Été

About

Été is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Impossible and was released on July 23, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

Fill a blank canvas with ink and photograph alongside Marianne, an ambitious young filmmaker, and Théo, a charming musician. Explore a maze of intimate moments by using memory itself to navigate an immersive, open world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+11

Skip User Reviews

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 154 reviews

graphics19 positive mentions

optimization6 negative mentions

Été features a stunning watercolor art style that beautifully captures the essence of Montreal, creating a visually immersive experience.
The game encourages creativity through its unique painting mechanics, allowing players to explore and express themselves artistically in a relaxing environment.
With engaging quests and charming character interactions, the game offers a cozy and enjoyable gameplay loop that keeps players invested.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, including lag and crashes, even on high-end hardware, which detracts from the overall experience.
Loading times can be excessively long, interrupting the flow of gameplay and causing frustration for players.
Some players have reported bugs and glitches that hinder progress, such as being unable to exit painting mode or missing essential items for quests.

graphics
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
41%
8%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, which enhances the cozy atmosphere and creative gameplay. However, many users report significant performance issues, including frequent graphical stutters and unoptimized settings, even on capable hardware. Despite these technical drawbacks, the stunning visuals and engaging painting mechanics make for a captivating and relaxing experience.
- “The art style of the game is super unique and really adds to the cozy vibe!”
- “It is absolutely stunning visually, has a wonderful and soothing soundtrack, and offers unprecedented creative possibilities.”
- “The watercolor aesthetics, the music... all of it is just so perfect.”
- “The bigger the area, the worse the performance gets, and changing graphical settings doesn't improve it at all.”
- “--- graphically unoptimized.”
- “The only major thing marring the experience is a frequent graphical stutter, which recent hardware can somewhat alleviate, yet never remove completely.”
story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The story in the game revolves around the journey of an artist moving to a new city, with engaging dialogue and relatable characters that enhance the experience. While some players found the narrative lacking depth, many appreciated the charming quests and the integration of painting mechanics, which allow for personal expression and exploration. Overall, the game offers a relaxed atmosphere with a mix of main and side quests that keep players engaged while they create art and discover the vibrant world around them.
- “There's a cool story happening about moving to a new place and trying to make it as an artist with dialogue options and various people to meet.”
- “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!).”
- “The various components of gameplay - learning to navigate, finding subjects for your paintings, meeting characters, and completing quests - all happen in a very organic, interwoven way, so you're never letting one element falter by seeking out another.”
- “The characters and story leave something to be desired.”
- “But the exploration can get overwhelming, and the story might not be everyone's cup of tea.”
- “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.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by a unique painting mechanic that allows players to color a black-and-white world, creating an engaging and creative experience. While many players appreciate the relaxing and interactive nature of the game, some find the gameplay loop can become tedious, particularly when searching for objects to unlock features. Overall, the game successfully combines artistic exploration with a cozy atmosphere, appealing to fans of creative gameplay despite some mechanical simplicity and performance issues.
- “Look, I'm recommending this game because it's a beautiful game with lovely visual effects and a gameplay loop that speaks to the soul of a cozy life sim gamer.”
- “The gameplay is great if you enjoy creative games.”
- “I love how interactive the world is, from doors to buying food and furniture. I think the gameplay is clever as you paint around the city and unlock what you’ve painted to create your own artwork.”
- “What could have been a lovely, casual 'paint the world' washing sim-like gameplay quickly turns into a pixel-hunting drag where I desperately look for the final objects to paint so I can unlock the 'rumored' free paint mode so I can fill in the unpaintable spaces.”
- “I know that the dev is creating games based on their experience, but because I was already having problems with the gameplay, the dialogues were really not helping.”
- “The gameplay feels a bit redundant at times but overall it was 10 hours well spent.”
optimization
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
64%
24%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance drops, particularly in larger areas, and issues like stuttering and frame rate drops. While some users report that the game runs smoothly on their systems, others have noted that even lowering graphical settings yields minimal improvements. A common sentiment is the hope for future patches to address these optimization concerns, as the game's concept is well-loved despite its technical shortcomings.
- “If the game ever gets a patch that fixes performance issues, I will happily update this review and recommend the game because I truly do love it in concept.”
- “It needs optimization (there's currently a beta for that, so hopefully it helps when fully released).”
- “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 bigger the area, the worse the performance gets, and changing graphical settings doesn't improve it at all.”
- “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.”
- “I have tried even the lowest possible settings with every optional graphic setting disabled to improve performance, but this sadly changed nothing.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
93%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and beautiful qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing experience. Reviewers highlight the engaging soundtrack that complements the gameplay, with thoughtful synchronization to actions and a soothing atmosphere that invites players to unwind. Overall, the combination of stunning visuals and a captivating soundtrack creates a delightful and immersive environment for creativity.
- “The music and sounds are so calm and beautiful, easy to listen to.”
- “The soundtrack is relaxing - get a good cup of tea and cozy up!”
- “Beautiful soundtrack, interesting characters, and relaxing yet captivating gameplay.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creative design and calming, peaceful vibe, which enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the engaging storylines set against a beautifully crafted world that captivates and delights, making the gameplay feel joyful and immersive.
- “It makes you feel happy while playing, and the ideas behind it are so creative. I love how you walk through the world and color everything around you — it gives a calm, peaceful vibe and such lovely atmospheres.”
- “Despite the mechanical simplicity, the design choices and atmosphere are most assuredly worthwhile.”
- “Fun little storylines in a gorgeous atmosphere.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on the humor aspect are mixed; while some players appreciate the natural and funny dialogue in certain commissions, others find specific character quirks and jokes, like a vendor calling them a pervert for buying a banana, unamusing. Overall, the game has moments that can elicit laughter, particularly through its creative mechanics.
- “Very few games have made me laugh out loud with some of the dialogue, so that's awesome.”
- “The commissions you get feel natural for the setting, and some of them are really funny.”
- “Painting with 3-dimensional stamps is surprisingly simple, and you don't need an artistic bone to create something good looking or funny.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players consistently highlight the game's ability to evoke a warm, fuzzy, and wholesome emotional response, often drawn in by its aesthetic appeal and positive vibes showcased in trailers. This emotional connection is a significant factor in their enjoyment and anticipation of the game.
- “It all feels right; it gives me that fuzzy, cozy, wholesome feeling I crave.”
- “I saw this on some stream, I assume a wholesome direct, and added it to my list of games to look out for almost exclusively on the fact that it was pretty.”
- “I bought this game on a whim having only seen the announcement trailer in the wholesome direct.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is reported to have significant stability issues, with users frequently encountering bugs that affect gameplay.
- “It is very buggy.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the experience.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 not be overtly advertised but adds a layer of intrigue to the gameplay experience.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the grinding aspect of the game fosters creativity while avoiding tediousness, making the experience enjoyable rather than monotonous.