If You Like This Game,

[TipToeInDaSnow]

Try Вечное лето, and the demo for the upcoming Love, Money, Rock'N'Roll

[Tregrenos]

It's safe to assume that at least for a fraction of the people who've played DDLC is because it wasn't a normal VN. I've never been a fan of VNs because the entirety of the genera seemed too repetitive with characters that could more often than not be swapped out with each other and it wouldn't have effected the story in the slightest. DDLC was short enough it didn't feel as if the story was dragging, hit some powerful notes and the hidden content was fantastic for theory crafting. It overall made it seem far greater than just being another VN with carbon-copy characters and a slice of life, teen romance or overall shallow angsty plot.

I've not heard anything about this Everlasting Summer, but if you're willing to compare it to DDLC I have some rather high expectations. Without spoiling anything, do you feel it would appeal to someone like me who generally dislikes VNs? I'm intentionally not looking into it in case it's actually good as I'll admit I'd gone into DDLC spoiled and would have had a much better time had I just given it the chance before and went in totally blind.

Things that would turn me off:
- If after an hour or two I couldn't identify with any of the characters.
- The characters seem like rehashes of overused stereotypes. (DDLC does this intentionally to subvert expectations.)
- The characters personalities are generally 1-note to they point they don't seem human and never really deviate from this archetype. (The shy one, the angry one, the ditsy one and they end on this same note or show no meaningful character development over time.)
- The character I have to play as is either a generic slouch all the girls throw themselves at OR an edgelord. (Again, DDLC used this in a unique way.)
- The story is just a drawn out hentai where the only goal is sex.

Again, don't spoil it, but I'd end up ultimately hating the game if these generally expected VN tropes were used.

[Subaru]

Another light novel type game that is pretty good is katawa shoujo. Quick summary is your character has a major heart disease so you go to a school for disabled people ranging from blind, deaf, burns, so on. At first the part about the disabilities made me not want to play it since I cant really relate to any of that but I tried it anyways and boy did I not regret it. Its just another light novel game but with a major difference and all of the characters are pretty unique and have pretty good personalities.

[kwil]

Everlasting Summer is a solid Russian indie game with similar themes. I can definitely see it appealing to a similar audience.

Originally posted by Tregrenos:

-snip

This rant is unnecessary here, pretentious as hell, and goes against the purpose of DDLC; In Salvato's words, a love letter to visual novels, which are a medium, not a genre. DDLC is not unique and does not do anything new.

[Tregrenos]

Originally posted by kwil:

Everlasting Summer is a solid Russian indie game with similar themes. I can definitely see it appealing to a similar audience.

Originally posted by Tregrenos:

-snip

This rant is unnecessary here, pretentious as hell, and goes against the purpose of DDLC; In Salvato's words, a love letter to visual novels, which are a medium, not a genre. DDLC is not unique and does not do anything new.

Quite a few Youtubers who generally don’t play VNs were either drawn to DDLC by the hype of suggestions and/or the “Psychological Horror” tag. Some were concerned the warnings in the beginning of the game eluded to something they’d have to sensor. There’s enough stipulation about the “kind of game” a VN is if it highlights a female cast and you cannot say these reservations are unfounded.

As someone who likes DDLC I’ve stated several times that I generally dislike VNs and the above reasons are why. If someone is going to boast that I’d like that game if I liked DDLC then I’m going to ask “In what way?” However, if the game WOULD actually seem appealing to me I wouldn’t want to just be spoiled and instead would rather have someone who’s played it tell me if there’s anything in particular that would turn me away from it.

Does the game handle humor well or is it just another love story with characters tropes I’ve seen done to death? Is there a deeper story going on or is it just teenage drama and “daddy issues”? If someone is willing to say I’d like the game if I liked DDLC can you legitimately compare it to DDLC or would I end up being bored to tears? You can call it pretentious, but the title specifically calls out my opinion of the game based on my experience with DDLC and rather than just write it off as unfounded hype for a game that in no way compares to DDLC I’d honestly consider giving it a chance if it was honestly relatable to DDLC. The above list of things I’d hate are generally spoiler-free in terms of story and a “yes” or “no” would be all I need to sell me on the title.

Again, I’d rather avoid looking into it myself as I’d want to avoid any spoilers.

[Lynfinity]

Originally posted by kwil:

DDLC is not unique and does not do anything new.

The whole situation is even more amusing when you take one fact into consideration: DDLC was inspired by another psychological horror VN.

Don't know why DDLC got all the hype and not the source material, but it's whatever, I guess.

[kwil]

Originally posted by Tregrenos:

-snip-

The reason visual novels are avoided by Youtubers is because they're long, and not the kind of content their audience is already invested in. No matter how highly something like Steins;Gate reviews and is universally acclaimed for its writing, an audience that isn't used to it, isn't going to care. A Youtuber that already regularly plays long anime games like NicoB for example isn't going to have this problem, because his audience enjoys him taking his time with games and getting invested in a story. Recently, the Game Grumps played Danganronpa and it became the longest series on their channel, alienating a portion of their audience that aren't there for long stories.

If you care so much about "tropes" merely existing, you aren't going to enjoy many stories in life, western or Japanese. Even following a "trope", I've never seen a character as basic as you describe outside of DDLC, parodies, and shovelware specifically made to be fap fodder.

But as far as characters go, Everlasting Summer features a Yuri cloneAct 2 included, an aggressive girl with a soft side (a tsundere), a generally friendly popular type (like Monika), and a ditsy high energy girl with hidden side to her (like Sayori).

It's a game that expects you to take your time and relax for awhile. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the setting is in a Russian summer camp, and despite never having gone to one myself, it captures a nostalgic feeling, and some excellent ambiance.

It's been a few years, but I seem to remember MC being old fashioned, and a bit of a grouch, but not exactly a jerk. I think his thoughts were fun.

As far as gameplay mechanics go, actually finishing the game is probably going to need a guide, since it uses a point based system to go down character routes and some of them can be a pain to find.

Anyway, Everlasting Summer is free, so just give it a go. It's been recommended around this forum for years.

[Tregrenos]

Originally posted by Leng Yan Ju:

Originally posted by kwil:

DDLC is not unique and does not do anything new.

The whole situation is even more amusing when you take one fact into consideration: DDLC was inspired by another psychological horror VN.

Don't know why DDLC got all the hype and not the source material, but it's whatever, I guess.

A common misconception, but “Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi” wasn’t the only inspiration and there’s even a good chance at the time of its Japanese release in 2013 that Dan Salvato perhaps never played it beforehand due to production of DDLC starting around 2015 after Dan was convinced to stop his current work and focus on the DDLC concept he pitched instead. He’d played multiple VN so it’s possible he played KKKK, but can Dan speak/read Japanese? In all honesty a more likely inspiration came from Gravity Falls “GIFfany”, which in turn took much inspiration from FNAF.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A1n1WbzJZxY

For reference KKKK didn’t get an English dub until 2020. It’s also a more traditional VN, so for someone like me it wouldn’t spark interest. It’s also fair to say a not insignificant portion of Americans who’ve played the dub did so BECAUSE of DDLC. DDLC is a great introductory for people who generally don’t play VNs because it’s not a traditional VN. Hell, the only other VN I’ve really shown interest in is “Dream Daddy” and you can’t get more untraditional than that.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/654880/?snr=1_5_9__205

You’re probably already aware of this kwil, but in case you’re not and since you referenced the Game Grumps they’re are the guys who made this game.

[dande48]

Originally posted by Tregrenos:

I've not heard anything about this Everlasting Summer, but if you're willing to compare it to DDLC I have some rather high expectations. Without spoiling anything, do you feel it would appeal to someone like me who generally dislikes VNs?

Sturgeon's Law states: 90% of everything is crap.

If you have limited exposure to anything, chances are the stuff you do have exposure to is going to leave a bad taste in your mouth. But it's that precious 10% that makes it all worthwhile. Everlasting Summer is free. Why not check it out?