summer haze/glory days

Summer Haze/Glory Dayz is a beautifully created visual novel with well written characters and great branching possibilities that makes you feel like each decision matters. The story has a delightful way of teasing responses from the player while also allowing a good range of responses, depending on how you like to roleplay. Some members of the the band are sympathetic and made me feel protective, while others had me clenching my jaw and scowling at their behavior. There were also a few times I tried to be cool, but tripped face first into awkward--be warned! It's a great cast that creatively pushes and pulls you in all directions. I would also like to mention how much I appreciated the game's accessibility options. The devs really cared about how players create their character, readability options, and tutorializing the game mechanics. Each customization option helps dial in a really comfortable playing experience. Great presentation, well rendered characters and locations. I appreciated the music that made a nice backdrop to each scene. Interesting character personalities that made interactions dynamic and sometimes stressful. Its a really well designed experience and I enjoyed role playing a budding (sometimes too cool) rock star. Highly recommended!

A genuine, funny, and reflective tale about growing up and getting closure. As an older millennial who gave an art career an earnest shot and failed, I felt right in this game's crosshairs. The writing is really good, even great at times. I don't want to spoil too much, but if you're a fan of the genre (VNs) you have to stick around for at least 1 New Game+ playthrough. It's the extra sauce here, a great mechanic tied wonderfully to the theme. The character is art is some of my favorite in a VN in recent memory. Lots of little variations and details (especially for characters), I really enjoyed the style and vibe. The game also has a great OST, an important consideration for a game about music. I also feel the need to mention the Voice cast, it's a subtle addition that adds a lot, all the performances are great. summer haze/glory daze wasn't on my radar at all, but it's going to be one of the games that sticks with me most this year.

OH MY GAWD, this game is genuinely so beautiful. there is no other way to describe it.... i need a dlc where we can continue rebuilding the relationships after reconnecting with them !!! I NEED MORE CONTENT WITH EMERSON

This game hit me in a way not many others have, I played the demo and was awaiting it's release, and it took a turn I never would have thought. I've never played a visual novel where you play through it twice and you get to reflect on your choices in the way this game does it, the fact that it's un avoidable in the end and you can't force characters to go along with you just because you're the mc. This game is such a good depiction on grief, mental heath, addiction, and being able to reflet on your choices but never being able to go back. I would pay to experience this game for the first time, to cry and sympathize with every character. I feel this will be one of the few games I want to play again and again till I get every achievement. I loved this game with every bone in my soul.

目前推到了二周目结束，我还没有看成就里还有哪几个可达成的结局。目前从结局选项来看，可攻略对象有四个。（我只打完了埃默森的其中一个结局） 先说总体感受，这部游戏还原了美国本土许多乐队的生存现状（当然是2007年的），并且带着一些冷幽默。对人物的刻画也非常细腻。 最重要的是，它有一种“气质”。我不是一个专业的评论员，但这种游戏有一种朦胧的氛围。仿佛游玩过程中你也来到了那个潮湿闷热的夏天，你们的乐队发了一张新专辑，你并不知道这会改变什么。你并未意识到你能改变什么（这一点在二周目开始后变得很清晰了）。 我认为这部游戏还讨论了一些其他的内容，这些内容在埃默森身上表现得非常明显。 （以下涉嫌剧透） [spoiler]埃默森出生于伦敦，却因为父亲的工作，童年时辗转搬家，先后去往加拿大和美国。他身上有一种茫然感，一种无所适从的感受。这种“无根”的漂泊决定了他的性格，唯有音乐是良药，但音乐不足以完全拯救他。在一周目的结局里，在他们乐队经历过那场台上的事故后，他销声匿迹了。而游玩过一周目的人都知道，如果没有主角的帮助，他更可能早在那场事故前就已经离世。（包括埃默森自己也这么承认。） 现在，我们谈回我们的主角（尽管我通常都会代入，但我现在更愿意这么称呼）。主角的情感非常细腻，形象也比较复杂。困于过去的经历，困于他人对自己的看法，困于自己的念想。[/spoiler] 我到现在为止都没有打出继续做乐队的结局，我也不知道有没有这个结局，这一点非常可惜，如果有人出攻略请务必告诉我（另外能不能出汉化？） 总体来说这是非常不错的体验，可玩性高（我觉得至少得打大概六七个周目才能把游戏内容体验70%）。相对而言我觉得自由度不算高，大体为剧情向，但是它这个剧情有非常有味道……

This is a really, really good visual novel. The whole cast is great; the game does an amazing job at portraying a dramatic slice-of-life story without veering too heavily into melodrama. The customization balances allowing you to shape the MC's identity and personality while also giving them a defined history and relationships. It's really well-written with great character writing in particular; every character has their own voice but they're all still heavily grounded in the setting. Most of all what I really liked is the New Game+ system. Most visual novels expect you to play the game multiple times to get different endings, but instead of a typical implementation, NG+ [spoiler]sets your original choices in stone; instead, what you change is how the MC feels about what happened a decade later, as well as which events were important to them[/spoiler]. (For what it's worth, you do get [spoiler]three world state slots, so you can also play around with choices in a more typical way, too[/spoiler].) Combined with the customization and the choice density, this gives the game a lot more replay value and opportunities for experimentation than most indie VNs. summer haze/glory days technically does have romance in it, but it's not the focus of the game at all. Only one character (Emerson) has an explicitly romantic arc outside of the epilogue and the main events surrounding him all happen regardless of whether or not you pursue him romantically; the romance is more something that affects how the main dramatic conflicts play out rather than the dramatic center in itself. The main themes of the story (regret/acceptance, the tension between art and career, [spoiler]watching someone spiral downwards without you being able to help them in any meaningful way[/spoiler]) all hit hard regardless. One last thing I do want to mention is the nostalgia value. I was a teenager who was super into emo/indie rock during the time this game takes place...but I burned myself out so thoroughly on the sound near the end of high school that even in my thirties I still can't stand listening to most of what used to be my favorite bands lol. But it's clear that the soundtrack does a good job at emulating the type of sound that was common. And aside from the obvious music factor, the story does a really good job of portraying the 2000s. It's a little bit idealized in the way a lot of period pieces are (I remember there being a lot more overt homophobia, even around this scene) but not so much as to be cloying or fully rose-colored.

my god this was GOOD. characters all have depth and i was invested from the second i met them. it tackles issues in a good way, and depending how you play it accurately depictated the immense feeling of grief and regret over your actions to someone struggling. the background characters don't feel like filler, they help move the story along while also having their own personalities, struggles and stories outside of the mc (which i've found not to be the case in many games.) 9/10 (-1 for me feeling so sad and so intune with the characters that it hurt by the end).

选项很多 角色部分配音 but I really need a guide:( 还有整体故事篇幅稍微有点短 Emerson很酷 但和主角的感情故事可能也有点短 其他人说实话我没什么太特别的印象 主角的心理活动/挣扎之处可能是写得最好的 尤其是在欲望漩涡中坚持本心(钱?名利?对音乐的热爱?etc.) 或者随波逐流 或者浑浑噩噩 或者干脆对于之前的决心持全盘否定态度等 这些都是可以由玩家自己控制的 看了一眼成就有40+个 估计有很多未解锁的特殊对话 但我一周目直接打出独狼结局(without close friends)了 可能总体来说主角是塑造最好的