Été Review: An Artist's Journey

It’s probably every artist’s dream to be able to take a summer holiday and just paint the days away. Relax, chat with some locals, and drink coffee - what’s not to like? Été, from Developer Impossible, is a cozy, painting game set in the beautiful city of Montréal. Play as an amateur painter who has recently moved house for the summer. Explore the city, create unique artworks and enjoy the summer sun. 

Color At Your Fingertips

Nearly right away, players are given free reign to explore the city - after a few tutorials, of course. You’ll meet Marianne, whom you’re renting your apartment from. After paying her rent for the summer, you’ll be completely broke and that's where your talent of painting will come in.  

You’ll notice right away that the city is devoid of color. Thankfully, you’re given the ability to fill in that world as you explore. Été features a mechanic where players are able to hold down their mouse to paint objects and buildings around them. The more you paint in the background, the more droplets of paint you’ll collect. These droplets form petals which can be used to color even larger sections of the world. The more you explore and paint, the more the world will come to life right at your fingertips.

In the beginning, your main goal is to create paintings that can be sold in the local coffee shop so that you’re able to pay for the things you need - furniture, food, etc. You won’t have a lot to paint with at first, as paint colors and stamps used in your paintings are unlocked as you explore. Things are a little underwhelming to start with as you’ll only have access to one color and a handful of stamps. I definitely understand the purpose of having players unlock more as they explore Montréal, but it can make the beginning of the game drag on a little bit. 

Paint the Town

Once you’ve unlocked the ability to paint, you’ll be able to customize your paintings in a variety of ways. You’ll choose the size of your canvas, the color of paint you’d like to use, if any, and which stamps to include. Once you’ve chosen your stamps, you can move them, resize them, recolor them or spin them in any direction until they’re exactly where you want them. The more you play and unlock the more creative and unique your paintings will become. And with this, the more that your fellow Montréal residents will start to take notice. 

As you progress, you’ll have NPCs commission you with requests for paintings. I found these to be very helpful when I ran out of ideas for my own paintings. More artistically inclined players likely won’t have this problem considering the number of colors of stamps there are to unlock, but I found quests to be a good way to inspire some creative new works. That being said, you can paint whatever you’d like, whenever you’d like, there’s no limit to what you can create. The money that you earn from selling paintings in the coffee shop can be used to purchase furniture and other fun items to decorate your home with. By the end of the game you’ll have a full, comfy apartment to enjoy in the city. 

Été features a beautiful water-color art style that really adds to the relaxing atmosphere of the game. From the way that the colors fill each scene as players move their cursor around to the way that NPCs move, every moment of Été is really breathtaking. This cozy title encourages players to embrace their artistic side. Take everything at your own pace, in whatever order you choose. Decide for yourself when, or if, you’d like to take on quests - it’s all up to you. But most importantly, enjoy the beautiful summer! 

Breakdown

Game: Été

Developer: Impossible

Publisher: Impossible

Availability: PC

Reviewed on PC

Pros:

+ Stunning watercolor-like art style

+ Very relaxing

+ Do quests (or don’t!) in whatever order you like

+ Unique characters and game mechanics

Cons:

- Slow moving in the beginning

- Starting with only one color and a handful of stamps makes creating paintings at the start of the game a bit underwhelming

Final Thoughts

Été, while slow moving at the start, is a wonderfully relaxing, cozy game perfect for someone looking to take their time with a new game. As you begin to unlock more and more stamps and colors, creating paintings is a joy as is exploring Montréal and meeting its residents. Decorating your home however you like is fun and satisfying as you use your hard earned money to purchase new things. If the Impossible team has more projects in mind for the future, I’ll be the first in line to play them.

Reviewed by Becca Smith