summer haze/glory days

This is a really, really good visual novel. The whole cast is great; the game does an amazing job at portraying a dramatic slice-of-life story without veering too heavily into melodrama. The customization balances allowing you to shape the MC's identity and personality while also giving them a defined history and relationships. It's really well-written with great character writing in particular; every character has their own voice but they're all still heavily grounded in the setting. Most of all what I really liked is the New Game+ system. Most visual novels expect you to play the game multiple times to get different endings, but instead of a typical implementation, NG+ [spoiler]sets your original choices in stone; instead, what you change is how the MC feels about what happened a decade later, as well as which events were important to them[/spoiler]. (For what it's worth, you do get [spoiler]three world state slots, so you can also play around with choices in a more typical way, too[/spoiler].) Combined with the customization and the choice density, this gives the game a lot more replay value and opportunities for experimentation than most indie VNs. summer haze/glory days tech…

The story is bittersweet and it's cool the game can be replayed several times for different outcomes. I was a bit disappointed in the routes that did not have Emerson as the love interest, but it's alright, I get that he's the center of this story. The artwork is beautiful and it gives the game just the right vibe. If you like farming achievements this game is a gem, so many choice-related achievements! Personally I did not get all of them but I might lock in someday when I get to replay it.

I've played so many VNs and dating sims and I genuinely have never played one like this before. I love the writing and the characters so much! The use of the NG+ in the storytelling is so good, it adds so much depth to the story when replaying. I don't want to give away too much since I feel like going in blind makes it much more enjoyable and your choices and the results you get more authentic! I played the demo for this when it came out all that time ago and to see how it is as a final product, I'm really satisfied. Some things can only really be seen and understood when reflecting, and some things can only be done when you've regretted your past decisions. It's easy to regret the things you did in the past and dwell on them, wondering what you could've done right. But some things - regardless of how much you try - will always happen, but certain people will be there for you to make the inevitable bearable, and make it a less lonely experience even when it ended how it did. <3

The story feels very short and surface-level, especially for this price. I replayed about 5-6 times feeling quite aimless and unsatisfied with endings. This game has great potential and I'd love to leave more of a neutral than negative review if there was an option.

Mallory my baby

UGH.🧡✨😭