Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Review (PS4)

In Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, you play as a young goddess, called Sakuna, who spends her days being lazy and drinking in the house of the gods. After a small accident involving fire and sacred offerings, she ends up being banished to Demon Island and says she can only return after all the monsters are defeated.

Our spoiled little princess is not used to hard work but soon finds herself stuck in her new life thanks, in part, to a group of humans who are stuck with you. Humans are too weak to fight demons on their own, so much exploration and combat will have to be accomplished by Sakuna alone.

The fight is simple, but really satisfying. You have both a light weapon and a heavy weapon and can perform various combos and use skills to harvest devastating amounts of carnage. You also have a divine garment (which is basically a grappling hook) which can be used to force your way through areas as well as launch enemies. Battles can get pretty hectic with a lot of enemies onscreen, but luckily the game handles it just fine with no noticeable slowdowns.

When you’re not messing around with devils, you can go home to help out with the rice farming a bit. There are always a lot of things to consider, like creating fertilizer, plowing, and weeding. You will regularly learn new farming techniques so that you always feel like you are discovering new ways to improve end results. This is important because the harvest will not only provide you with food, but since Sakuna is a god of partial harvest, his stats will improve depending on the quality and yield of the rice.

In the evening, you can spend time with your new human family to chat and eat a meal using the food that you have gathered and grown on your own. Watching Sakuna slowly mature and start to care about more than herself is a truly heartwarming journey. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is an absolutely wonderful mix of farming simulator and action RPG. Whether you are battling hordes of demons or trying to figure out how best to manage your harvest, there is always something new to learn and discover in this charming and unique adventure.