Sumire’s beloved grandmother has just died. Her father drove off one day to never return. And her mother refuses to get out of bed. Then she dreams about her grandmother trying to tell her something, only to wake up with a mysterious seed. Sumire plants the seed and in the morning she has a talking flower! Flower has just one day to live and wants Sumire to take them out on a perfect day in exchange for revealing what Grandma was trying to say. Will Sumire have a perfect day, or will she just trudge along hoping to get what she wants?

The story covers death, grief, depression, first love, self doubt, and bullying.

Visuals

Sumire is one of the prettiest games I have ever played. The artstyle is freaking gorgeous. I loved the colors! It’s like a watercolor storybook.

The characters are flat, 2D sprites, almost like paper dolls. Meanwhile, the backgrounds are similarly flat but also 3D, kind of like Paper Mario, but much prettier.

Sound Effects + Music

I was not a fan of the background music in Sumire, which is unfortunate given how visually stunning the game is. It was the same few notes over and over again, which got annoying before Sumire even left her yard.

I did really like the song during the end credits though.

Gameplay + Controls

Sumire is a simple narrative driven point-and-click adventure. You move Sumire around the environment, interacting with objects and other characters. If she can interact a ? will appear. There will also be sparkly spots she can walk over to to collect coins. Characters will give her fetch quests while she travels with Flower, which you are free to ignore if you wish. In fact, there is an achievement for helping no one!

There are also mini games along the way including stealth missions, a card game, a maze, riddles, and more. Nothing was too challenging, but it was nice to break up the walking and talking.

Replayability

Sumire is a short adventure, making it easy to play again if you wish. Plus there are plenty of achievements, some of which cannot be completed during a single playthrough. I will definitely be going through it again someday to see what happens if Sumire goes through the day being cold and closed off instead.

Overall

I loved my short time with Sumire! It’s a gorgeous game, has a great story, and is actually fun too!