Smoke and Sacrifice

67%
Game Brain Score Based on 208 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Smoke and Sacrifice Game Cover
A sometimes grotesque, always engrossing take on the survival game, woven together with a twisted tale, weird weapons, and giant, charging porcupine pigs.
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In Smoke and Sacrifice, players navigate a brutal, sacrificial world filled with smog-filled environments and mysterious creatures. As Sachi, a mother searching for her lost child, players uncover the secrets of an industrialized religion and fight to survive in this challenging RPG. Crafting, exploration, and real-time combat form the core of gameplay, offering a rich and immersive experience.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

67%
Audience ScoreBased on 208 reviews
story60 positive mentions
grinding30 negative mentions
  • Beautiful art style and unique world design that enhances the overall experience.
  • Engaging crafting system that allows for meaningful progression and exploration.
  • Decent story with intriguing elements that keeps players invested in the journey.
  • Combat mechanics are clunky and can feel frustrating, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
  • Limited save system that can lead to significant loss of progress if players forget to save frequently.
  • Repetitive fetch quests and tedious inventory management can make the game feel grindy and less enjoyable.
  • story171 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-constructed, while others criticize it as bland or cliché. Many appreciate the intriguing world-building and emotional elements, but some feel the linear progression and fetch quests detract from the overall experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as a charming aspect of the game, though it may not meet the expectations of those seeking a deep or innovative storyline.

    • “The story was interesting to me and I was glad to have a solid plot in a survival game.”
    • “The story keeps you intrigued and interested throughout and the world is fun to explore, with plenty of different creatures to hunt and recipes to find.”
    • “This game is centered around its involved storyline, and the point of the game is to push the plot forward rather than merely survive and go up a crafting tech tree.”
    • “Clunky combat, constant gathering and repairing on top of rather bland storytelling makes this game annoying to play.”
    • “The gameplay, characters, and story are as uninspired and poorly developed as any throwaway mobile game; no amount of beautiful hand-drawn artwork and shaders can effectively compensate for such lazy design.”
    • “I found scant survival elements, very little in the way of role-playing, and the whole game became one great big crafting simulator delivered alongside a very, very linear story.”
  • gameplay78 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is a mix of classic 2D Zelda-style exploration and Don't Starve-inspired crafting mechanics, offering around 12 to 20 hours of playtime. While some players appreciate the crafting system and the balance of gameplay, others criticize the lack of traditional survival elements and the linear progression that restricts exploration. Additionally, issues like game crashes and frustrating mechanics, such as saving only at specific terminals, detract from the overall experience for some users.

    • “The storytelling was good and the gameplay was also very good.”
    • “Love all the mechanics that have been implemented, especially the save function, teleport, and crafting.”
    • “The gameplay and story in Smoke and Sacrifice have kept me going to find out what happens!”
    • “Because the line between the gameplay being either addicting or annoying is very, very thin.”
    • “It's hard to explain, but without that certain feeling of reward and without the grinding/crafting mechanics giving you the 'five more minutes' effect, this kind of game often makes you feel bad instead of being fun.”
    • “The gameplay, characters, and story are as uninspired and poorly developed as any throwaway mobile game; no amount of beautiful hand-drawn artwork and shaders can effectively compensate for such lazy design.”
  • graphics66 mentions

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and beautiful hand-drawn art style, reminiscent of classic 2D games like Zelda and Don't Starve. While the visuals create an engaging atmosphere and enhance the storytelling, some players note that the animation can feel limited and that the overall graphical experience may not compensate for gameplay shortcomings. Overall, the art direction is a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and appeal.

    • “The game art style is really unique.”
    • “Character design and graphics are beautiful and the atmosphere is set really well.”
    • “Amazing art style and an incredible journey!”
    • “The art style is hand drawn with only a few sprites to represent the direction Sachi is facing, so it doesn’t smoothly animate your movement continuously.”
    • “I really liked the art style and the story had potential, but it didn't make up for the other negatives and I would recommend passing on this one.”
    • “This game has a ton of potential, and I love the art style, but the art style comes at a cost.”
  • grinding32 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it tedious and repetitive, often feeling like an endless cycle of fetch and craft tasks. While some appreciate the sense of progress and enjoyment derived from resource gathering and exploration, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall fun, leading to frustration and a sense of pointlessness. Overall, while the game does involve grinding, many agree it is less severe than in other titles, though it still requires a significant investment of time and effort.

    • “It's hard to explain, but without that certain feeling of reward and without the grinding/crafting mechanics giving you a 'five more minutes' effect, this kind of game often makes you feel bad instead of being fun.”
    • “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 which is to do even more grinding for masses of food to tank HP).”
    • “It just ends up being tedious and pointless.”
  • music12 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and creativity, contributing to a relaxing atmosphere with nice soundtracks and sound effects. However, some players note that the music can be repetitive and that the absence of voice acting detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's stunning art and engaging world.

    • “The world/lore is interesting, unique creature design, beautiful environment, great soundtrack.”
    • “Beautiful, creative art and music, and a pleasing take on crafting mechanics.”
    • “Its gorgeous artwork and relaxing soundtrack are a real bonus.”
    • “The music is repetitive and there is no voice acting at all.”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The atmosphere in S&S is described as dynamic and beautifully crafted, with stunning character design and graphics that enhance the overall experience. The intriguing and somewhat peculiar ambiance keeps players engaged and curious about the unfolding story, which, while simple, adds to the game's charm.

    • “The character design and graphics are beautiful, and the atmosphere is set really well.”
    • “The story is quite simple but nice, and the weird atmosphere kept me curious and wanting to discover more.”
    • “S&S is very dynamic, atmospheric, and not as fast-paced as you might think at first.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be impactful, particularly due to the story's themes of sacrifice and the consequences of their actions. The frustration of limited time and quickly deteriorating equipment adds to the emotional weight, evoking feelings of sadness and urgency. Overall, the narrative successfully elicits a range of emotions, from initial sadness to a sense of redemption through sacrifice.

    • “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.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game exhibits stability issues, particularly with lag and occasional crashes during attacks, which detracts from the experience. However, many users also note that it runs smoothly overall, with minimal glitches.

    • “It's buggy in some places (every time I attack, it lags, sometimes even crashes).”
    • “It's buggy in some places (every time I attack, it lags, sometimes even crashes).”
    • “It's buggy in some places (every time I attack, it lags, sometimes even crashes).”
  • character development2 mentions

    While the character design and graphics are praised for their beauty and atmospheric quality, there is no specific mention of character development in the reviews, suggesting that this aspect may not be a focal point in the game.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

69% average critic score

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Play time

2hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
1-18hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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