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.

70%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

grinding, stability

75% User Score Based on 236 reviews

Critic Score 68%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

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About

Smoke and Sacrifice is a single player open world role playing game with fantasy and mystery themes. It was developed by Solar Sail Games Ltd and was released on May 31, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

In "Smoke and Sacrifice," play as Sachi, a mother seeking the truth about her sacrificed child in a open-world, hand-painted, gothic RPG. Survive harsh environments, fight strange creatures, and uncover dark secrets concealed by a seemingly benevolent religious community, as you navigate a world teetering on the brink of destruction. Can you save your child and the world from the deadly smoke that threatens to consume all in its path?

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 236 reviews

story75 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
Engaging story with interesting characters and lore that keeps players invested.
Varied crafting and exploration mechanics that encourage players to gather resources and experiment.

Repetitive fetch quests that can become tedious and frustrating over time.
Combat mechanics can feel clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating encounters.
Limited save options and inventory management issues that can hinder the overall experience.

story
234 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The story in "Smoke and Sacrifice" is often described as intriguing and unique, with a compelling premise centered around a mother's quest to find her lost child. However, many reviewers note that the narrative suffers from pacing issues, becoming bogged down by repetitive fetch quests and crafting mechanics that detract from meaningful plot progression. While the art style and atmosphere are praised, the overall execution of the story leaves some players feeling that its potential is not fully realized.
- “The story is captivating with interesting and entertaining characters, and the art style is beautiful to look at throughout the game.”
- “The overarching story was pretty simple, 'mother looks for child', but the details were unique.”
- “Smoke and sacrifice is different; the linear storytelling gives me something to strive for, rather than just surviving.”
- “The story is forgettable.”
- “The narrative in this 'narrative-driven' game dissipates as soon as you get out of the prologue; it turns into a fetch quest and grind/crafting simulator.”
- “Overall, this game is just a crafting/fetch quest simulator that fails at telling a decent story and wastes the charm that it had via the art and atmosphere.”
graphics
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
45%
3%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and charming art style, often described as beautiful and painterly, reminiscent of classic 2D games. However, some players criticize the overall visual quality as lacking depth and sophistication, feeling that it falls short of contemporary gaming standards. While the visuals can be appealing, they may not satisfy those seeking cutting-edge graphics or extensive customization options.
- “Beautiful visuals, well thought out and implemented survival elements and a touching story.”
- “The graphics are very nice, but the style can suit the player or can not (I personally don't really like it, but I appreciate the effort that was put into it).”
- “The art style and setting is both unique and fresh, giving players a dark, yet beautiful, world to explore and attempt to survive in.”
- “While I wasn't put into some unviewable settings for this particular game, I am always thrown when the player is not given a chance to view/change graphics and controls before being thrown into a cutscene on launch.”
- “Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is very low, beneath what PC gamers have come to expect in this era of cutting-edge photorealistic 3D graphics.”
- “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
gameplay
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
74%
5%
The gameplay of "Smoke and Sacrifice" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive nature dominated by fetch quests and a lack of engaging survival mechanics. While the crafting system and exploration elements are appreciated, the overall experience is marred by clunky controls, slow pacing, and a linear progression that detracts from the potential for immersive gameplay. Despite its captivating story and artistic design, the gameplay often feels like a chore rather than an enjoyable adventure.
- “The gameplay and story in Smoke and Sacrifice has kept me going to find out what happens!!”
- “A wonderful game with a beautiful art style, tremendous story, and highly enjoyable gameplay.”
- “The gameplay was easy, but enjoyably so.”
- “Gameplay consists almost entirely of wandering around, fighting stuff, talking to an NPC, then going off and gathering/crafting a bunch of junk for them so you can move onto the next NPC who'll ask the same thing from you.”
- “It's janky and unsatisfying to play... and any experienced gamer will tell you, the handling, responsiveness, and general gameplay feel of the control scheme must be well polished for this kind of game to succeed.”
- “Smoke and Sacrifice is an open world adventure game (and not an RPG) with beautiful graphics and good sound design, that is utterly ruined by obnoxious, repetitive, and grindy gameplay with uninteresting quests and nonexistent character progression.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
96%
The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, often feeling like an endless cycle of fetch and craft tasks. While some appreciate the crafting and resource gathering as part of the exploration experience, others criticize it for lacking meaningful progression and being overly reliant on grinding. Overall, the game is described as grindy but not excessively so, with varying opinions on whether this enhances or detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “I felt like I was making progress the entire time; there was no grinding in my experience.”
- “The grind was rewarding and kept me engaged throughout my journey.”
- “I enjoyed the grind because it allowed me to develop my character and skills steadily.”
- “It suffers from a lot of grinding as you run around and collect the ingredients for different quests and to create various items.”
- “But the biggest flaw is that the game is unimaginatively nothing more than an endless, mind-numbingly tedious string of fetch-craft requests, relieved only by giant or swarm enemies (the only counter to this is to do even more grinding for masses of food to tank HP).”
- “I am not against grindy games, but grinding supposes some form of progression, which is absent in this game apart from upgrading your gear once you find the recipes and materials to do so.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
43%
14%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful, minimalistic, and ambient soundscapes that enhance the overall atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its fitting and charming quality. While the soundtrack is generally well-received, some players find it repetitive and mention the lack of voice acting. Overall, the sound effects and music contribute significantly to the game's aesthetic, although there are limitations in audio customization options.
- “Music consists of mostly minimalistic, ambient sounds that complement the whole atmosphere.”
- “The introduction immediately gripped me in (what a freaking opener btw), the art style was very creative and I loved the palette, the music was very fitting and well done (I'm a huge sucker for a good soundtrack).”
- “Beautiful, creative art and music, and a pleasing take on crafting mechanics.”
- “The music is repetitive and there is no voice acting at all.”
- “Only downside to the game is limited menu options tweaking buttons, graphics and there is no ability to turn off sounds, it's either everything is on or off, there is no separation between music & sound.”
- “While the sounds and music are crisp, some places are really loud.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
8%
23%
The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its captivating art style, ambient sound design, and immersive world-building, creating a unique and engaging experience. However, some players feel that the charm of the atmosphere is undermined by clumsy gameplay and a lackluster story. Overall, while the visuals and sound contribute positively to the atmosphere, opinions vary on how well they complement the gameplay.
- “Very atmospheric survival game with a neat story and world.”
- “Music consists of mostly minimalistic, ambient sounds that complement the whole atmosphere.”
- “Character design and graphics are beautiful and the atmosphere is set really well.”
- “I can't recommend this game despite the charm of the art, atmosphere, and sound design.”
- “Overall, this game is just a crafting/fetch quest simulator that fails at telling a decent story and wastes the charm that it had via the art and atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is just right, but the game ultimately falls short.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes strong emotions through its touching story and beautiful visuals, complemented by well-implemented survival elements. Players often feel a sense of urgency and sadness as equipment deteriorates quickly, heightening the emotional stakes, while the narrative offers moments of hope and redemption through sacrifices made for the greater good.
- “Beautiful visuals, well thought out and implemented survival elements, and a touching story.”
- “Even though you'll have a very limited time window to actually do things for your advantage, your equipment will break so fast that you'll want to cry.”
- “At the beginning, it was a little emotional for me because of the story, but I like that you get a chance to find out that one sacrifice you made saved a lot of people.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
The game's optimization has been criticized for its poor performance and user interface, leading to a subpar experience for players.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding, allowing for smooth performance even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game for better performance, making it accessible to a wider audience.”
- “The game's optimization ensures that I can enjoy high frame rates without sacrificing visual quality.”
- “The poor optimization and user interface.”
- “Performance issues are a major drawback.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is mixed, with reports of freezing issues, lag during attacks, and occasional crashes. However, many users also note that it runs smoothly overall, with only a few minor glitches.
- “Freezes on a black screen and alt+tab doesn't work, neither does ctrl+alt+delete.”
- “It's buggy in some places (every time I attack, it lags, sometimes even crashes).”
- “It's smoothly delivered too, with very few annoying glitches or bugs.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the game has limited replayability, with many users expressing uncertainty about its value for repeated playthroughs.
- “Limited replay value.”
- “I'm not sure there is much replayability.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development in "Smoke and Sacrifice" is enhanced by its beautiful character design and unique visual style, which effectively contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere.
- “Character design and graphics are beautiful, and the atmosphere is set really well.”
- “[b]Smoke and Sacrifice[/b] has a very unique visual style with great character design.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting that its quirky name and comedic elements contributed to their initial interest and enjoyment. The lighthearted tone adds to the overall charm, making it memorable from the very beginning.
- “I was there literally day one, pre-Steam for the Don't Starve beta, because it looked so cool and the name made me laugh.”

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68%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

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13h Median play time

10h Average play time

2-18h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Smoke and Sacrifice is a open world role playing game with fantasy and mystery themes.

Smoke and Sacrifice is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and others.

On average players spend around 10 hours playing Smoke and Sacrifice.

Smoke and Sacrifice was released on May 31, 2018.

Smoke and Sacrifice was developed by Solar Sail Games Ltd.

Smoke and Sacrifice has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Smoke and Sacrifice is a single player game.

Similar games include Kitaria Fables, The Survivalists, Niffelheim, Moonlighter, Atomfall and others.

Smoke and Sacrifice

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