We survive in a beautiful game of 2018, where you need to get all the tools and components yourself. There are quite a few games of this genre, such as “Don’t Starve”, “The Long Dark” “destructive wave 5e spell” and “The Flame in the Flood”. Did Smoke and Sacrifice make survival fun? Let’s find out.

History

The whole world is covered in snow. The only fertile stretch of land supports the Sun Tree: a sacred relic for humans that melts snow and scares away creatures who are quite comfortable in the permafrost. However, such protection is not given free of charge. The tree needs to sacrifice the firstborn of the surviving humans, and the game begins with the time for the protagonist of Smoke and Sacrifice to make his sacrifice. A girl named Sati brings her child to the “altar”, after which he disappears in a flash of light. How this helps the common cause, we see when, after a few years, the Tree temporarily stops working, as a result of which the village was flooded with monsters. Taking advantage of the bustle and advice of a stranger, Sati stands on the “altar”, after which she is transported to a mysterious world. Sati realizes that since she survived, then her son could also survive.

Survival

To survive in this hell, we need tools. To do this, you need to move away from safe areas, hunting animals and collecting useful plants. The world is filled with a wide variety of locations that have their own climate and ecosystem. Visiting such locations promises wealth, but also fraught with dangers, so you always need to be prepared. Fortunately, the game is gracious and provides vending machines where you can buy the items you need right away without bothering to assemble them. More money can be spent on “Eldritch Blast 5e“, which are a local way of getting around quickly. Special footwear is required to move between zones. Warm shoes are needed in the snow, rubber shoes on an electrified surface, etc. True, only Saki’s legs are vulnerable, and she can sleep peacefully even in the snow, even in the mouth of a volcano. The main thing is to keep your feet safe!

Do it yourself

You need to collect absolutely everything in this game. From a firefly net to a radioactive reactor at the local MacGuffin. Weapons, armor and tools have a margin of safety, and they tend to break at the most inopportune times. Fortunately, they can be instantly repaired or improved in the inventory, which eliminates the need to make new ones. The tools differ in their advancedness, and they can no longer be done on the knee. You need to look for a workbench / forge / workshop. Fortunately, materials for advanced subjects are not rare: the main thing is to get to them.  

Food

Glory to the eggs – there are no hunger and thirst scales in this game. Food here restores health, gives resistance to elements or temporarily increases characteristics. Saki, being a working person and Asian, can eat almost anything, including slimes. But the products here tend to deteriorate, unless they are placed in a chest in which nothing happens to them (apparently there is a stasis field acting there). But if you cook them, then they will become more useful and stop spoiling. 

Boevka

What can you expect from someone who has worked in the field all his life when it comes to fighting? Nothing special! At least that’s how I explain that Saki attacks only in the most elementary way. Only weapons are changed for more advanced ones. Interest is brought in by the characteristics of opponents. Each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are fire resistant but vulnerable to cold. Some ignore poison, but are weak before electricity. True, these rules apply to the main character. Rubber armor(Firebolt 5e) protects well from electricity, but fire attacks will quickly turn Saki into such a cute pile of ash. It is worth carrying several different sets of armor and weapons with you!

Day and night

Everything is simple here. It is relatively safe during the day, and you can safely explore the surroundings (the main thing is not to climb up to dangerous animals). At night, the world is enveloped in poisonous smoke, which drives away only the light of the lantern, animals become more aggressive, and ghosts appear around that can teleport and knock the lantern out of their hands, but leave useful resources after death. You can skip the cycle if you use the hood and go to bed. You can sleep anywhere, as long as Saki is not attacked by enemies.

Peace

Divided into several interconnected zones. In industrial and residential areas, mostly sad workers live, sharing the territory with various pests and overseers. In the uncontrolled areas, there are animals and plants that have adapted to the harsh conditions of the local hell. Also here you can find recipes, without which it is impossible to create something new.

Flora

Plants in this game are not aggressive, but there are exceptions. Aggressive plants include cacti that bombard everyone with their needles and can only be destroyed with ice bombs. Instead, they provide the rubber needed for rubber armor. Fire plants explode if you collect all the fruits from them, and there is also a particularly vicious bush that attacks any intruders.

Fauna

The animals in this game are reminiscent of the hybrids from Avatar: The Legend of Aang. There is a hybrid of a pug and a bear, there is an angler and a mole, there is a pig and a porcupine. These animals are not friendly with each other, and it is easy to start a fight between them. So you can set the mother of quilboars on the nest of wasps, which will instantly deal with the offender. Under normal conditions, it is quite difficult to kill her. 

These animals can be milked. Like a long-suffering porcupine mother, the main thing is to stun her before that. You can also milk ghosts here. Yes, ghosts are milked here! Animals reproduce either by respawning or naturally. Saur birds hatch from eggs, slimes copulate, giving birth to new slimes. I don’t know about the quilboar, I haven’t observed it! Many animals can be tamed by making a mask from the remains of their deceased parents. Then they follow Saki, attacking those who threaten her.

Competent villains

The priests in this game(Game of Thrones S08E03 Torrent) have a good reason for what they do. And they achieve their goal cynically and cruelly. And the title “master” was not given to them for beautiful eyes. They are well aware of the recipes that we find and are aware of the consequences. Although they are neutral towards Saki, they refuse to share information with her, lest it end with disastrous consequences for them. As a result, they have to make deals that are profitable for them. Which end in disastrous consequences …

Conclusion

It’s a very beautiful hand-drawn world that takes itself seriously and has a very intriguing storyline and gentle mechanics. In this game, technology dominates nature, and nature dominates technology, and there is a truly gray morality.