Get on Steam"Été is a single-player Role Playing game with good graphics and music, where you play as a traveling painter exploring Montreal during the summer. Use watercolor to paint the 3D world and reveal its wonders, collect ideas for your album, and create 2D watercolor artworks on canvas. Befriend locals and fulfill inspiring commissions in this relaxing and creative game."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Été features stunning watercolor visuals and a charming art style that beautifully captures the essence of Montreal.
- The painting mechanics are intuitive and rewarding, allowing players to express their creativity while exploring a vibrant world.
- The game provides a relaxing and immersive experience, with engaging quests and a cozy atmosphere that encourages exploration and creativity.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including frequent graphical stutters and long loading times, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Some players have reported bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, such as being unable to exit painting mode or crashing during sessions.
- The plot is considered weak or excusable, with some players feeling that the game lacks depth in its narrative.
- graphics30 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of Éte are widely praised for their stunning, painterly aesthetics and charming art style, which effectively immerse players in a beautifully realized world reminiscent of Montreal. However, many users report performance issues, including frequent graphical stutters and optimization problems, even on capable hardware, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these technical drawbacks, the game's visual appeal and creative mechanics continue to captivate players, making it a standout in the cozy game genre.
“I never review anything publicly, but can I just say that I've only spent 10 hours in this colorbook Montreal and already I am obsessed with Été's stunning visuals.”
“The art style is gorgeous; everything has such a Montreal feel.”
“It is absolutely stunning visually, has a wonderful and soothing soundtrack, and offers you unprecedented creative possibilities.”
“Éte is aesthetically pleasing but triggers my OCD hard.”
“--- graphically unoptimized.”
“The only major thing marring the experience is a frequent graphical stutter, which recent hardware can somewhat alleviate, yet never remove completely.”
“I have a decent box (well above their minimum requirements), and even with the graphics dropped to the lowest quality, this game chugs.”
“I have tried even the lowest possible settings with like every optional graphic setting disabled to improve performance, but this sadly changed nothing.”
- story20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's story is engaging and well-crafted, featuring relatable characters, humorous dialogue, and a nostalgic atmosphere that enhances the painting experience. While the main quest can be completed in about four hours, numerous side quests and commissions enrich the gameplay, allowing players to explore and create art in a vibrant world. Overall, the narrative complements the painting mechanics, making for a delightful and immersive experience.
“It is very evident that a lot of thought was put into this game, to where even music and sound effects are synced with your playing and that there is engaging dialogue (which actually makes me laugh out loud), diverse and relatable characters and locations, plus an underlying storyline (which I did not expect!).”
“I got really nostalgic for the city and I've been having a ton of fun painting my way through the story!”
“The writing is really charming and I enjoy the exploration and the amount of commission side quests you are given.”
“Although the plot points can provide some dozen hours and some change of storyline-driven gameplay, the main attraction here is the painting creation tool, which has the potential to get used for many, many more hours at one's leisure.”
“Story or no story, quests or no quests... I just want to paint it all.”
“I completed the main quest of the game in about 4 hours while playing some of the side missions, although a lot of my paintings were on the simple side.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around a unique painting mechanic that allows players to create art while exploring a beautifully crafted world, particularly inspired by Montreal. Users appreciate the relaxing and creative nature of the gameplay, which combines art creation with exploration, although some experience performance issues on lower-end systems. Overall, the game is praised for its engaging mechanics, stunning visuals, and soothing atmosphere, making it a delightful experience for those who enjoy artistic expression.
“Although the plot points can provide some dozen hours and some change of storyline-driven gameplay, the main attraction here is the painting creation tool, which has the potential to get used for many, many more hours at one's leisure.”
“I think my favorite part about this game is the way the core gameplay mechanic of painting the world as you explore it, collecting references, reinforces something that I always preach about art; 'you have to be an observer before you can be a creator' and I truly believe this applies to every style, not just (semi) realism.”
“Everything from the painting mechanics to the beautifully realized painterly world aesthetics drew me in; I'm also a sucker for bringing out my inner artistic creativity which this game allows in such an amazingly fun and 3D way.”
“The mechanics are pretty easy and straightforward, although I prefer the controller style over keyboard and mouse.”
“I love how you can paint the world and how the mechanics work while painting on an easel. My only problem, which is a personal issue, is that my computer drops FPS quite a lot once I start painting the world; it gets under 20 FPS because it's under the minimum specs (mine is NVIDIA 1050) even with the lowest settings.”
“Aside from painting the world, decorating is also a minor mechanic in this one.”
- optimization16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as frame rate stuttering, especially during transitions and in certain areas. While some users have managed to run the game smoothly on standard PCs, others have experienced persistent bugs and long load times, particularly on the Steam Deck, which is not officially optimized for the game. Many reviewers express hope for future updates to address these optimization concerns.
“Ui & performance nitpicks aside, it's incredibly soothing to watch the city reveal itself.”
“I really hope the developers will fix some non-critical bugs and improve the performance so that as many people as possible can enjoy this game.”
“The game runs smoothly on my computer, the loading times are short too.”
“The game is graphically unoptimized.”
“Now I have a pretty standard PC; it's not top of the line, but it can handle running all other indie and AAA games I have tried just fine, so some optimization is clearly needed.”
“Unfortunately, I must cut a few points because the version I played suffers from an unfortunate amount of performance hitches, and I even discovered a handful of bugs.”
- music13 mentions
- 92 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a captivating and engaging soundtrack that complements the visuals and gameplay. Players appreciate the thoughtful integration of music and sound effects, which contribute to a soothing atmosphere perfect for creative exploration. Overall, the soundtrack is described as stunning and a key element that elevates the game's charm and appeal.
“The soundtrack is relaxing - get a good cup of tea and cozy up!”
“The music is beautiful too, very relaxing.”
“Beautiful soundtrack, interesting characters, and relaxing yet captivating gameplay.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating and gorgeous design, complemented by engaging storylines that enhance the overall experience. Players feel drawn into the game's world, making it a standout feature.
“Fun little storylines in a gorgeous atmosphere.”
“Ever since playing their Next Fest demo last year, the entire atmosphere of the game has captivated me.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to evoke a strong sense of warmth and comfort, often describing it as "fuzzy" and "wholesome," which contributes to an emotionally satisfying experience.
“I bought this game on a whim, having only seen the announcement trailer in the Wholesome Direct.”
“It all feels right; it gives me that fuzzy, cozy, wholesome feeling I crave.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users frequently encountering bugs that affect gameplay.
“It is very buggy.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is subtly integrated, with players engaging in activities that hint at illicit themes, such as creating promotional materials for illegal sales, which may raise ethical concerns.
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is accessible and enjoyable, as players can easily create amusing and visually appealing art using 3-dimensional stamps, regardless of their artistic skills.
“Painting with 3-dimensional stamps is surprisingly simple, and you don't need an artistic bone to create something good-looking or funny.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that the grinding aspect of the game fosters creativity while avoiding tediousness, making the experience enjoyable rather than monotonous.
