A Summer’s Tale About “Regret” and “Redemption” Shanghai Summer is an adventure game developed by FUTU Studio and published by Astrolabe Games. Set in the millennium, our protagonist, Baichuan, goes through a series of “anomalies” over the length of twelve days. In his pursuit of the truth, he found that his hopes and regrets from the past finally seem to converge. Will he be able to “fix” it for good?
Story
Shanghai, 2003
Suddenly, Baichuan senses something is not right with his life – sometimes, he feels he can see his memories, so real yet so unfamiliar. It seems that this all begins with an unexpected invitation from Baichuan’s ex-girlfriend, Qiuyu, who has been away for many years.
Twelve summer days, just like twelve lucid dreams…
“The time seems to be working anomalously on you.”
Through the ‘Topics’ and ‘Clues’ gathered from everyday life, dive deep into the hearts and minds of your dearest friends.
To be comforted by them; To be inspired by them; To turn all the little things that happened in your life into your own strength, and eventually, at the finale of the twelfth night ——— To ” fix” the shattered dream.
Classrooms, Bookstore “One-in-a-Thousand”, Neighbourhood Cafe…
Much of every boy and girl’s life revolves around such a mundane city scene. And it is precisely within the mundanity that some new possibilities exist. The key to turning one’s fate around may very much be held in the hand of someone passing by among the crowds on the streets…
Shanghai Summer Demo Review
Set in 2003 in Shanghai, Shanghai Summer follows Baichuan, a young man who discovers that life as he knows it is not quite as it seems: the reality he currently exists in is in fact a parallel of the “real world”. While similar to the world he knows, there are slight differences that don’t quite fit with things as he knows them to be.
As his memories of the past and reality blur, he finds himself trying to uncover the truth behind a series of strange anomalies—including the fact that he can’t remember his high school ex-girlfriend, Ji Qiuyu, who left to study abroad years prior. On his journey, Baichuan is accompanied by a talking cat who offers to help him sort through his hazy memories.
Taking place over just 12 days, follow Baichuan through the familiar everyday spaces of his life, like a neighborhood café where he can grab a drink with a friend; the cozy bookstore, “What If” where he works; or take a nostalgic walk at sunset down a quiet back road. Spend time getting to know the people that make up Baichuan’s inner circle, like Fengyi, a dream-chasing, freelancer artist; Xiaobo, a troubled and misguided high school student; and Jungxian, a university student who is burdened by her family’s issues. Through these interactions you will collect ‘Topics’ and ‘Clues’ that will help you put together the missing pieces of his memories.
The demo for Shanghai Summer covers the first two days of the story and while short, the experience boasts an ambitious story full of mystery and nostalgia. By setting such a fantastical story in a seemingly mundane, intimate town, it blurs the lines between reality and fiction, giving the overall narrative the feeling of an urban fairytale.
In fact, while playing the demo I was reminded a lot of Mojiken’s A Space for the Unbound. Both promise an emotional story following a young man who uses memories to alter the past and present to “fix a shattered dream”. It’s easy to see the parallels. But where A Space for the Unbound leaned heavily into its fantastical themes as the story progressed, Shanghai Summer, seemingly takes a much different approach. Rather, offering that the solution to Baichuan’s circumstances lie much closer to home, in the everyday places and interactions that make up his life.
I will admit the demo was a bit hard to follow at times, given the fact that, Baichuan’s memories and perception of the world around him is unreliable and we get hit with a lot of information all at once. But, it does work in the story’s favor, since we are piecing together the “truth” of what’s really going on alongside Baichua; making for a much more organic experience.
Of course, I would be remiss in not mentioning the gorgeous visuals and fluid gameplay of Shanghai Summer. This game is stunning to look at. There is a wonderful lived in feel to each location that fills you with a warm nostalgia, that will feel familiar to fans of Vanillaware’s works.
Part visual novel, part adventure game, there are lot of moving parts in Shanghai Summer and they all come together beautifully. Every detail is painstakingly rendered to create a wonderful experience. From the fluid movements of the characters during the exploration sequences to the stylized journal UI that houses all the collectables and clues. While you can use keyboard and mouse to play the game, due to the more interactive elements of the story, I highly recommend using a controller. The game does support PlayStation and Xbox controllers, and while Switch Pro controllers do work too, there was some wonkiness with the button mapping.
Overall, Shanghai Summer is a game that you definitely need to have on your radar! It has an interesting premise, gorgeous visuals, and who doesn’t love a good mystery? So, definitely consider checking out the demo and Wishlist the game on Steam—the full version of the game has a planned 2024 release date, so don’t miss out!
