UsoNatsu: The Summer Romance Bloomed From a Lie

About

In UsoNatsu: The Summer Romance Bloomed From a Lie, Kaoru's heart is broken by her former teacher, Mirei. Her classmate, Shiori, proposes a solution: find a new love to replace Kaoru's feelings for Mirei. Shiori then asks Kaoru to help her forget her older brother by experiencing her memories and overwriting her feelings for him. This visual novel explores themes of love, adolescence, and self-discovery during a memorable summer.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

UsoNatsu: The Summer Romance Bloomed From a Lie screenshot

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 170 reviews

story94 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

The art and animation quality is exceptional, with beautifully animated CGs and character sprites that enhance the visual experience.
The story is emotionally engaging, tackling heavy themes with sensitivity and depth, and features well-developed characters that resonate with players.
The voice acting is top-notch, with performances that match the characters' personalities and emotional arcs, adding to the overall immersion of the narrative.

The game is a kinetic visual novel with no choices, which may disappoint players looking for branching storylines and character routes.
Technical issues such as frequent loading screens and lag during character transitions can disrupt the flow of the game and detract from the experience.
The use of flashbacks is excessive and can feel repetitive, interrupting the narrative and making it frustrating for players to follow the story.

story
280 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
65%
1%
The story of "Usonatsu" is a linear, kinetic visual novel that explores emotional themes through the relationship between the main characters, Kaoru and Shiori, while also addressing complex issues like mental health and personal growth. Although some reviewers found the narrative to be somewhat cliché and reliant on flashbacks, many praised its heartfelt writing, character development, and the sensitivity with which it handles its subject matter. Overall, the story is described as engaging and well-crafted, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre, despite the lack of player choices.
- “The story is a wonderful, heartwarming, emotional roller coaster that genuinely touched my heart all the way through, and it is written so beautifully with its memorable themes and motifs.”
- “Usonatsu is a beautiful and emotional girls love story that I truly fell in love with and has a special place in my heart.”
- “The balance of fun, precious memories shared by lovable characters, and a series of unexpected hardships and troubles in understanding one’s feelings make this story so enjoyable from start to finish.”
- “In regards to the gameplay, the story is linear, so no choices are present whatsoever.”
- “Heads up though, if you expect a branching storyline like most visual novels are, it is not; this is a kinetic visual novel which means it's a linear story with no choices.”
- “The biggest problem is that the whole story is built on a lie… which doesn’t work.”
music
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
57%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and quality, featuring a varied and elegant soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of the story. Many reviewers highlight the memorable tracks and effective use of music in key moments, although some note that certain pieces can be repetitive. Overall, the combination of music, voice acting, and visuals contributes to a highly immersive experience.
- “In regards to the music, the tracks are beautiful to listen to.”
- “It's a really comfy and elegant soundtrack with emotional pieces that made me love the story even more.”
- “The art is gorgeous, the voice acting and soundtrack is amazing!!”
- “For the music, I've read a lot of yuri visual novels from western to eastern, and there's only one or maybe two that the music doesn't grate my ears to the point that every time I am reminded of it, my head couldn't think of anything but the absolute hell that is generic romance visual novel music that plays in my head for 10 hours straight despite me knowing that I can turn it off at any given point.”
- “The soundtrack, while a bit repetitive, was a treat.”
- “I think the music that plays when [spoiler]Shiori's dad is very effective and actually puts me on edge[/spoiler].”
emotional
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of *usonatsu ~the summer romance bloomed from a lie~* is highlighted by its deep exploration of personal struggles and growth between the main characters, Kaoru and Shiori. Players experience a roller coaster of emotions, from joy to sadness, as the narrative tackles heavy themes while ultimately delivering a heartwarming conclusion. The beautifully written story, combined with an elegant soundtrack, enhances the emotional impact, making it a memorable and touching experience for players.
- “Usonatsu is a beautiful and emotional girls' love story that I truly fell in love with and has a special place in my heart.”
- “The story is a wonderful, heartwarming, emotional roller coaster that genuinely touched my heart all the way through, and it is written so beautifully with its memorable themes and motifs.”
- “There is undoubtedly no shortage of emotional drama in the story, but Kaoru and Shiori's personal growth in their journey together makes it all the more worth it in the end.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
41%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning artwork and high-quality animation, making it one of the most visually polished visual novels to date. Reviewers highlight the unique color handling and smooth character CGI, which elevate the experience to feel akin to watching an anime. Overall, the visuals are described as breathtaking and inspiring, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The game is densely packed with stunning artwork.”
- “The art is very beautiful; the art style has a unique way of handling color that makes it vivid and familiar, as I realized I had seen the artist's work on an album cover several years back!”
- “The amount of quality they put into the visuals is absolutely inspiring.”
- “It's pretty sad when the character design is just so-so though especially if visual novels are about visuals.”
- “Graphics/sound ★★★★★★★★★☆”
- “You can see from the story, drama, art style, voice line.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes, bugs, and unconvincing animations. Many have experienced issues such as characters' mouths not syncing properly and overall sluggish performance, indicating significant technical shortcomings.
- “The system is not fluent either, and I have experienced freezes many times when playing.”
- “From a technical perspective, it's quite buggy.”
- “Animation can be buggy, freeze, load slowly, or move unnaturally at times.”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
Overall, the character development is praised for its integration with stunning character designs and effective voice acting, contributing positively to the story. However, some users express disappointment with certain character designs, indicating that inconsistent quality can detract from the visual storytelling experience.
- “I love the art style, the voice acting, and the overall story & character development.”
- “Great character design (in my opinion) and good voice acting.”
- “All the CGs are animated beautifully, and I personally really love the character designs (whoever designed Tachibana-san's clothes should get a raise).”
- “The character design, though, is a problem.”
- “It's pretty sad when the character design is just so-so, especially if visual novels are about visuals.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game features impressive performances from the main cast; however, players report random lag and performance issues, particularly due to demanding animations and post-processing effects. Many wish for an option to disable these features to improve overall optimization.
- “The game randomly lags - the animations and post-processing effects are nice, but given the amount they affect performance, I genuinely wish there was an option to turn them off.”
- “Performance issues.”
- “Performance issues.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The gameplay is characterized by a linear structure, offering no choices for players, which may limit engagement and exploration.
- “In regards to the gameplay, the story is linear, so no choices are present whatsoever.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is well-executed, effectively complementing the narrative without overshadowing it. Players appreciate how it intertwines with character development, eliciting a range of emotions from laughter to introspection.
- “The sense of humor is on point, never undermining other aspects of the narrative.”
- “The moments of character growth made me laugh, cry, feel angry, and reflect upon a lot of things myself.”

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UsoNatsu ~The Summer Romance Bloomed From A Lie~
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UsoNatsu: The Summer Romance Bloomed From a Lie

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