Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Reviews

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is ranked in the 83rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a deep, intriguing game that makes some poor design decisions and fails to clarify itself. The mechanics are interesting and unique but its got a hell of a learning curve.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a fun and entertaining game. I was quickly swept in by its charming characters, great writing, and rice farming simulation. Unfortunately, a lot of the game mechanics hold it back including the brutal day and night cycle and having to wait an entire game year just to level up Sakuna to make the game a little easier.

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2020

Combat is fun, and it ties into the simulation elements well. However, the pacing and repetition makes it difficult to fully appreciate it all

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7.7 / 10.0
Nov 28, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin combines 2 very different genres into one rewarding experience and its heartwarming story is the icing on the cake. It may become a little tedious after a while but the journey is still worth partaking in for those who enjoy unique games.

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78 / 100
Dec 5, 2020

Sakuna is a game you shouldn't play because of its story but you should play it because of the freedom it gives you. Some elements are repetitive but I can choose on my own what to do on the beautiful island.

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78 / 100
Nov 11, 2020

The art style is vivid and manages to not look realistic but still be immersive, and the simple act of being Sakuna and exploring the visuals around me is enough to want to keep playing. In some ways, the game reminds me of Animal Crossing games, where the loop slows me down and keeps me engaged in the little wonders of life around me.

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CFG Games
Kallista Kaines
Nov 27, 2020

A gorgeous take on Japanese mythology with a side of relaxing farming, educational lessons, and of course action!

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Nov 12, 2020

Overall, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a very unique experience. The game mixes an action game with a pretty robust farming simulator and the results are pretty solid. The farming is very tedious at first, but it is great watching Sakuna grow and improve with each harvest. The combat is fast and fun, even if there are some issues with platforming aspects. The storytelling is great with a cast of likable characters that you will grow to love in your over 20 hours of gameplay. I think this one needed just a bit more polish, but I still think it is worth a go for anyone looking for something a bit different. Its charms really do outweigh its faults by a lot, and is well worth the $39.99 asking price.

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Blast Away the Game Review
Kennard Daniel Prim
8 / 10.0
Dec 16, 2020

Sakuna of Rice and Ruin is, at the end of the day, a game that dips its hands into the realm of RPG, sidescrolling hack-n-slash, platforming, and farming simulator. It reaches into so many baskets and does so to great success.

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Evan Norris
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 22, 2020

Sakuna is eye-opening, not only because it shines a light on the nourishing, temperamental, and soulful qualities of rice but also because it demonstrates how a small team of two people can produce greatness by combining two seemingly incompatible genres.

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8 / 10
Nov 9, 2020

But the whole thing is presented with such care, patient attention to detail, and downright love that it’s impossible not to enjoy the heck out of this game. It’s the sort of game that I highly recommend to people who may naturally only be inclined to one side or the other of this particular melange, because you might find yourself enjoying it more than you expected.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin isn’t perfect, but the good more than outweighs the bad here. It’s just frustrating for me personally, cause there were so many things about the game that could have translated to a perfect experience. There’s just too many missteps for that. Thankfully, what’s here is still very much worth the price of admission. If you want a game you can sink hours and hours into while enjoying a meandering and surprising story, you have to check this one out.

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GameSpew
Becca S.
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is more complex than one might expect, which is a pleasant surprise. The delicate and relaxing art of rice farming juxtaposed against the smooth and fast-paced combat makes this a unique but wholly engaging adventure. While combat can be a bit of slog until Sakuna has more abilities up her sleeve, it’s worth persevering with, because the result is a side-scrolling action title unlike no other.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is definitely an interesting title, mixing the mundanities of rice planting with 2D hacking and slashing. While an acquired taste, those who like their games unique should have a fun time with Sakuna. If you can forgive an unlikeable protagonist and some repetitive gameplay at times, Sakuna is a solid title that shines even with its flaws.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin seamlessly blends 2D platforming action with 3D farm management.

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8 / 10
Nov 11, 2020

It’s a robust game with a fresh atmosphere and it’s found its own little niche where it undoubtedly has full reign... It’s safe to say I’m going to be knee-deep in water and checking on my rice for seasons to come.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 17, 2020

Where Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is difficult to comment on is the whole experience. Making farming such a critical part is going to turn off a lot of people and even skipping it makes things more tedious than it needs to be. As for combat, it's fun, though not overly deep. I found myself having fun and easily knew what to do to prevent dying, even if I still occasionally got overran. Unfortunately, a lot of this hinges on how much of a deal-breaker farming is. Even if you can skip most of it, things just get harder or you need to devote different amounts of effort to it. For some that is fine but you need to make that call for yourself.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is charming and challenging in all the right ways. Even now, as I sit here spending time working on this review, I wish I were playing the game. In spite of a few frustrating puzzle sections here and there, Hinoe calls to me. Knowing that my rice needs tending to and my pantry probably needs more dried meat so we can make it through the winter is all I want to focus on. That's when you know a game has its hooks in you. Pretty, addictive hooks that have me all in.

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4 / 5.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is a wonderful mix of the two ideas. As a platformer, the game wouldn’t have enough driving force, and would wear out quickly. For farming, while it’s truly lovely, there’s too much downtime with not enough to do. Each of these things in a game of their own would be draining, but together it creates a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of a game that deserves recognition and continues to feel fresh and enjoyable even after 20 hours in.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2020

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin succeeds at offering both an exploration-based beat 'em up adventure and a relaxing life-sim experience. The combat may not be perfect and the difficulty feels uneven at times, but the addicting gameplay loop and charming world more than make up for it.

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