Solar Sail Games release their action adventure game Smoke and Sacrifice today on PC and Switch with an Xbox One and PS4 release coming later this year. You play as mother Sachi, who via a community ritual is forced to give up her firstborn son – something all the women are supposed to do. Any subsequent off-spring can be nurtured as normal. However, all is not what it seems as Sachi is whisked away to a dark and mysterious underground environment where she discovers many hidden truths about the ritual and potential of finding her son alive some years later.
Once the introduction is complete, Sachi enters the underworld and it is here where the game’s survival element kicks-in. There is no time limit or depleting health bars, but progress is hampered by a fog, deadly swamps and various status themed areas which will kill Sachi if she doesn’t have the right equipment. So for example, at the start of the adventure, there are areas that are ice themed which require the appropriate shoes and hide armour to prevent freezing to death. At night powerful enemies roam and can easily kick Sachi’s butt during the early portions of the adventure. In fact, Sachi is quite under-powered in general even when equipping armor and crafting weapons. The game’s combat really could be improved as it relies on directional attacks which can be a bit hit and miss. A lock-on feature would have made this far less cumbersome against single enemies or those which jump about a lot making successful hits tricky. When combined with over-powered enemies, frustration can set in. You can always avoid enemies, or use environmental elements such as mines or explosive barrels (or even befriended enemies) for extra damage (at the risk of killing Sachi in the process), but due to the game’s fetch quest nature of tasks means you can’t always escape having to fight if the enemy drops the parts required for story progression. So, players really have to work with the limitations of the combat system where running around, dodging and using a makeshift absorption shield powered by an energy bar are the order of the day. Once this is mastered then an easier time is had. The main gripe here is it’s not very accessible and perhaps could have been a little more forgiving early on to ease players into its quirky gameplay.
Aside from tackling the game’s various ground and air based enemies, players can undertake a number of story related tasks and sub quests from the often spooky looking inhabitants. Completion of these provides more tools and info to help Sachi on her adventure remembering this is a survival game at heart. Players have to keep an eye on their status though because if killed then the game restarts at the last save and due to the fact saving is limited to specific terminals means it’s quite easy to miss saving. Obviously this can result in losing quite a bit of progress – again which can be frustrating. The save terminals are not abundant, but luckily areas of interest are highlighted on the map as you uncover them, so some back-tracking is in order before moving forwards, unless you’re confident or a glutton for punishment. It’s perhaps this element which keeps players on their toes and despite frustrations acts as an interesting form of difficulty. Players can also teleport around the map via special tubes which have to be unlocked via coin which can be earned or found by smashing inanimate objects in the populated areas.
In terms of visuals, the hand-drawn look is fantastic with pleasantly designed enemies and NPCs which animate fairly well. The locations are also quite varied offering enough places to get lost or drawn into. The game offers a 2D top down viewpoint and because there is lesser demand compared to 3D graphics as a result runs smoothly on PC at high resolutions – there are no other graphics options here. If there is any minor complaints here is with regards to the menus being a little fiddly but at least you can pause the action during crafting and eating items for health whilst being attacked. For more complex crafting items you need to stand next to a cooking pot or workbench to get the desired results. The same for any interactions which again is a bit fiddly at times. It would have been better to auto use the item when selecting rather than having to choose the item from the menu as an unnecessary additional step. Audio features some standard sound effects and interesting atmospheric music but sadly there is no spoken dialogue which is a shame.
Gamers can spend quite a number of hours playing, with 30 hours plus of story and side-tasks to play through. Increase the play time if one falls foul of forgetting to save the game frequently. What starts out quite basic evolves into something much more which becomes a worthwhile goal to keep chasing.
Smoke and Sacrifice might appear to be a simple game but has enough character to keep players hooked to see what happens to Sachi next and after upgrading her weapons and armor to fare better against the beasts of the day and night. Killing, trapping and breeding are all here which makes for a rather engaging adventure wrapped up in some wonderful visuals and distinctive narrative. If you’re a survival fan, then this is well worth checking out. Sure it could be improved in some areas, but as of now the core game is well playable and entertaining at the same time. What more could you ask for.
Score – 8/10
