A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986

The dialogue needs some work, but it’s still a valuable addition to the visual novel genre. Not only because of its awesome setting, but because it’s exciting to see a project proudly and loudly waving its LGBTQ+ story. With two different endings, A Summer’s End is worth two playthroughs – even just to admire the fantastic artwork, music and creative concepts a second time around.

A Summer’s End: Hong Kong 1986 is a must-read visual novel that connects with readers in several ways. This visual novel is pure art and shows a level of creativity that’s missing in other higher budget games available. There’s a clear focus on the emotions that the writers wanted to convey and they did it beautifully. The character illustrations are brilliant and the pacing is amazing, even though the conclusion does feel a bit rushed. Still, I’d keep an eye on anything coming from this developer in the future.

Playing through A Summer’s End felt like seeing an eagerly-anticipated movie, and while the story took twists I hadn’t quite expected, I came away with a warm heart and a whole lotta joy. The game has the same appeal as a favorite comfort movie. While some might say that visual novels don’t really have the same replay value as a roguelike or hack-and-slash, I know I’ll be coming back to A Summer’s End time and time again.