Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Gameplay. Players control the goddess Princess Sakuna, who is tasked with exploring the Isle of Demons and clearing it of monsters while also looking after a small group of human characters. The game is split between two separate gameplay styles: side scrolling hack and slash platforming levels that are gradually revealed on a map of the island as players complete objectives, and a farming simulator where the player must grow rice in a small paddy in the hamlet where Sakuna and the humans live. The side scrolling levels employ a 2.5D perspective, while exploring the  hamlet and most rice farming tasks are done using a third person perspective from behind the player. In the side scrolling levels, players explore and gather resources and use Sakuna's farming tools to fight demonic animals. Players can also grapple onto surfaces and zip about using a "divine raiment", a magical sash Sakuna wears that can extend to great lengths. The game features a day/night cycle, with enemies becoming more powerful and dangerous once night falls. At the end of the day, Sakuna can return to the hamlet and sit down to have dinner with the humans, eating  a meal made using ingredients that the player has gathered. The meal restores Sakuna's health and stamina. Depending on the dishes served, the meal also activates certain abilities and provides various temporary buffs to Sakuna's stats for the next day. Sakuna can also ask the humans to help her gather resources, preserve ingredients for future consumption, and craft upgraded farming tools and clothing items. Players cultivate rice through a process that takes place over several in-game seasons, with one season consisting of 3 in-game days. Growing rice requires multiple steps that take the form of several  minigames which include tilling the field, planting the rice and adding fertilizer, and managing water levels and weeds before harvesting the rice and hulling it. Each rice harvest permanently increases Sakuna's stats, which players can further boost by improving the harvest's quality via careful management of their crop. Sakuna can save time by asking one of the humans to complete each rice farming task for her, though they will do so with less skill. By performing the tasks themselves, players will eventually unlock new abilities to make the process faster and more efficient. Story. The game follows Princess  Sakuna, a spoiled warrior and harvest goddess who is banished with her familiar Tama and a small band of humans to the Isle of Demons after the humans inadvertently enter the heavenly Lofty Realm, where the gods reside, and accidentally cause chaos while Sakuna tried to stop them. Unable to immediately send the humans back home, head goddess Lady Kamuhitsuki tasks Sakuna with looking after them while also clearing the island of demonic beasts before the time comes when she can send the humans back to their own world. Development. "Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin" was developed by Edelweiss, a  two-man team who previously developed the 2014 shoot 'em up game "Astebreed". The team began working on "Sakuna" in 2015. Before they decided to focus on the farming and fighting elements, the game was going to be a sequel to Edelweiss' earlier title "Fairy Bloom Freesia". With "Sakuna" the director Nal wanted to address the criticism of their previous games for their lack of length, world-building, and story; most of the development time was spent making the rice-harvesting simulation as realistic as possible. Koichi, an artist for the game, conducted research by growing rice on his balcony  and reading about agriculture from public libraries (such as the National Diet Library) and archives in rural regions. To research traditional Japanese homes, he visited Kyoto and Shirakawa-go. The game was first announced at E3 2017. It was originally scheduled to be released in 2019 but was delayed to 2020. Towards the end of the development more than ten people were working directly on the game. Edelweiss set an initial sales target of 30,000 copies sold. According to Edelweiss, there are no plans for downloadable content for the game. Reception. "Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin" received generally favorable reviews  according to the review aggregator Metacritic. It was a commercial success, with over 850,000 copies shipped by January 29, 2021. The game had sold 1 million copies by June 4, 2021. Legacy. Edelweiss stated in January 2021 that they hope to create a sequel in the future. In July 2021, three characters from "Sakuna" appear as Spirits in the crossover fighting game "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". In late August the same year, Sakuna's outfit was made available in a DLC collaboration with "". Sakuna will also appear in a collaboration with the 2021 rogue-lite action game "Metallic Child". Sakuna