a games-worth of content already, but more is being updated slowly. I could see this game getting caught in the trap of infinite development, but there is so much already that you can't really complain. It is also obvious which quest was made earlier in the life of the game versus recently released.
Given the size of the game, you'll probably be working on several quests at once; I have had issues with quests bugging from trying to do multiple at once and it is sometimes annoying when multiple quests demand the same day of the week to do things. The only real grind is for money. Leveling skills is not an issue as they max at a low level or are leveled over the course of many weeks (thinking of Dex).
Some of the characters are quite charming and I look forward to more content. If for some reason development just up and stopped leaving it abandoned, I'd still recommend this game.

It´s actually one of the best games I've played, personally recommended for everyone, the characters, history, minigames everything is perfect; download the incest patch and the lewd patch for a more better experience

This review is for version 0.20.9 (after MANY hours of playing)

The art is decent, maybe a 7/10.
Like, the MC and others are bug-eyed as fuck with facial expressions and bodily proportions being really out there, but the many hours you'll have to play to get to any of the NSFW content will inevitably make the style grow on you.

The animations are also 7/10 because some seem to be really well done while others are extremely basic.
It does seem to get better the further in you play but again, going from the beginning and not just rapidly skipping through will take you hours upon hours of grinding, and that's in cheat mode.

The grind is intense in this game.
Like, even playing in "cheat mode" you still have to spend hours upon hours upon hours of playing before you get to any actual NSFW content.
Wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that the NSFW content is incomplete as far as implementation is considered.

For instance, the first sexual interaction you can get access to at the very beginning of the game is with the "cow girl" at the school who fools around a little in the bathroom, but it only goes so far as a handjob and seems to have no further content currently even though there are options to attempt to initiate penetrative sex.
Like, at no point beyond the occasional fetch quest going forward does that character ever matter in the game, which is only a shame because the next legit sexual encounter is hours of playing away.
Not to mention the "pregnancy" system that seems to be half heartedly implemented since you can certainly fertilize people, but that's the end of it since you can then fertilize again and again and again with no actual pregnancy seeming to ensue.

Which brings us to the next big issue with the game:
The severely padded/inflated runtime.

Even in cheat mode you have to do certain jobs and activities repeatedly to progress the story and some events that can only be done at certain times of certain days to progress the story and those events typically use up all the time you had left in the day, making you wait potentially another whole week before you can attempt any other events at that time on that day.

Game is extremely grindy, which is easily the second worst part about the game.

The worst part about the game is the BS plot where a public school principal is able to get away with any of the shit she does in the game.
Never mind all the ludicrous "policies" the principal tries passing without approval from the schoolboard or the PTA, but her behavior alone would be enough for her to be removed from her position with Annie being suspended or expelled for being an accomplice.
Like, yeah everyone can be a bitch about the MC missing school, but the school literally would not be able to penalize him for missing school due to his father dying due to bereavement leave public school students are entitled to due to federal laws.

I would love to give it the benefit of the doubt since the art is decent and the game is sorta enjoyable due to the occasional joke that jumps in, but then I remember that the game has apparently been in development since 2016 and has not only a mess of barely implemented functions and severely padded runtime, but is also incomplete after 5 years and is apparently far from being complete.

I'm all for games seeing continued development, but I've seen too many situations like this to know when someone is milking a cow for all it's worth.
When a game is this popular for this long and has been making the developer a steady stream of hefty chump change and has only seen this little development, then it's just a sinkhole for supporters.

This game is a game for the purpose of treatment.
This is a real adult game.
This game is a game for firmly learning right and wrong.
It's a really good game. And it's a really difficult game.
And it's a fresh, sticky, beautiful game.
It's not an intelligent game, but it's also a wise game.
And it's a game that makes you think.
I'm Korean, but I've never seen or played a game like this.
none. However, I admit It's a really good game.
There are good days and bad days in the world.
The protagonist of this game is an 18-year-old boy in my opinion...
It is like a superman or a god that has surpassed human thought and life. hahaha

Version: v0.20.9

A real solid game , the story is segmented for each girl and each story has its own unique flavour and fetish for most to enjoy. The gameplay is nothing too spicy, because this game is pretty much a visual novel with extra spice and nothing else to see. The sex scenes themselfs are a bit generic when it comes to the artstyle but the animation compensates for that.

Overall a long, solid story that you can waste your days to reading and wanking.

Fun story with great animations (and cool references), this game is easy one of the best out there. It may seem grindy, but with time you will figure out that it is not. Love the artwork, I have spent countless hours with it, looking forward to the following updates.

Favorite game so far. Fan of Darkcookie's work and supporter of Dj Awesomo. what else can i say? seriusly, i mean im just trying to fullfil the requirements so... Its Great! That's it. Constant Updates, Community feedback, Dev development literally always active, the game even has a wiki for FUCK's SAKE! JUST PLAY IT ALREADY!

Obviously one of the best and well funded NSFW VNs ever. A great highschool sex fantasy style game that is all story and minimal annoying grinding. Fun story, quality art. Fetish stuff is all tasteful and well executed.

I consider STS to be the apex of the RenPy format, if not the apex of the entire adult vn genre. Others appear to feel the same way, as it has been consistently in the top few entries of the F95Z ratings and discussion thread length for months, if not years by now.

The illustrations are amazing and the animations are well crafted and sexy. The writing is top notch, the characters have distinct voices and motivations. The MC is pleasant to spend time with. The supporting characters are fun and complicated and leave me wanting to know more about them. The plot is perfunctory, but at least it moves along fairly snappily.

The weaknesses are minimal. It is a bit slow to start and then crowded at the end. The mini-games are pointless and grindy. Many of the plot-gates are obscure and require waiting around for triggered time/place events. Some of the flavor-text banter wears out its welcome. Some of the characters are unnecessarily stereotypical.

The biggest issue for me is the jarring change in tone from respectfully seducing your French teacher at the beginning to a bank heist and multiple murders while assaulting a mob lair at the end. But really, a vn where the major problem is a discrepancy in story tone is still pretty amazing.

The plot follows a friendly, impressively-endowed young man as he solves problems around town, seduces or is seduced by every woman he meets (2 dozen?), and investigates the mystery of his father's murder by mobsters. The scenarios cover a huge range of vanilla and mildly-handled fetishes. From bikini contests to lactation to glory holes to implied incest to consensual cucking to ... sea monsters!? And more that I won't spoil.

A lot of the plot beats are kind of weird, but some are surprisingly profound. The MC's evolving relationships with his sister and his two girlfriends at school are particularly thoughtfully rendered. Certainly Evie's story is one of the one of the most romantic and sweet stories I've seen in this format. I even felt a little bad for her and her family when the MC would "cheat" on her in other independent plot threads.

The inside jokes and current pop culture refs are fairly fun and usually not super-intrusive. And when they are intrusive, they are still pretty deftly handled. Who wouldn't want to hang out with Iwanka Rump, the surprisingly friendly and super-sexually-generous daughter of corrupt Mayor Ronald Rump?

Production quality is top notch. A very few minor misspellings. No missing scenes. Some weird plot-dialog inconsistencies that could be easily fixed with a little more QA.

This is an indie game and the dev team apparently make decent $$ from Patreon subscriptions ($74k/month!). They deserve every penny and more, in my opinion. Overall, STS is head and shoulders above any other vn out there.

(Review based on 2nd play-through)

At first kind of charming, in a way, but gets repetitive and tedious and silly (not in the good way) soon, and then drags on.... The same was true, for me, for the art: Refreshing at first, but not able to keep interest up in the long run...

Yes, another 5 star rating for one of, if not the, best adult VN currently in production. Summertime Saga has a wealth of content for you to experience currently. There are a lot of girls with completed stories and there isn't a single character arc that feels poorly written.

The art is fantastic. It has it's own unique style that makes the game's new content always feel like something you haven't seen before. The girls are all interesting with multiple erotic scenes and that makes playing the game with every new update worthwhile.

There are some mini-games that can feel a bit tedious and prevent you from getting to the good stuff too quickly, but none are difficult to complete. There has been more and more time between updates as the game has progressed but as someone who has no experience with making a game, I can't criticize it too much for that. The only other nitpick I have with the game is that I don't like branching story lines, such as Mia's or Eric's. I think in some cases these choices are fine when it doesn't lock you out of content, such as during Tony's and Maria's story, but they should overall be avoided. The creator thankfully stopped these for the most part in future updates and hopefully changes the already completed ones down the line so that all the scenes are available in one save.

If you haven't played Summertime Saga yet, it's definitely worth your time. I can't wait to see the updates yet to come.

So many characters to interact with. Stories for each character suits well too going well with the main story.Art style is excellent in sex scenes for a cartoon type of VN. Expecting more in the future. The quality of the game makes up for the long intervals between the updates imo.

this game is a 5 stars for me. I really enjoyed the game :
pro :
- lot of mini stories to unlock with several girls.
- sense of humor. One of the most hilarious game I have ever played. Ireally liked the way the author choose furniture in the rest room in the garage...
- there is a main story, and it is really interesting to try to undestand the final word.
Con :
- graphics may not enjoy evrybody, but it stick to the global parody feeling. I think that some girls could be redrawn to be sexier (especially for the face).
- all the stoies you can have with the girls have an end, and if it's could for some reasons, when you reach step 2 of the main story, all these secondary stories got nothing new. it can be frustrating, and I belive that author could add some new scenes easily.

All the fricking "Minigames" are fricking horrible, especially the "Qicktime Event" where u have to press a ton of arrows in a short time & any mistake gets u killed. The scenes are okay, BUT all the minigames are just a big NO. If u wanted to make a game filled with Skill based minigames then make it & don't force them upon ur playerbase.

Definitely a 5 star for, plenty of story and contents. Nice minigame which is not overly tedious and not too grindy. Just the right amount of time consumption.

Hope to see more in future updates. Would like more scene with Roxxy and Tammy.

(v0.20.8)

Minigames in this game... It's pointless, meaningless, unnecessary, boring and waste of time.

There are too many minigames in this game and it's really annoying. Especially for mobile. Sometimes it becomes impossible to finish the mini game on time. And the mini game I came across in the last update really made me tired of the game. Since I couldn't do it on mobile, I installed the game on PC and still couldn't pass the same place. AND IT'S REALLY ANNOYING. IT'S JUST A PORN GAME AND WE CAN'T PROGRESS THE MAIN STORY OF THE GAME BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKING SHITTY MINIGAMES.

Why ? That's the question, why ? Is it more fun ? Does it feel better like this ?
Unfortunately... NO.

This game was better before. I don't know what changed (clearly more minigames) but now, game's direction is far to be good. Game is becoming boring game and i don want that. This game was one of my first games, but it becomes 2 star worthy im afraid.

boring game, bad game.
It is an overrated game, it takes a long time to do everything and the theme is usually boring and obvious.
I really don't understand how a game of so many stars gets to be.
although if I like how it's drawn, I don't think it's worth the stars that people put on it.

I used to rate this game highly. It was the first adult game that I played years ago, and at the time I loved Jenny and Eve and all the stories in the game. The sandbox elements were nice, the writing was good, and it was really high quality in my eyes. I couldn't wait to see where it would go.
However, it has easy to see flaws that go beyond its snails pace progress and its toxic, abusive community. Instead of spending valuable time doing things correctly, they decide instead to remake artwork, dialogue and entire character routes over and over again, which is likely why the current game is currently bland and has around 1 hour of new content per 6 months.
There are other issues too, storylines that nobody cares about, and pointless minigames for the sake of having more annoying minigames, and I mentioned it before but the community is more like an angry mob than anything else.
There are developers that I know that deserve more than what they get, and yet the over 'support' on this game has completely killed the spark that it used to have. And it's really sad to see, because this was a fun game.