Bientôt l'été

About

Bientôt l'été is a single player simulation game with romance and drama themes. It was developed by Tale of Tales and was released on February 6, 2013. It received neutral reviews from players.

Bientôt l’été is a videogame for two players. Two players who pretend to be lovers. They pretend to be lovers separated from each other by lightyears of deep space. They have lonely walks along the shore of a simulated ocean, thinking wistful thoughts of each other. Thoughts from ancient Earth literature by Marguerite Duras. The empty beach, the strong wind, the gentle music and a small colony of…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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42%

Audience ScoreBased on 191 reviews

atmosphere2 positive mentions

gameplay5 negative mentions

Unique artistic and poetic experience emphasizing ambiance and human connection.
Calming and surreal atmosphere with a relaxing soundtrack and dreamlike visuals.
Innovative multiplayer concept focusing on nonverbal communication and symbolic interaction.

Very limited gameplay with little to no traditional game mechanics or objectives.
Multiplayer functionality rarely works due to a dead or very small player base.
Poor controls, confusing user interface, and technical issues detract from the experience.

story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The story in this game is minimal, cryptic, and often viewed as fragmented or underdeveloped, relying heavily on player interpretation and atmosphere rather than clear narrative. While some appreciate its abstract, artistic approach to a love story, many find it too short, obscure, and lacking in resolution or engaging plot elements. Overall, the narrative experience is divisive, best suited for players who enjoy ambient storytelling over traditional, forward-driven plots.
- “If you can just lull about a game and enjoy the atmosphere, get engaged in the story, then buy this.”
- “Everything here - music, visuals, ambient sounds, symbols, place and the story - it is just so coherent.”
- “It's definitely not for everyone, but if you be patient and follow the game's interesting story and concept, you will find an indie gem of a game.”
- “The game falls short on providing the story seen in the description and is extremely cryptic.”
- “This game is very short and limited - and you learn most of the story outside the game, by reading its description.”
- “Don't go into this expecting any kind of consistent gameplay, story, objectives or characters.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
60%
25%
The gameplay is widely criticized for being minimal, simplistic, and lacking clear instructions or meaningful mechanics, resulting in a repetitive and unsatisfying experience. Many users find the controls clumsy, objectives unclear, and interactions ineffective, with little to no long-term engagement or compelling content beyond basic exploration.
- “Sadly, while interesting in some aspects (notably a commendable work of reducing the game to its most fundamental mechanics), it felt very unsatisfying as a whole.”
- “Game developers should be encouraged to challenge the status quo with narrative and mechanics, but I feel that there are certain best practices for game design that Tale of Tales often overlooks for no visible reason or benefit to the game.”
- “Unlike Journey, which limits your characters' interactivity to serve the purpose of the mechanics and design, Bientôt l'Été's design stands at odds with its concept, preventing players from creating any kind of meaningful connections.”
- “Gameplay: practically none - the 2 player gimmick is weird and doesn't make up for the lack of single player story.”
- “Nothing is explained, not even the weird little mini games that comprise the entirety of the gameplay (oh, and walking).”
- “It never explains anything and any new mechanic introduced (like finding new pieces, how to engage in conversations, etc.) are underwhelming.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The game's music is noted for its eerie, dreamy, and surreal qualities, creating a transcendental and sometimes unsettling atmosphere that enhances its artsy style. While some find the soundtrack soothing and beautiful, others feel it borders on boring or creepy rather than relaxing. Overall, the music effectively complements the game's unique ambiance and visuals.
- “The best thing I can say here is that the music is lovely.”
- “Beautiful ethereal music score.”
- “The graphics, sounds and music give you an eerie feeling, it's dream-like, surreal and transcendental, and for this alone it's interesting to look at and listen to, eventually even admirable.”
- “Honestly, while I was playing through the game, I kept getting a creeped out feeling rather than a relaxing feeling due to the off-putting music and changing scenery.”
- “The music falls closer to scary than relaxing.”
- “Music is meh, but I guess it's there to 'enhance' the 'artsy' feeling of the game, and boy does it do its job great because it only bores me even more.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The graphics receive mixed reviews, with some praising the game's unique, coherent art style and pleasing, surreal visuals that complement its atmosphere, while others criticize the art direction as pretentious or unattractive and note technical shortcomings like a weak graphics engine and lack of fine-tuning options. Overall, the visual appeal is subjective, appreciated by those favoring ambiance and aesthetics, but considered lacking or inconsistent by others.
- “The game has some really nice environments and the graphics are really well designed and laid out.”
- “Games in this genre are often very hit or miss and the good ones marry a deep experience with high quality graphics and art direction and a solid technical implementation.”
- “The graphics, sounds and music give you an eerie feeling, it's dream-like, surreal and transcendental, and for this alone it's interesting to look at and listen to, eventually even admirable.”
- “The game itself is a little ugly in terms of the art style and color scheme.”
- “Technical: the game works okay in 4k but the graphics engine is fairly weak and lacks fine tuning options like getting rid of the film grain.”
- “It's graphics seem reasonable at first glance until you notice how poor they are.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is praised for being immersive and engaging, creating a neat and enjoyable experience especially for those who appreciate a slow-paced, story-driven journey. While it may not cater to all audiences, players who value ambiance and narrative will find it rewarding.
- “I don't mind this being a walking simulator; the atmosphere is pretty neat after all.”
- “If you can just relax and enjoy the atmosphere, get engaged in the story, then buy this.”
- “Saying that your game emphasizes the atmosphere and experience while you could not care less about the audience's experience?”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional experience of the game is deeply impactful, blending serene yet unsettling environments with poignant quotes that evoke strong feelings. However, some players felt a sense of awkwardness and disappointment due to limited interaction and multiplayer issues, slightly detracting from the overall emotional immersion.
- “This game's hard-hitting, emotional quotes, serene yet disturbing environment, and finely painted white bench (intentionally placed facing away from the ocean, and towards the edge of the world) all add up to create an experience unmatched by anything else in the world (yes, this extends beyond videogames).”
- “10/10 would cry again”
- “Since it is a walk simulator (and I'm not very familiar with them), I found some kind of peace, but the lack of communication/interaction made me feel awkward and very disappointed since the multiplayer option never worked for me.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely regarded as excessively tedious and monotonous, with an unending cycle that lacks excitement or variation.
- “The game is tedious as hell from beginning to... well, there's no end so it's an infinite loop of tediousness really.”
- “Just executed in a very tedious, uneventful manner.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely criticized for being forced and ineffective, with users finding the writing awkward and unfunny rather than genuinely amusing or entertaining.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The feedback on optimization highlights that performance improvements matter primarily when they enable meaningful interaction or competition. Simply outperforming without impacting opponents' experience results in a less engaging conflict.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers minimal replayability, with its multiplayer experience primarily relying on selecting random phrases to create conversations, which may limit long-term engagement.
- “Very little replay value and a multiplayer experience brought about by choosing random phrases and making a conversation.”