Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin E3 demo has us hungry for more

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin was originally announced for release on PS4 and PC before adding the Nintendo Switch to that list recently. During today’s Nintendo Treehouse E3 stream, we got a deeper look at its unique blend of farming simulator and hack-and-slash gameplay.

Developed by two-person team Edelweiss, Sakuna is based on Japanese history and mythology. Its enemies have their basis in Japanese legends, while its heroine fights using traditional Japanese farming implements rather than typical weapons. From the looks of the hands-on demo we saw today, Sakuna will feature fast-paced combat that focuses on moving acrobatically around the battlefield and shoving enemies around the stage into the position you want them in.

The other half of the game is an in-depth farming simulator. You’ll harvest and plant rice that can not only level up your character, but also change your  in the combat section depending on how you raise your crops.

Rice is more than just a power-up, though. You can use it along with ingredients that you collect in the action stages as the basis of dishes that you cook to share with your friends in Sakuna’s village. Sharing meals with villagers will allow you to build relationships with them and progress through storylines that develop them as characters.

You can learn even more about the game by watching the video embedded above, but to answer probably the most important question you may still have: Yes, the developers plan to let you pet the dog in the game.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin will be out on PS4, PC, and Switch this winter.

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