Sweat & Tears is an entry in the Prince of Tennis series based on manga and anime which focuses on tennis club activities. It is a mix of visual novel gameplay, and a character's stats building simulation through various mini-games, except the stats don't affect various girls as in typical love simulation games but how you play tennis. The game lets players name their character and choose whether the protagonist is a boy or a girl. The player then starts as a freshman at Seigaku tennis club and works his or her way up to the top. The game features many key characters from the series and players get to interact with them as well as challenge them in tennis matches. Visual novel gameplay is using typical 1st-person perspective with static background and slightly dynamic character sprites which show minor animations like eye blinking or lip-syncing during dialogues. Key moments are displayed via CG event scenes of higher quality. On-screen text can be toggled off by holding the appropriate button to see clear background image. The game also supports fast-forward option which help player move swiftly though pages and pages of on-screen text and dialogue subtitles. Mini-games show protagonist character in 3rd-person (often but not always) and require player to either mash some button or time button press during QTEs (quick-time events). Game progress is saved at the end of the day when the player is in his or her room, and at the same place choices for what to do the next day or week can be selected. This can vary from studying, cooking, tennis training, part-time working, and other mini-games. The match of tennis is done from a side perspective with camera scrolling as it follows the ball. The character cannot move around the terrain freely and only needs to hit the ball by pressing the corresponding button at the right time, otherwise the character will swing and miss and the opponent will score a point.