Farmers work hard. They rise early in the morning at an ungodly hour, and that would be enough for some people. Farmers have to know their land, their crops, their animals, their tools, their tractors etc. All is well when things run smoothly, but any number of stresses can be added when they don’t.
For Sakuna, it’s even harder. Not only does she have to contend with fickle weather and spontaneous animal behaviour. She has to fight demons and monsters on top of the farming, which makes for a unique life. If the duality of such a life sounds good to you, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is out now.
Make it Grain!
Playing as Sakuna, a spoiled harvest goddess recently banished, players are tasked with growing…you guessed it. Rice! But that won’t be the only task. As mentioned earlier, Sakuna will have to use her farm equipment as weapons against beasts of all types.
When she’s not caving in skulls, she’ll do everything from planting to harvesting in pursuit of “the perfect crop”. As a nice close to the gameplay loop, considering Sakuna is the harvest goddess, her power will grow with the farm’s success.
Much like an RPG, the NPC’s that fill out Sakuna’s village will help create better equipment as she completes tasks for them. As for the story itself, it’s “painstakingly researched…Japanese history” including gods and demons from mythology. As her bonds with the people around her grow, she’ll “hopefully, help find ways to heal their souls”. What heals a soul better than a sack of rice?
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, developed by Edelweiss, is out now on Nintendo Switch, PC and PlayStation 4. So far it stands at a Mostly Positive review on Steam, so be sure to check it out.
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