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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  But is it Fun?  |  Topic: Everlasting Summer - Soviet Games - PC 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Everlasting Summer - Soviet Games - PC  (Read 12387 times)
Falconeer
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on: January 02, 2015, 03:56:45 AM

Everlasting Summer looks like your usual Japan-inspired dating-sim visual novel but you know something odd is going on when the name of the company making it is "Soviet Games" and the title screen greets you with hammers, sickles and Lenin busts.

Don't get me wrong, this really is a Japan-inspired dating-sim visual novel, but it takes place and has been made in Russia so you should expect lots of quirky stuff even when they are just trying to fit a stereotype. The premise is that you are a twenty-something internet addict with no friends and passions, who get sucked in a 1980 Pioneer Camp, the Soviet version of boy/girl scouts, before the Berlin Wall collapse. Trying to understand what the hell happened to you and how to get out from the Past you got stuck into turns out to be only half of your quest, while the other half is, of course, getting acquainted with all the girls in the camp, have sex with them, and live amazing things you couldn't experience in your actual, dull, apathetic timeline. Over the course of 7 days you will make some sparse choices that will decide what ending you get access too. This is weird cause at first it totally looks like you couldn't choose much, but the game has 13 VERY different endings and I would say that this is where it shines.

I got undeniably hooked when I realized how different the story can get based on what "branch" you pick. The problem is that without a guide, and after your first clean playthrough, it isn't clear at all how to get into a different branch or what you could have done differently. But as soon as you try to get a little deeper into the mechanics you'll realize the amount of story(es), for a game of this kind, is quite huge. This doesn't change the fact that Everlasting Summer is definitely too long in some sections and the writing is uneven at best, which might have to do with a different cultural style from what I am used to, I'm not sure. The different endings though, including a few crazy ones, are interesting and while some interactions and dialogues are beyond childish, there are also times when you can appreciate the education background of the writers.

The characters get more interesting through replays, since the first trip through the 7 days don't leave much room for their personalities, but whenever you take a different branch you get to know them better. As I mentioned before, this is the strength of the game: the 13 endings paint a whole picture. I am not a completionist but this is one case where you can only really say you finished the game when you got all the endings since only then you will really know Sovionok Camp and the story of the guy who got trapped into it.

The character design is weird at first, as pretty much everything that wants to look Japanese but it's not Japanese, but you'll get used to it soon and will probably appreciate it after a while, and the background pictures/paintings are honestly beautiful. Finally, the 1980s Soviet Union setting is just unbeatable.

Don't forget to download the Hentai patch from the official website, since the Steam version will just give you a black screen where you are supposed to see sex or breasts. It is not much at all, this is not a hentai game, but it's better to see all the stuff instead of censorship blankness.

Rating: It's 100% free, on Steam, so yes go ahead and buy it.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2015, 04:03:02 AM by Falconeer »

Falconeer
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Reply #1 on: January 02, 2015, 03:59:51 AM










Druzil
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Reply #2 on: February 02, 2015, 07:42:33 AM

Didn't really expect to see a BiiF on this game but I'm glad someone else got as hooked on this one as I did.   So many different branches, the interactions of all the characters and just the diversity of the endings makes this one really great.  I also really liked the way the fast forwarding working in this game.  You can turn it on but it will stop automatically if you get to some text that you hadn't encountered before.  I'm sure other games have done that but for some reason this implementation just seemed to work really well as I was trying to find all the different branches.

My only knock on the game is that I thought the secret endings were too hard to find without a guide and when you did find them I didn't think they were as good as the normal endings.  Still, I didn't think it took anything away from the game.

I'd never head of Soviet Games before but if they release anything else I'll definitely be checking it out.
rk47
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Reply #3 on: February 04, 2015, 10:26:21 PM


Colonel Sanders is back in my wallet
Falconeer
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Reply #4 on: February 05, 2015, 12:32:34 AM

The "Genda" statue is a pretty cool reference, even though I am ashamed to admit that it took me a while to recognize him.

Rendakor
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Reply #5 on: February 13, 2015, 09:11:45 AM

As I told RK, I think I need a patch that gives everyone Japanese names.

"i can't be a star citizen. they won't even give me a star green card"
Falconeer
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Reply #6 on: February 13, 2015, 09:26:54 AM

I think I know what you mean, but that really wouldn't make much sense. Worse than anime with English names.

Rendakor
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Reply #7 on: February 13, 2015, 11:09:39 AM

I realize the setting is Russian but the art style is so obviously Japanese that it's hard to immerse myself. I have similar problems with anime-style American cartoons or comics, so I accept that this is me being weird.

"i can't be a star citizen. they won't even give me a star green card"
jth
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Reply #8 on: October 25, 2016, 06:59:55 AM

I'd never head of Soviet Games before but if they release anything else I'll definitely be checking it out.

They're working on a new game now, the Kickstarter goal was just reached with two days to go.

Looks like it will have the same scenario writer, which was enough for me to throw money at the screen.
Druzil
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Reply #9 on: October 31, 2016, 05:58:21 AM

I'd never head of Soviet Games before but if they release anything else I'll definitely be checking it out.

They're working on a new game now, the Kickstarter goal was just reached with two days to go.

Looks like it will have the same scenario writer, which was enough for me to throw money at the screen.

Awesome, thanks for the heads up.  I'll throw some money at this tonight.
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