Song in the Smoke

71%
Game Brain Score Based on 69 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Song in the Smoke Game Cover
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.
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"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.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Virtual Reality
  • Windows
  • Oculus Quest
  • Oculus VR
  • Play​Station
  • Play​Station VR
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews
gameplay9 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • Song in the Smoke offers an immersive VR survival experience with intuitive crafting mechanics and a beautifully stylized prehistoric environment.
  • The game features a rewarding progression system, where players manage hunger, fatigue, and temperature while exploring and hunting in a dangerous world.
  • Despite some bugs, the overall gameplay loop is addictive, providing a thrilling sense of fear and excitement as players face various challenges.
  • The game suffers from repetitive gameplay, with a lack of variety in tasks and environments as players move from one area to another.
  • There are several frustrating bugs and clunky mechanics, particularly with inventory management and combat controls, which can break immersion.
  • The difficulty curve can be punishing, especially for new players, and the lack of a robust tutorial makes it challenging to grasp core gameplay mechanics.
  • gameplay32 mentions

    The gameplay of this VR survival game is characterized by an addictive loop of hunting, gathering, and crafting, set against a visually appealing and atmospheric backdrop. While the mechanics are intuitive and offer depth, some players find the gameplay repetitive and marred by certain frustrating elements, such as collision issues and a poorly received wendigo mechanic. Overall, the game provides a challenging experience with a smooth difficulty curve, though it may require 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.”
    • “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.”
    • “Part of the fun of these games is figuring out some of the mechanics on your own, but tutorials are necessary for core gameplay mechanics.”
  • story24 mentions

    The story in "Song in the Smoke" is described as an excellent, immersive experience that delves into deep human themes and offers a subtly spiritual journey, though it primarily focuses on the main narrative with limited replay value. Players engage in a survival crafting gameplay loop that enhances the story, despite some reviews noting minimal story elements and a lack of clarity in the introduction. Overall, the narrative is praised for its emotional impact and integration with gameplay, making it a standout VR experience.

    • “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 & replayable (from everything I've heard), interesting 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.”
  • graphics12 mentions

    The graphics of the game are praised for their beautiful stylized visuals, which are comparable to those of "Saints and Sinners," and for creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the VR experience. Players appreciate the smooth performance on the Valve Index and the breathtaking vantage points in later levels, contributing to the game's overall excitement and challenge. The unique art style, combined with a fantasy aspect, further enriches the visual appeal.

    • “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 on the Valve Index and I enjoy sometimes not enjoying this ride, especially when night is drawing near starting at the third map onwards.”
  • music8 mentions

    The music in "Song in the Smoke" is often described as underappreciated yet integral to the game's immersive VR experience. While some gameplay mechanics may feel outdated, the soundtrack enhances the evocative world and contributes to the overall enjoyment, making it a standout title in the survival adventure genre on 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 VR technology.”
    • “If you missed 'Song in the Smoke' the first time around, this is your chance to right that mistake definitively.”
    • “While it isn't without its flaws, 'Song in the Smoke' is criminally underreported and underappreciated.”
    • “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.”
  • atmosphere6 mentions

    The game's atmosphere 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. Players appreciate the thick atmosphere created by pitch-black nights, although some minor gameplay mechanics, like water interactions, detract slightly from the overall immersion. Overall, the atmosphere contributes significantly to the addictive gameplay loop and survival experience.

    • “All around great VR survival game: cool setting and atmosphere, good looking stylized visuals, smooth difficulty curve and addictive gameplay loop.”
    • “Atmosphere is good and all controls are very well put, good job.”
    • “Forest sounds and realistic lighting with pitch black nights create a thick atmosphere of wild nature and sometimes primal horror.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game's optimization is generally well-received, with users noting good graphics and solid performance during gameplay, characterized by minimal stuttering. It appears that the developers successfully balanced visual style with VR performance.

    • “The graphics are good and so is the 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.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    Overall, the game offers an excellent main story experience but lacks significant replay value, as players noted it primarily focuses on a single narrative. In contrast, "Song in the Smoke" is highlighted as a polished and immersive VR adventure that provides a lengthy and replayable experience.

    • “Song in the Smoke seems like a polished, immersive, lengthy, and replayable adventure survival story game made for VR.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game experiences several glitches and stability issues, with some players reporting game-breaking bugs. While these problems are acknowledged, they are not universally deemed as game-ending, suggesting a mix of minor and significant stability concerns.

    • “There are some glitches and fallbacks - I can't deny that.”
    • “They exist, sure; but all are unfinished with game-breaking glitches.”
  • humor2 mentions

    Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting its quirky and unexpected elements that contribute to its charm. The contrast between the game's quality and its low visibility on Steam adds to the comedic effect for some users.

    • “I find it strange and funny that this game is so low on the radar here on Steam.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players appreciate the crafting system for its immersive VR experience, which avoids the tediousness often associated with grinding, making it feel more engaging and interactive.

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

Critic Reviews

65% average critic score

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