It’s not often that a game treads in to new territory with its narrative. From the beginning, Smoke and Sacrifice weaves a tale unfamiliar and interesting. Along the way, the gameplay keeps pace by staying fresh and fun, mixing responsive combat with an intuitive crafting system that is reminscent of recent games like Crashlands and even Don’t Starve. Sounds good so far, yes? Are these characteristics fresh enough and entertaining enough to create a game that I can recommend?



Developer: Solar Sail Games

Publisher: Curve Digital

Digital Only // $19.99 // Publisher Provided Copy

Colors and Paint Strokes

Smoke and Sacrifice immediately stands out because of its art style. Its aesthetic is unique and hard to describe. The art has a realistic quality to it that makes it difficult to confuse with any other title I’ve played. It works incredibly well, too. The game has a darker aesthetic that fits the mood well.

The contrasting bright colors for certain elements makes them pop out and contrasts well with the remaining aesthetic. Grasses and plants pop, as does fire and various fumes and elemental effects. Smoke and Sacrifice is a beautiful game, never mind the fact that an indie studio is responsible.

The setting also adds a sense of wonder to the art. Smoke and Sacrifice takes place in a psuedo-steampunk world, as machines and metal are in equal abundance as swords and primitive huts. Without giving too much away, a lot of this stuff gives way to some even weirder and more unique set pieces. The sense of wonder of the game’s setting is very well presented in its art and is better for it.

Moms and Their Babies

The story starts off with the main character, Sachi, being forced to sacrifice her baby boy in a strange and unsettling ceremony. It’s made apparent that this is a normal event in this strange world, but it doesn’t sit well with Sachi. Shortly after the ceremony, she’s confronted by a strange man that later plays a role in Sachi’s quest. I won’t say more, but as I mentioned before, this story setup and how it plays out is engaging and encourages the player to play on.

Before you know it, you’ll be whisked away on an adventure to find out exactly what happened to your son. Sachi will also discover just what the hell is going on in this bizarre world. Along the way, you’ll meet interesting characters, slay strange beasts, and find yourself in heaps of trouble pretty dang often.

Arts and Crafts

Smoke and Sacrifice would be accurately described as an action-adventure game with a significant focus on crafting. Along your journey, you’ll both be given crafting recipes by characters during your quest and you’ll discover them inscribed in various objects. You’ll be required to transcribe the instructions from these objects (stone carvings, etc.) with ink that you craft to add recipes to your list. These carvings are found throughout the world and are exciting and interesting to learn from. Sometimes the recipes are for armor, other times for a new and interesting weapon, and other times for an important potion that will help you get through your next challenge.

The user interface (UI) elements for Smoke and Sacrifice are very well considered in general and the crafting portion is no different. It’s not difficult to pull up your crafting menu and reference which items you require to make certain items. Games like this live or die by their UIs, so it’s good to see Smoke and Sacrifice didn’t fail here.

Combat is fun and at times, difficult. You’ll need to make sure you’re always equipped with decent weapons. You’ll also need to constantly seek out better armor. Smoke and Sacrifice can be a very challenging game if you’re not always crafting the latest and greatest equipment. There’s a real sense of accomplishment that goes along with this mechanic, too. You’ll start with humble clothing and a stick and end with some fierce looking armor and weapons.

It may not have RPG-level progression, but the progression of your equipment certainly feels just as rewarding.

Speech and Beats

The sound is the least impressive part of Smoke and Sacrifice’s presentation. Where everything else stands out, the music and sound effects on display here aren’t something that stands out or leaves any sort of impression. When everything else works so well, it’s easy to forgive a game for an average execution here. Not every game needs to have memorable soundtracks or AAA voice over work.

A Legend Born

Smoke and Sacrifice is a game that is every bit fun to play as it is to look at. If you enjoy games with a focus on discovery and crafting, you’ll enjoy Smoke and Sacrifice. Very few games look and feel as unique as Smoke and Sacrifice does. If you’re in the market for a good adventure game that has an indie price tag, but near-AAA quality, look no further. Smoke and Sacrifice is a fantastic first game for Solar Sail Games, full stop. I can’t wait to see what they do next!