Thank you GameTomo Team for providing us with a code!

I’ve played quite a few games where you only have one chance to accomplish tasks in a playthrough. Some will make it so that you can easily restart the game to make other choices or see events that you missed in a playthrough. Others will go to an extreme and flag your system so that as long as that flag is detected, you only have one chance. Sumire (pronounced Soo-me-ray) is a narrative-based adventure of the former.

Our titular character is not off to a good start at all. Her day begins with her remembering that her grandmother passed recently, her mom and dad have a very distant relationship, her best friend abandoned her, and now a strange glowing rock crashed through her window! Except, it isn’t a rock—it is a strange glowing seed. After planting it, a beautiful flower emerges. The flower (named Flower) tells Sumire that it only has one day to live and wants to make the most of it. Sumire and Flower set off to make the most of the limited time that they have together.

Sumire is a side-scrolling adventure taking place in a rural area within Japan. Sumire herself lives on a rice farm separated from the town. Nearby is the Wisteria Tree, where Sumire’s grandma took her. Sumire will come across many environments such as her small town, the baseball fields, the spooky Tanaka House, and the onsen (hot springs). Each area is beautifully crafted in a mixture of modern anime style and the colors/shading of woodblock print.

Every time Sumire moves back and forth within the environment, the camera rotates as if she is walking around a big circle. Navigation is very simple with both keyboard and gamepad being supported. This choice, however, can make menu navigation awkward for keyboard as the mouse isn’t used at all. There are a few quick-time events and minigames present, but they use the same general control as moving throughout the world. I do wish I could replay the minigames without having to restart the entire journey as they are quite fun, despite how simple they are.

A defining feature for Sumire is how she interacts with the world. You’ll come across many animals, plants, and humans that know Sumire from some time ago or are meeting her for the first time. Many of them will ask for her assistance. Unlike many games where you can deny a sidequest and come back later for it, the choice must be made right there. If you decide to deny helping them out, that’s it. There is also a point of no return towards the end of the game so any sidequests you didn’t do before you move on to it will be left in an incomplete state.

Making choices increase or decrease your karma. Things such as lying, cheating, and stealing will lower it while decisions such as helping out and forgiveness will raise it. Your choices matter greatly in Sumire as there is only one chance to do them, and even if many of the choices are binary in nature, they will affect the options given to you later on. As you’ll progress through the game, the choices (or lack thereof) will have effects on the characters met and Flower’s appearance will change as well, all leading up to the end of the day.

The soundtrack consists of many string, acoustic, and piano instruments and the music is very pleasant to listen to while bringing the small Japanese town to life. They both compliment each other very well. Other than the music, you’ll hear sound effects such as bugs, birds, and even different footsteps when Sumire steps on different terrain.

In terms of morality, there are some more things to be noted. Violence is nearly non-existence—only one option is available and that is where Sumire has the choice to kill a rat minding its own business. Language is very clean. Only one instance of sexual content exists and that has to do with one of the card games that Sumire plays. She comes across a character named Bo when she is attempting to make a friend. He creates this card game that has characters based on all the people he knows. In town, he has a crush on the Jonny’s waitress in the restaurant, and proceeds to draw her with exaggerated features, having a much larger bust and hip ratio than she normally has (Sumire reprimands him for this).

The occult and supernatural can get a little deeper. Although it isn’t outright stated, shrines and statues of Shintoism and Buddhism are seen throughout the town and area. Flower, the Wisteria Tree, and a few characters are spiritual in nature. In one part, Sumire travels through a spirit world to “settle things” with her former friend, Chie. The Tanaka House, also being somewhat spiritual in nature, also has a rumor surrounding it, where the wife of the owner murdered him in a fit of rage.

Sumire the game is a story about a lot of things. It tackles loss, grief, depression, inspiration, hope, and the influences even the smallest choices have on us and others. Sumire has many times where she wants to give up and simply retreat to her room, but she keeps pushing forward—because that’s all we can do. GameTomo Team tells a beautiful tale of how to make the most of your day and it doesn’t preach either side as “good” or “bad”. They are simply the choices that you make, and that you learn how to live with them. It’s hard to forgive the people who have hurt you in the past and it’s even harder to press on in contrast of how hopeless things feel. It may not be the best choice to play Sumire if you’re already in a depressed state, but if you want to shed a few tears alongside a two and a half to three-hour journey, you’ll be touched and inspired by this one.