Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto is a simulation game for PlayStation VR. It was originally only for Japan but was later released in Asia with all DLC bundled in as well as an English translation. You play as the tutor to high school student Hikari Miyamoto. Her grades had been falling due to her focus being on club activities instead of academics. Thus, her mother hires you over the course of a week (while also being in summer), and you spend this short time to pull her grades back up.
While the graphics are basic and the resolution is a bit grainy, although this is due to the limitation of the hardware, it does the job. Most importantly, the game immerses you and you feel like you are in another place. Hikari tends to lean in really close to you which can feel unnerving and uncomfortable the first time around. The game plays out in a very structured way where you start off the morning in the café. The café acts as your base and is where you will prepare the lesson. Preparing the lesson is much more simple than it sounds because you just select the topic for the day, stat boosts, and then if you want to use an item to guarantee an event.
The lesson then begins in Hikari’s room and you have to select one of three options to try and make the lesson effective. This part requires trial and error in order to get the best score because it is not intuitive at all. You will get options such as “consume fish” and “watch quietly” which can make no sense, even with context. After this part, you can have a chat with Hikari and ask her a question in order to get to know her better. Finally, if you used an item in the preparation screen then your selected event will trigger. Otherwise, there is a tiny chance a random event will trigger anyway or most likely, you will head straight to the end of the lesson with Hikari thanking you and saying goodbye.
The events are the highlights of the game so it’s such a shame that you have such limited control over it. While you start off with a number of items to guarantee events, these are limited consumables and they don’t replenish easily. It’s best to go into these events blind since most of the enjoyment comes from Hikari suddenly asking you to help her with something unexpected or she moves very close to you. Hikari’s character model is impressive up close. You feel as though Hikari is there right in front of you, there is a tangible sense of presence and the tracking is done well.
To be fair, this is a “game” in a loose sense since there’s limited interactivity. When dealing with Hikari, you will look at the option you want to select to select it. This can be hit and miss at times since you need to angle it just right for it to trigger. Menus which use the d-pad and face buttons are much better. You will also use the controller to mimic actions such as picking up the phone and putting it next to your ear or grabbing an item to give to Hikari.
Hikari speaks in Japanese and there are English subtitles. There are minor grammatical issues and mistranslations from time to time. The subtitles can sometimes cycle too quickly or fail to show up. This is supposed to be a relaxing game. You are unlikely to get motion sickness since you are sitting down the whole time. There is head bobbing so that might make you feel a bit uncomfortable if you are prone to motion sickness.
The first playthrough will probably take you around 1.5 hours if you watch all the cutscenes. The game is designed for multiple playthroughs such that you can see all the events and max out Hikari’s stats in order to get high grades. Your teaching levels carry over thus you can build Hikari’s stats faster and faster on each new playthrough. Later playthroughs will take around 15-20 minutes since you’re able to skip most scenes. Adding into the replayability are optional objectives which gives you additional items and costumes.
That being said, the game is too short and the base game does not have enough content. Four pieces of DLC are included in this package. Second Feel adds two scenes, Day Out adds two scenes, and the remaining two DLC adds an additional scene each. All of them provide different outfits for Hikari to wear. However, even with all four DLCs included and the constant replays, the value as a “game” doesn’t feel substantial. It’s an interesting experience for sure and it’s worthwhile if only for that. Although being able to finish seeing the majority of the game so quickly while the remaining content taking so long to unlock does sour the experience.
Overall, Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto feels more like a tech demo than a full game. This is a game built for VR and is a worthwhile experience because of that. Sadly, the limited amount of content works against it. This is a game that requires 15+ playthroughs to get the best ending but you can see 90% of the content after five playthroughs. As it is, Summer Lesson is overpriced but is a good VR experience (if the premise doesn’t alienate you).
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