Bientôt l'été

About

"Bientôt l'été" is a virtual reality simulation game set on a picturesque Earth sea shore, played from an orbital station's polypurpose deck. The Intergalactic Holocom Transmitter II offers immersive psycho-realistic rendering and symbol/meaning mapping algorithms. Engage in activities like smoking, drinking, playing music, chess, and speaking French, while discovering the shore's absurd secrets.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

45%

Audience ScoreBased on 193 reviews

music4 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and artistic experience, focusing on themes of love and connection.
Visually, the game is beautiful with dreamy landscapes and a soothing soundtrack.
It provides an interesting concept of nonverbal communication through chess pieces and limited dialogue.

The gameplay is minimal and repetitive, often leading to boredom and frustration.
Technical issues, such as crashes and poor controls, detract from the overall experience.
The multiplayer aspect is severely limited due to a lack of active players, making it difficult to fully engage with the game's intended mechanics.

story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
75%
13%
The game's story is often described as cryptic and lacking depth, with many players feeling it falls short of expectations set by its description. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and the personal experience of uncovering the narrative, others criticize the lack of coherent plot, character development, and resolution, leading to a fragmented and unsatisfying storytelling experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as minimal and largely left to the player's interpretation, which may not resonate with everyone.
- “It's definitely not for everyone, but if you are patient and follow the game's interesting story and concept, you will find an indie gem of a game.”
- “Everything here - music, visuals, ambient sounds, symbols, place, and the story - it is just so coherent.”
- “Basically, Bientôt l'été is a small sandbox and all you can do is walk around, you hear classic piano sounds in the background, and from time to time you see parts of a story showing up, telling you about the desire and feelings of a separated couple.”
- “The game falls short on providing the story seen in the description and is extremely cryptic.”
- “Don't go into this expecting any kind of consistent gameplay, story, objectives or characters.”
- “The story seems to be a very weak and very cliché talk of romance between artists gone sour.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
55%
30%
The gameplay in this title is widely criticized for being minimal and unsatisfying, with many reviewers noting a lack of meaningful mechanics, objectives, and explanations for the few activities available. Players primarily engage in repetitive actions like walking and simple mini-games, which fail to provide a compelling or immersive experience. Overall, the game is seen as lacking depth and coherence, leaving players feeling bored and disconnected.
- “The gameplay is pretty simple; all you do is walk around the beach and then you play chess with your lover.”
- “The 'gameplay' consists of walking along a beach and finding out-of-place objects like a pile of coal or a field of wheat placed on the beach.”
- “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.”
- “However, anything interesting is usually too short-lived to be of any real value in terms of gameplay satisfaction or however you're measuring your enjoyment.”
- “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).”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
The music in the game is described as beautiful and ethereal, contributing to a dreamy and surreal atmosphere, though it often leans towards an eerie or unsettling tone rather than purely relaxing. While some players appreciate the soothing soundtrack and its ability to enhance the game's artistic feel, others find it repetitive or boring, suggesting it serves more as background ambiance than a standout feature. Overall, the music is a polarizing element, with opinions ranging from admiration for its coherence with the visuals to criticism for its lack of engagement.
- “A beautiful piece, music and landscapes are so dreamy!”
- “The best thing I can say here is that the music is lovely.”
- “This game provides the player with a soothing soundtrack and very pleasing visuals that are easy on the eyes.”
- “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 it does its job great because it only bores me even more.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
67%
17%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the unique artistic style and pleasing visuals that create a coherent and atmospheric experience, while others criticize the overall execution as lacking depth and technical quality. Many users find the art direction pretentious or underwhelming, with complaints about the weak graphics engine and clumsy interface. Overall, the visuals are seen as a hit or miss, with some appreciating the aesthetic experience while others feel it falls short of expectations.
- “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.”
- “Graphics: thumbs down here because they actually try to charge more for high res textures.”
- “It's graphics seem reasonable at first glance until you notice how terrible they are, the UI.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its immersive quality, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate a rich, engaging environment and narrative, even if the gameplay is minimal. While some critique the disconnect between the game's intentions and audience engagement, many find value in the atmospheric experience it offers.
- “If you can just lull about in a game and enjoy the atmosphere, get engaged in the story, then buy this.”
- “Saying that your game emphasizes the atmosphere and experience while you can’t care less about the audience's experience?”
- “I don't mind this being a walking simulator; the atmosphere is pretty neat after all.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke strong feelings, with players expressing a profound sense of peace and introspection despite some frustrations with multiplayer functionality. The combination of impactful quotes, a serene yet unsettling environment, and symbolic elements like the white bench contributes to a uniquely moving experience that resonates deeply with players.
- “10/10 would cry again”
- “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 video games).”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding in the game to be excessively tedious and monotonous, creating an endless cycle of boredom that detracts from the overall experience.
- “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, with many users finding the writing to be overly forced and unfunny, resulting in more eye-rolls than laughs. It fails to deliver any comedic value, even in a context where friends might typically enjoy mocking it.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews suggest that the game's optimization focuses on competitive performance, allowing players to excel over opponents without direct interference, emphasizing a strategic approach to competition rather than aggressive tactics.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game offers minimal replayability, primarily relying on a multiplayer experience that involves selecting random phrases to create conversations, which may not sustain long-term interest.
- “Very little replay value, and the multiplayer experience feels limited to choosing random phrases and making a conversation.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices makes it hard to justify replaying the game.”
- “Once you've experienced the story, there's little incentive to go back for a second playthrough.”