For my 2024 project of playing a different game every day, I picked up many games that I didn’t end up playing. The reason for this is that whenever I heard about a game, if it was cheap, I’d pick it up. The intention was that if I needed something to play, I had options. One such game was Sumire. I can’t remember where I heard about the game or why someone recommended it. It was already installed on my Steamdeck, so I decided to give it a go. For what it’s worth, it has an interesting story.
One Day
The story of Sumire revolves around the titular character. After a mysterious dream involving her recently deceased grandmother, she discovers a flower. This mysterious flower comes to life and explains that it only blooms for one day and asks Sumire for her help. In return for giving it a wonderful day, it will let her meet with her grandmother one last time. This will be Sumire’s chance to find out the meaning behind the dream.
When you start the game, you see that Sumire is going through a lot. Her parents are going through a separation, which causes her mom to stay in bed. Her once best friend is hanging out with a new crew of people. The boy she likes is moving away. Sumire is a lonely girl with a lot on her plate.
So, for the next couple of hours in the game, Sumire will show her flower companion a wonderful day. At the same time, try to make things right in Sumire’s world. Their adventure only lasts the day, so they both have to make the most of it before the sun sets.
A different kind of walking simulator
As a game, Sumire is a 2D Walking Simulator with a little bit of gameplay mixed in. Most of the game has you walking around your town, interacting with people and objects. Interactions can vary from simple conversation to requests people will ask of her. While there are some “gameplay” moments, they are easy to complete and help to progress the story.
Early in the game, Sumire will write up a list of things she needs “to-do”. These serve as your primary objectives. As you interact with others, you will get more requests. These requests are fetch or delivery quests. You will either need to help them find something, or they will ask you to deliver something to someone else.
You don’t have to complete all the requests. Even items on the “to-do” list are optional. Some you will complete as you play the story. In both situations, timing can cause you to miss out on completing them. For one of my requests, I needed to finish it before lunch time, but I forgot to do it. Meanwhile, I missed one item on my to-do list because I missed the window to do it.
It’s a sweet story with a lot of heart
Once the credits rolled on Sumire, I was happy with what I saw. Because of its short length, it’s best not to share too many of the details. I’m pretty certain there is only one conclusion to the game. Because of that, your actions earlier in the game don’t seem to impact the story. Yes, you do have choices, but they don’t change things. You’ll only want to complete them for achievements. In any case, I quite enjoyed Sumire, even if I can’t remember how I heard about the game in the first place.
