Smoke and Sacrifice Reviews
Overall, Smoke and Sacrifice ends up feeling like a little bit less than what it was advertising, but it's still a fun experience.
There are good ideas here, but I wouldn't say the game is worth playing. Even if you are a survival game nut or seriously invested in long, drawn out stories, I'd probably recommend against grabbing this one.
Otherwise, if you can get past the fact that you need to “craft” rather than “combat” your way to the finish line, Smoke and Sacrifice is a pleasant experience that will keep you occupied for 15-20 hours.
The game uses a similar style of art to Don't Starve, only there's colour, and a whole slew of gorgeous animations to go with it. It's a gorgeous, if somewhat bleak (due to the Underworld) game packed with lots of nice little touches and a beautiful hand-drawn/animated art style. What begins as a simple exercise in survival turns into a story about a parent and her child, and the love a mother has for her son. Sure, there are survival elements and the need to craft and create bigger/better things so that you can extend your ability to survive as well as explore more places to unravel more of the plot. But there's a real heart here to the game, and this is where Smoke and Sacrifice shines the brightest.
An amiable crafting game with an interesting story of parental devotion — let down by flawed combat and generic area design.
After only a few minutes of playing Smoke and Sacrifice, You would easily recognize tons of similarities between this game and other dark survival games like Don't Starve. Still, because of it's unique story and narrative and also it's remarkable art design, Smoke and Sacrifice have it's own unique identity. Smoke and Sacrifice could be much more enjoyable if it wasn't for some technical issues, inventory management problem and more importantly gameplay repetition. but on the end Smoke and Sacrifice deserves a chance to prove itself as a good, enjoyable survival game. If you are looking for a nice survival game with RPG elements and beautiful story, Smoke and Sacrifice is worthy to experience.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Smoke and Sacrifice is a surprisingly complete game. It offers a ton of crafting options and challenges you on every step you take. The story is interesting and plays out in a wonderful hand drawn world. It is not perfect, but definitely worth your time.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
With a more unique crafting system or stronger combat or more emphasis on the story Smoke and Sacrifice could have really been something special. As it stands, though, it’s a fun little adventure.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a visually splendid survival RPG that has a strong narrative and a well designed and implemented resource system. The PS4 version is also a great port of the PC version, the control system feeling natural and intuitive. The repetition and bland fetch quests, coupled with hit and miss combat (pun intended) however, mean that getting to the games best moments can occasionally feel like a slog.
If you're looking for an indie RPG that tugs at your heartstrings, Smoke and Sacrifice is that game. Sachi fights her way through the unknown, scavenging for tools and food. She pushes past the obstacles in her way driven to bring her lost child home. A mother's perseverance and strength give me those Kleenex commercial feels. It'll take about twenty hours to complete the story and side quests, which is a good length for an indie game of this scope. And those of us who get emotionally invested in games like these might want to have something comforting at hand. My go-to: a giant bag of M&Ms and some good Japanese whisky, neat.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a good addition to the survival genre, from its compelling storyline to its amazing design that engrosses you in a bleak world run over by monsters. The only thing Smoke and Sacrifice seems to falter in is its clunky and outdated combat and daunting crafting system. A beautiful aspect that distinguishes the game from other survival games is the narrative that focuses on motherhood. If you like titles such as Don't Starve, then this is a decent alternative.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a beautifully drawn survival game with an emphasis on its interesting story. For me, it felt like a ‘survival-lite’ game, as it didn’t have any intense survival aspects other than finding components and crafting your way to victory, but that was great for me as I prefer them like this. At times, the game may feel like it’s ramped up the difficulty, especially if you go off the recommended path, but nothing felt unfair or impossible – You just have to master the controls and upgrade your gear. It truly is a stunning game which will challenge you and have you coming back for more, regardless of how many times you perish to the horrific creatures within the smoke!
A nicely designed Steampunk action adventure underpinned by an intriguing story line, Smoke and Sacrifice is hampered by repetitive world design, an excess of unnecessary crafting and a fighting mechanic which just isn't as much fun as it should be.
There’s nothing ground breaking about Smoke and Sacrifice. That said, it takes some tried and tested tropes and ties them together in an effective and entertaining package.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a dark and compelling adventure that deserves to be played
An enjoyably distinctive survival game, in terms of gameplay, visuals, and an unusually affecting story.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a good game once you know what you're getting into. It is an adventure with clear objectives but a slower pace due to the amount of collecting and crafting involved. It's also a much easier survival game to digest, since you aren't monitoring too many meters at one time. Tying it together is a captivating presentation and a narrative that is as dour as it is fascinating. Although the Switch version suffers from some hitches in areas, the game should still be experienced by genre fans.
Smoke and Sacrifice is yet another worthy entry in the survival genre. While it isn’t the best one, it certainly has a lot going for it and is a still a cracking little title. It has an impressive overarching story which is rare in the genre.
Smoke and Sacrifice is a title I am conflicted about. I love the art direction and foreboding atmosphere with clever crafting mechanics, but the poor combat gameplay and unforgiving difficulty are frustrating. If you're intrigued by the premise though, it is definitely worth checking out.
It will be hard to remain interested in Smoke and Sacrifice for more than a handful of hours. By then most will realise that what started as an emotive journey, ends up being an endless series of unbalanced crafting, unexciting exploration, and controller-breaking, clunky fighting.