Review for Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/11/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 20/11/2020
What would happen if a sliding action game and farming simulation were combined? To find the answer, you don't need to look very far, but just keep reading our review of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, out November 10 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.
A slightly weird Goddess
When ordinary humans try to sneak into a deity's palace, unpleasant events can easily happen. The search for rice by a group of humans, in fact, unleashes the anger of our protagonist, a very spoiled little princess goddess, who ends up being banished from her city for having made a nice disaster.
We will then find ourselves impersonating Sakuna, leading the small group consisting of a human family and its spiritual guide, a flying dog who tries to teach her healthy values, while they try to free the island they were sent to by the demons, and, at the same time, grow rice to survive. The little protagonist will therefore have to learn to roll up her sleeves and get to work for the good of the group. A group that is overall well characterized: we will find the child annoying, the mother who takes care of the kitchen and the father of the family who teaches Sakuna to cultivate. These characters will find themselves having to work together to survive and complete their task.
A nice mix
The development team consisting of only two boys, Edelweiss, managed to combine two genres that have nothing to do with each other, risking to create an uninspired title on the gameplay side without any of the mechanics typical of these genres being able to stand out. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin instead manages to be enough surprising from this point of view, leading only in some phases to boredom and always encouraging the player to continue the game.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin looks like a sliding action right from the start, with heavy and light attacks, different combos to learn and skills to master. This part of the gameplay can be considered the main one, as we will find ourselves fighting against ancient Japanese demons most of the time. From the beginning, moves and powers are unlocked that are able to continually entertain the player, even if after a few hours we will begin to understand which are the most useful skills and we will risk falling into a continuous spam mechanic to finish the levels. Yes, levels, why our protagonist will move starting from the main hub, which is the house where the characters take refuge, to go and explore various areas in the form of levels, with specific objectives to achieve and optional quests for each. Only after about half of the adventure will we discover a special level, built as a 100-story doungeon with a boss to defeat and a checkpoint every 5. Right at this stage the gameplay starts to get slightly repetitive.
During our explorations we will find, in addition to defeating a large number of enemies, also to collect resources for the base, including the materials useful for the cultivation, and it is the secondary part of the gameplay, but which still occupies an important slice of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. The little princess will find herself having to learn the art of cultivation, with the help of the father of the human family, to be able to survive during their mission. And with her too the player will have to roll up his sleeves to be able to produce as much food as possible. There will therefore be phases in which we will have to hoe the earth, plant the seeds, water the field, spread the fertilizer and then harvest. All this happens with a certain realism, in fact we will have to wait for the right seasons to plant and harvest the rice.
Turning to the problems, we must mention a not very smooth and sometimes not very intuitive progression: if on the one hand Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin pushes the player to explore every corner of the various areas, it happens in some stages that the title forces the user to "level" to continue. This is a choice that can annoy many players, especially those who don't like RPG mechanics, but it's still a matter of personal taste. Instead, what is a real problem is that other times the advancement of the story is unlocked in random moments of the game, with cut-scenes that start in a completely impromptu way.
Being present a day-night cycle, during the missions it often happens to see the sun go down, and this as well as reducing our visibility (until we unlock some kind of oil lamp), will lead to a disproportionate increase in strength of our enemies, which will become practically unbeatable. This will force us, in case it gets dark, to abandon the current mission and go home to rest. Returning home you also have the opportunity to eat, and having a full stomach will allow us, a bit like in Minecraft, to regenerate our life. Also for this reason we will have to return often to the base so as not to remain lifeless for the duration of a level.
Fascinating Japan but ...
Graphics are certainly not the focal point of an experience like Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, but we know that "the eye also wants its part". Its classic anime style strikes from the first glances, even being quite simple it manages to fascinate the player, especially when it is inside the first levels and in very inspired environments. Unfortunately, however, the latter are not very varied and they will soon turn out to be quite flat and repetitive. The large amount of different enemies is instead a positive factor for the title, which will put the player in front of always different difficulties that he will have to learn to manage with the right skills and moves.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is an interesting title, able to entertain the player more for the gameplay than for the story. He manages to combine two diametrically opposed genres with excellent results. Unfortunately, the problems related to the story, the progression, some mechanics and the repetitiveness of the actions to be performed make the game less interesting in the long run. Beautiful oriental-style settings, the recovery of Japanese mythology and the style of the characters, especially for lovers of that world.
► Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a Simulation-JRPG game published by Marvelous for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 10/11/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 20/11/2020
