The two-man team at Edelweiss has been developing Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin for a while. Into the game, players will have control over its main character, Sakuna, who is the daughter of a harvest goddess and a god of war. Your mission is protecting Hinoe Island from monstrous creatures while mastering the art of producing rice.
That sounds like a weird but interesting game mixed with different gameplays. However, the game's demo at E3 didn't clearly feature the "producing rice" aspect, but we could still feel a vivid vibe of a fun game coming up.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin - E3 Trailer
Some people may be familiar with the combat system featured in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. It is kinda slow-paced gameplay, which has more in common with Castlevania than Katana Zero apparently, but Sakuna's Celestial Scarf can give her abilities to dash across the stage, avoiding enemies and sneaking behind them to attack.
Let's take a look at the gameplay below. It takes time to handle the game effectively. While the video seems not to provide an ideal performance, it will show you some interesting mechanic the game will have.
A good player of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin will be the one who knows how to get the most out of her scarf while combining it with her fast, heavy, and special attacks. Of course, each fight requires a unique tactic. You can't battle in one style forever, although the gameplay seems to be simple.
However, you may notice that there was a problem with the gameplay shown above. After a lunging attack, our protagonist will have a tiny break between her movements. That lack of fluidity may lead to some failure when players trying to perform a perfect combo or destructive strikes.
The developers have all their time to fix this problem, or people could start getting used to its mechanic. As you can see in the video, though the player had some hard time clearing the level, he still managed to defeat the boss. The designs of monstrous creatures throughout the level are not much impressive, but the boss is fantastic! That could be a thing for players to look for when the official version comes out.
Curiousity is rising when it comes to the farming aspect of the game. However, we can expect it to blend well with the gameplay, since Nintendo Treehouse is responsible for this part. Even without it, the solid combat system still makes Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin worth waiting for.
Publisher Xseed announced to release the game this winter for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC.