Kogado Studio Unveils Sugar Lies Romance Visual Novel at TGS
Tokyo Game Show 2026 is being held from September 17 to 21 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, with the first two days reserved for business visitors. On September 17, the second day of the event, Kogado Studio hosted a special stream for its new title, Sugar Lies (シュガーライズ). The game is described as a short romance visual novel depicting a one-summer boy-meets-girl story between a young man who despises lies and a girl who tells them. The stream introduced the characters, the opening theme song, and the pricing ahead of launch.
Sugar Lies centers on Nobuto Nagatsuki, a first-year university student who hates lies. After a certain incident, he developed a peculiar condition: whenever he senses another person’s “acting” or “lies,” he feels physically sick and sometimes vomits. He speaks in a flat tone and tells no lies, seemingly unable to. He then meets Sakura Miyame (桜美夜夢衣), a girl who skillfully performs the “ideal self” that others want to see. The instant he beholds her, Nobuto instinctively understands that this is the worst possible encounter.
Sakura Miyame was once famous as a child prodigy actor, raised under strict elite training by her actor father. A third character, Nobuto’s super-easygoing childhood friend, frequently stays at his home, has worked as a stage actor since childhood, and is a heavy otaku who loves “profound” works. The opening theme song, “True or Lies,” was revealed during the stream, performed by Ikumi Hasegawa (as Sakura Miyame) and Hikaru Iida (as Akeboshi Yukihira), with composition handled by Rabi (来兎).
Sugar Lies is priced at ¥2,860 ($19) for the Nintendo Switch digital edition and the PC digital version, while the Nintendo Switch packaged edition costs ¥4,000 ($27), all tax included. An ASMR voice drama series is also set to go on sale through digital storefronts, with details to be shared in a follow-up report. The game is sold by Kogado Studio and produced by Team S:OWLS, with planning by Kawashonin 49, character design by Ringopan and Omoti, music by Ryusei, and programming by Ryukei Noguchi, Junnami Hyuga, and Kazuma Funayama. For fans of short, character-driven romance visual novels, this is one to keep an eye on.
