Song in the Smoke
- December 16, 2021
- 17-BIT
Song in the Smoke gets lost by putting players in constant danger, but dazzles with an artistically sound prehistoric trip and smartly executed survival in VR.
Get on Steam"Song in the Smoke" is a virtual reality survival game where players must craft weapons, make clothes, and build fires to fend off vicious predators in a dangerous world outside of time. Utilize intuitive VR controls to stalk and hunt prey, or defend yourself with a club or bow in thrilling combat. With procedural systems, each playthrough is unpredictable and unique, ensuring a fresh experience every time.
Reviews
- The game offers an immersive VR survival experience with intuitive crafting mechanics and a unique campfire system that enhances gameplay.
- The atmosphere is beautifully designed, featuring stunning stylized visuals and realistic sound design that contribute to a thrilling survival adventure.
- The gameplay loop is addictive, with a smooth difficulty curve that keeps players engaged as they hunt, gather, and explore the prehistoric environment.
- There are several bugs and glitches, including issues with item management and disappearing objects, which can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- The game can become repetitive, with a lack of variety in tasks and environments as players progress through the story.
- Some mechanics, such as melee combat and inventory management, feel clunky and could benefit from further refinement to enhance immersion.
- gameplay15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by an addictive loop of hunting, gathering, and crafting, set in a visually appealing VR environment with a smooth difficulty curve that ramps up as players progress. While the mechanics are intuitive and engaging, some players noted issues with repetitiveness and certain mechanics, like the wendigo, detracting from the experience. Overall, the game offers a unique survival experience with varied creatures and meaningful systems, though it could benefit from better tutorials for core mechanics.
“All around great VR survival game: cool setting and atmosphere, good looking stylized visuals, smooth difficulty curve, and addictive gameplay loop.”
“Gameplay loop is addictive; you constantly have something to do as you hunt and gather to get better equipment or explore the land to progress in the story.”
“All the systems and mechanics have some depth and feel meaningful; the creatures so far are varied and unique.”
“I started on hard and I was dying too quickly while still learning the controls and mechanics of the gameplay.”
“The repetitive and stretched-out nature of the gameplay combined with the awful wendigo mechanic is the reason why I'm giving this negative review.”
“The occasional wood flying across the screen due to some strange collision mechanics, or items on the ground disappearing after you've slept off a night.”
- story12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The story in "Song in the Smoke" is praised for its deep exploration of the human experience and spiritual themes, providing an engaging narrative that enhances the survival crafting gameplay. While the main story is compelling, some players note a lack of replay value and minimal story elements outside the main quest. Overall, it is considered a polished and immersive VR experience that successfully combines gameplay with a meaningful narrative.
“The story reaches deep into the human experience and gives you a subtly spiritual journey as you fight for your life.”
“Song in the Smoke offers something no VR game has truly given me to date -- a survival crafting experience with a story to squeeze your heart and titillating gameplay that chalks up to a phenomenal VR experience.”
“Song in the Smoke seems like a polished, immersive, lengthy, and replayable adventure survival story game made for VR.”
“There are lite, lite story elements.”
“I only got a small abstract introduction to the story.”
“So I can't comment much about what I feel about the story.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their beautiful stylized visuals and immersive atmosphere, comparable to titles like "Saints and Sinners." Players appreciate the smooth performance on the Valve Index and the breathtaking vantage points in later levels, which enhance the overall experience. The unique art style effectively combines fantasy elements with a compelling setting, contributing to the game's engaging VR mechanics.
“Stylized visuals look almost as good as Saints and Sinners, and later levels have those breathtaking vantage points where you can see almost the whole map from high above.”
“Mixing beautiful stylized graphics with an indigenous feeling fantasy aspect.”
“The graphics are good and so is the performance.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive setting, featuring stylized visuals, realistic lighting, and evocative forest sounds that enhance the wild and sometimes primal horror experience. While some players noted minor gameplay inconsistencies, the overall ambiance effectively contributes to the survival experience, creating a captivating and engaging environment.
“All around great VR survival game: cool setting and atmosphere, good looking stylized visuals, smooth difficulty curve, and addictive gameplay loop.”
“Forest sounds and realistic lighting with pitch black nights create a thick atmosphere of wild nature and sometimes primal horror.”
“Atmosphere is good and all controls are very well put; good job.”
“The forest sounds and realistic lighting, combined with pitch-black nights, create a thick atmosphere of wild nature and sometimes primal horror.”
“The game fails to deliver a compelling atmosphere, leaving the environment feeling flat and uninspired.”
“Despite the potential for a rich atmosphere, the lack of detail and immersion makes the world feel lifeless and dull.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The music in "Song in the Smoke" is often overlooked, yet it contributes significantly to the overall VR experience, which is already rare and enjoyable. Despite some flaws, the soundtrack exemplifies a minimalist approach that enhances the game's atmosphere.
“'Song in the Smoke' is still an enjoyable VR experience of which there are far too few.”
“'Song in the Smoke' is a masterclass in the ethos of doing more with less.”
“While it isn't without its flaws, 'Song in the Smoke' is criminally underreported and underappreciated.”
“Both 'S&S' and 'Song in the Smoke' are masterclasses in the ethos of doing more with less.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally well-received, with users noting a good balance between graphics quality and VR performance. Players report smooth gameplay with minimal stuttering, indicating effective optimization by the developers.
“The graphics are good and so is the performance.”
“While it isn't super detailed, I assume the developers were balancing style with VR performance.”
“Ok, it isn't super detailed, but I assume, like S&S, the developers were balancing style with VR performance.”
“During the actual gameplay, there was pretty much no stuttering at all.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers an excellent main story experience but lacks significant replay value, while "Song in the Smoke" is praised for its polished, immersive gameplay and high replayability, making it a compelling choice for VR adventure survival enthusiasts.
“Song in the Smoke seems like a polished, immersive, lengthy, and replayable adventure survival story game made for VR.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that while there are some glitches and issues with stability, none are game-breaking, suggesting that the game is generally playable despite its imperfections.
“There are some glitches and fallbacks - I can't deny that.”
“They exist, sure; but all are unfinished with game-breaking glitches.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game to be both strange and amusing, highlighting a disconnect between its comedic elements and its low visibility on Steam.
“I find it strange and funny that this game is so under the radar here on Steam.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the grinding aspect of the game, noting that the crafting system feels immersive and engaging, resembling a virtual reality experience rather than a repetitive button-clicking task, which helps to avoid tedium.
Critic Reviews
Song In The Smoke: Rekindled Review - The First Must-Have Survival Effort For PSVR2
Though the somewhat ho-hum resource management and survival mechanics are a little shop-worn at this point, Song in the Smoke: Rekindled nonetheless soars as the best survival adventure on PSVR2, thanks in no small part to its evocative world, endlessly clever procedural design and stunning improvements made possible by Sony's latest lump of VR tech. If you missed Song in the Smoke the first time round, this is your chance to right that mistake definitively.
85%Song in the Smoke: Rekindled Review
Song in the Smoke Rekindled brings one of virtual reality's top survival experiences onto a platform where it can be enjoyed at its best. If you're willing to muscle through some run-of-the-mill resource management, you'll be rewarded with delightfully tense sequences punctuated by superb sound design.
70%Song in the Smoke (VR) Review
Song in the Smoke gets lost by putting players in constant danger, but dazzles with an artistically sound prehistoric trip and smartly executed survival in VR.
70%
