Game: Été
Genre: Adventure, Indie, Casual
System:Steam (Windows)
Developer|Publisher: Impossible
Controller Support: Yes
Price:US $TBC | UK £TBC | EU €TBC
Release Date: July 23th, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to popagenda PR.
Été is a 2024 adventure game developed and released by Impossible. It is also easily one of my most anticipated games of 2024.
The Premise of Été
In Été, summer in French, we take the role of an aspiring painter who has just moved to Montréal to spend a summer abroad and paint. We wander around dreamy streets, create watercolor masterpieces on canvas, collect stamps, decorate our homes, and meet our neighbors.
Gameplay
Été is a first-person game with full controller support or mouse/keyboard controls. The developers recommend the mouse and keyboard combo, as it makes painting a bit easier.
The game takes place during a summer in Montréal. We have several interconnected locations to move between: each of them starts devoid of color, which we color back in with our mouse.
The Color sticks to objects; people are already in color. The color doesn’t stick to textures such as walls and ground. Each time we color something, we collect drops of paint, and after a certain amount of drops, we have a petal of paint. We can use a petal immediately or wait until we collect several and then use them to color a more prominent spot on the screen. Each time we color and imprint an object, a sticker is collected in our album, which can be used when painting our artwork.
Painting is done in our apartment. Clicking on the canvas gives us access to the album. We can take any unlocked image, resize it, recolor it, spin it around, or even change its position by animating it for a bit. Once we are done with a painting, we can put it for auction at a local cafe, unless, of course, it was a commission.
Speaking of which, we get those from people we meet while wandering the streets of Montréal. They will have specific conditions, still life, a poster for a hockey match, and so on. Rarely can a commission be fulfilled immediately. Usually, we’ll need to collect the appropriate stickers to do it. Another thing is that we can give the ready painting to the client at a particular time and place.
Of course, we can make artwork to hang on the walls of our apartment. It’s primarily empty initially, but that only gives us more space for decorations. We can buy furniture and decorations from stores or people. We can also find some stuff if we look carefully. Once an object is placed in the apartment, we can change it’s color thanks to the pigments we’ve collected at this point.
The pigments are spread across the city and sometimes hidden. Once collected, they can mix paints and unlock colors on our palette. We start with one: our favorite color, and then collect the rest. There’s a specific sound effect when we are close to a pigment, making it a little easier to find one. That said, look around carefully; yes, you can open bins and boxes.
I really liked that there are no timers and no pressure in this game. You can finish a painting whenever you want. There’s no hunger and bills as well. We have a fully equipped kitchen, but it’s more about completing the apartment than using it. Été is not about experiencing the starving artist’s life. Also, you can put a lot of time and effort into your paintings or do the minimum. The NPCs will like them regardless. That way, the game is perfectly adaptable to any gaming style, whether you prefer creativity or exploration.
Art Style
Été is one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen in recent years. I tried the demo a few months back and was immediately reminded of Enya’s Caribbean Blue music video. I was looking forward to trying the entire game and was not disappointed.
The game starts with opening credits, not unlike a TV series—it sets the tone for the rest of the game and shows off most of its locations. One thing that immediately grabbed my attention was the music. I do hope the developers release it as a separate download or even better on Spotify because it is definitely something that I’ll add to my daily playlist. The one thing I didn’t like is that the characters needed to be voiced.
Now, about Montréal —I’ve never been there, but I did a quick search on Google, and it seems the game is more or less accurate in its portrayal. The city feels alive with ambient sounds and people minding their own business.
The game marks the passage of time, dividing the day into four parts—morning, noon, afternoon, and evening. As the day progresses, people and their activities change, shops close, and at the end of the day, we are warned that we’ll go to sleep soon. Once it’s too late, we are automatically sent to the apartment, and then we wake up the next day.
The Technical Bits
Été has extensive settings, including graphics, audio, input, language, and accessibility options. The accessibility options are mostly related to the dialogue and include a dyslexia-friendly font.
Regarding performance, I didn’t experience any freezes and game-breaking bugs. The game has a manual saving system and three save game slots. You can’t skip the tutorial at the beginning of the game, but it’s relatively short, so it shouldn’t be much of an annoyance.
Conclusion
Été is a relaxing painting game with a summery feel, gorgeous visuals, and a lovely soundtrack. It feels perfect for this ridiculously hot summer when the best thing we can do is stay inside and wait for the heat wave to pass. But you know, it will also be perfect for the cold months when we need a reminder of what summer feels like.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up
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