Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin takes elements of series like the Story of Seasons series and Stardew Valley, and smashes them together with fun platforming action. Players take control of Sakuna, the daughter of a warrior god and harvest goddess. Banished to the Isle of Demons, players must both farm and fight their way out of banishment.
Players familiar with farming sims and platformers will find a lot to enjoy here, but its deliberate withholding of key information can make things a bit of a drag in the beginning. Having some extra information on hand will go a long way in helping players fully appreciate this awesome indie gem.
10 The Tutorial Is Deliberately Basic
The tutorial for Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin gives players the bare minimum needed to start the game. There's a simple introduction to platforming, attacking, and rice farming, and that's it. Players that are expecting more may be left scratching their heads as to what to do next, but that's the entire point. Players are meant to experience the same shock of working with the limited information that Sakuna is also experiencing. Sakuna's sheltered upbringing means she knows very little about the outside world, and she will need to rely heavily on her allies if she wants to be successful.
9 Information Comes In Pieces
As the game progresses, more gameplay elements will be revealed to Sakuna and the player through Scrolls and NPC dialogue. These Scrolls reveal important gameplay information to the player, so they're definitely worth a read, even if it means a brief pause in the action. Although they're not a requirement (players can muddy their way through the game if they really want to), they make the game experience so much smoother. NPCs will be immensely helpful as well, even though the game will deliberately frame some of them as hapless fools.
8 The Game Encourages Experimenting
Very few parts of the game are locked away from the players. For example, the option to use the outhouse and fertilize the fields is available right from the beginning, but it isn't explained to players until their second year on the island.
It's up to the players whether they want to dive right in and experiment, or if they would rather wait for the game to give them a bit of a helping hand. There really isn't any punishment for trying things out, though, so experimenting definitely doesn't hurt.
7 Rice Is The Only Produce
Unlike other farming sims, rice is the only thing that's farmed by Sakuna. While this may seem disappointing at first, the game takes this one aspect and really runs with it. It doesn't simplify farming to the simple act of tilling, plopping down seeds, watering, and waiting. Farming rice becomes a loving and painstaking process of watching the weather, spacing seedlings out properly, ensuring water levels for the field are correct, and more. It's about the most realistic rice farming experience players can get without stepping foot outside.
6 The First Harvest Will Probably Fall Flat
Players thinking they'll nail rice farming in year one will likely be disappointed. Since Sakuna, and the player by extension, only have limited information on how to plant rice, there's a pretty good chance that the first harvest won't be a resounding success. However, therein lies the lesson the game tries to impress upon players: failure is okay.
Failure doesn't end the game. It is merely a chance for players to learn from their mistakes and try again. The only way a player can fail is if they let their fear of failure prevent them from planting anything at all.
5 There Aren't A Ton Of NPCs
While games like Stardew Valley and the Story of Seasons series rely on the strength and quantity of their NPCs to infuse their games with life, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin takes the opposite approach. The characters that Sakuna interacts with are few in number, and they frequently get on her nerves. However, there are moments of genuine warmth between them, especially around the dinner table, that make up for the lack in quantity of NPCs. They're skippable, but watching them is highly recommended for the full experience.
4 The Dungeons Are Relatively Small
When Sakuna isn't farming, players can take her out hunting and exploring the island she's on. There are a ton of places to check out, but the dungeons are meant to be small and easy to explore.
Players will find themselves visiting the same area multiple times due to their size, but the game spices things up by having objectives to complete in each area. New areas pop up frequently as well, so while backtracking is a part of the package, players don't have to wait long to explore new places.
3 Rice Is Tied To Sakuna's Success
As Sakuna is the child of a warrior god and a harvest goddess, it's not surprising that her ability to farm and her ability to fight her tied closely together. The better players do with the rice field, the better the quality of their harvest, resulting in Sakuna doing better in dungeons. Players will need to find a good balance between spending time out fighting and time at the farm if they want the best chance at success. Spend too long out fighting, and the field can become overgrown with weeds or ravaged by pests.
2 The Harder Sakuna Works, The Better Her Rewards
Throughout the game, players will have the option to let NPC take on some of the daily tasks, such as rice farming and scouting for ingredients and materials. Taking this route is a double-edged sword, however. While it can save players a lot of time, NPCs tend to accomplish less than what Sakuna can manage on her own. Plus, shoving her work off onto others means she will miss out on gaining experience and new skills that make the game easier to navigate later on.
1 The Game Rewards Patience
When it comes to rice farming, there are plenty of ways to speed up the process or skip steps altogether. The game will not try to stop players from racing ahead, but impatience is absolutely penalized by the game. For example, tilling the fields is required before planting rice. Players can choose to rush through the tilling process since the game won't try to stop players from doing so, but it will result in lower quality rice, ultimately leading to worse stat bonuses for Sakuna.