Review: Sakuna: Rice and Ruin

Rinse and repeat

Sakuna: rice and ruin has been a long time coming, and while this falls into a very busy release week, I’m excited to see this brave rice farming action-RPG platformer finally released.

As a relaxed farming simulation with side-scrolling side-scrolling action pieces, it’s a pretty relaxing game, one that you can jump into for 20 hours or slowly but steadily complete in a few months.

I had high hopes for the future – maybe too much? – but there is still a lot to like here. Especially the rice.

Sakuna: rice and ruin (Nintendo Switch [reviewed], PC, PS4]
Developer: Edelweiss
Publisher: Xseed Games, Marvelous
Release: November 10, 2020
MSRP: $ 39.99

Sakuna: rice and ruin feels both bigger and smaller than expected.

First of all, the good news. Disaster seems great in the sense that the story – a story of redemption for a spoiled brat goddess who is exiled to an island overrun by demons – is surprisingly thorough and thoughtful. Edelweiss has taken great care in its myths, premises and characters inspired by Japan.

To sum up, Sakuna’s fate is intertwined with an eccentric family of mortals who managed to walk the Celestial Realm. Hijinks ensue, and they have no choice but to regroup, cultivate rice to increase Sakuna’s strength, and ultimately reclaim the Miserable Island to set things right. It’s a fantastic setup in every way for a game built around a daily and seasonal grind.

Typically, in the morning, you’ll be doing quick tasks like pulling weeds and tending to crops as needed in your comfortable 3D property. At any time, you can open a huge island map and upgrade to a 2.5D action platformer level where you will slash baddies like pig beasts, skeletal warriors, and flocks of evil birds. More often than not, I had plenty of time to complete one full level and delve into another before deciding to come home. When night falls and enemies get stronger, you’ll want to come back to dinner (to temporarily boost your stats) and sleep nourishing (to heal).

Along with Sakuna’s RPG stats which you’ll gradually improve over time, she has a separate “exploration level” that you’ll need to rank up by completing each level thoroughly. Different levels have different alternate goals beyond just getting to the end. Sometimes you will have to use certain types of weapons or kill creatures at night once you are powerful enough. Other times, you may have to think outside the box to reach for hidden objects or take out a (once tricky) boss in under 30 seconds.

The more you increase your Exploration Rank, the more levels you’ll unlock on the map, and the more the story (which is mostly told in the Return to the Farm cutscenes) will progress. A few times I was only vaguely aware of what to do next. In general, it’s a good idea to track your rice each season, chat as much as possible with your makeshift family, and completely complete all available levels.

Here is the less good news. Disaster also feels smaller than expected in the sense that the action platform levels do not evolve sufficiently. What you see in the trailers is pretty much what you get.

To be clear, I really like the just complicated enough combat system – in a weird way it reminds me Super Smash Bros. and Kirby fighters – and I think the grapple / dodge ability “divine garment” is fun to wield while it lasts. I loved jumping, throwing enemies and crushing them in crowds. I can’t speak so high about the level design though. Its good. Not exciting, not boring, just … good. I enjoyed seeing new mechanics like noxious air and levitating puddles, but they can’t go any further.

After a few hours of unlocking combat skills / techniques and mastering flight-focused combos, you will have experienced most of the highlights. A lot of enemy stages and encounters feel more or less the same. At one point, it’s all about exploring for secret nooks and crannies, gaining XP and gear, crafting better gear, and fighting the same powerful enemies (even bosses!) Over and over again.

It’s a shame DisasterThe first favorable impression of the latter does not hold during the whole experience. I never quite got to the point where I wanted to quit playing, but there were times when the motivation dropped. Ultimately, the understated calming grind and desire to follow the story kept me strong.

That, and the cultivation of rice is satisfactory. The more effort you put in, the better your stats gains.

I loved thoroughly cleaning the rocks, preparing the soil, creating fertilizer with the right ingredients, spacing the plants just so, tinker with water levels, pull out weeds and treat crops in several convenient steps. It is vast! The simulation begins on a single note before layering other concepts. Before you can get bored, it adds new twists or speeds up the existing process.

Once you’ve got your fill of the more monotonous tasks (like planting hundreds of individual seeds), you can ask the AI ​​to save you time with little caveats. It is a fair compromise. Overall, I made the elements of the simulation cohesive throughout the rest of the game without being overbearing. Seasonal farming affects the platform on a day-to-day basis and vice versa. None of this sounds like an afterthought.

I need to point out that I wouldn’t buy Disaster only for the simulation side if that’s what speaks to you the most, because that’s not really the main focus. It is above all an action platform game. It’s a long game. You will spend a lot of time dealing with the crops, but you will even more time to fight demons.

Disaster goes beyond its welcome, but I agree with that to some extent. Even though the fighting and level design fail to pick up speed and stay fresh, I was captivated for quite a while. I never completely checked out, even when the game was the most repetitive. There is a time, a place and an atmosphere for it.

If a quirky action game with RPG progression and relaxing farming activities seems like your kind of thing, trust your gut on this one. The Nintendo Switch version is solid enough that I recommend it.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

Sakuna: rice and ruin reviewed by Jordan Devore