Smoke and Sacrifice

Smoke and Sacrifice is a dark and compelling adventure that deserves to be played.

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.

Smoke and Sacrifice presents itself as a game that knows exactly what it's going for. It doesn't push any boundaries in the gaming world but offers a fun, interesting, and somewhat different experience with the crafting and narrative. However, the narrative ends up feeling flat and hollow, and it detracts quite a bit from the experience. While the art style can be a little jarring at times, the rest of the visuals, the gameplay, and the audio all make the game enjoyable. Overall, Smoke and Sacrifice ends up feeling like a little bit less than what it was advertising, but it's still a fun experience.

The game keeps you busy collecting crafting recipes and materials while giving you a purpose other than to simply survive. Sure, most of Smoke And Sacrifice comes down to inventory management and what are essentially fetch quests, but unlike the sandbox-y nature of other survival games, this one gives you a solid reason to keep going as you root for Sachi to uncover the secrets surrounding the fate of her missing son. [Issue#159, p.82]

If you’re looking for an indie RPG that tugs at your heartstrings, Smoke and Sacrifice is that game.

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 The only thing Smoke and Sacrifice seems to falter in is its clunky and outdated combat and daunting crafting system.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.

An enjoyably distinctive survival game, in terms of gameplay, visuals, and an unusually affecting story.

Solar Sails’ debut captivates mainly with its atmosphere and graphic style – similar to the most interesting works of Zoink! and Image & Form. And that is why, despite some of its shortcomings, I ultimately spent three pleasant evenings with it. [03/2019, p.76]

The concept is interesting, but the focus on collecting and crafting becomes monotonous too quickly, while the fights are a little rough around the edges.

Smoke and Sacrifice does just enough with its exploration and crafting to be enjoyable. The weak combat and some irritating design decisions make the replayability suffer but fans of the genre will enjoy following the story through once.

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.