Smoke and Sacrifice

A sometimes grotesque, always engrossing take on the survival game, woven together with a twisted tale, weird weapons, and giant, charging porcupine pigs.

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 The only thing Smoke and Sacrifice seems to falter in is its clunky and outdated combat and daunting crafting system.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 an attractive take on the survival genre with a diverting story examining our reliance on fossil fuels and class-dependent economies. Juggling your gear is more finicky than it should be, which is disappointing when inventory management is such a fundamental part of the game. However, if you're prepared to keep on top of things, and you have the fortitude to brave the oppressive smoke, there's plenty to enjoy in Sachi's quest and the core crafting loop.

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.

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.