In Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, you’ll be playing as a young goddess, called Sakuna, who spends her days being lazy and drinking in the home of the gods. After a small mishap involving a fire and some sacred offerings, she ends up being banished to the Isle of Demons and told that she can only return once all the monsters are defeated.

Our spoiled little princess is not used to hard work but soon gets stuck into her new life thanks, in part, to a band of humans who are stranded with you. The humans are too weak to fight demons on their own so much of the exploring and fighting will have to be completed by Sakuna alone.

The combat is simple but really satisfying. You have both a light and heavy weapon and can pull off various combos and use skills to reap devastating amounts of carnage. You also have a divine raiment (which is basically a grappling hook) that can be used to swing your way across areas as well as lobbing enemies around. Fights can get pretty hectic with loads of foes on-screen, but thankfully the game handles it really well with no noticeable slowdown.

When you’re not kicking the crap out of demons, you can return home to help out with a bit of rice farming. There are always plenty of things that need taking care of, such as creating fertilizer, ploughing, and weeding. You’ll regularly learn new farming techniques so it always feels like you’re discovering new ways to improve the end results. This is important as the harvest won’t just provide you with food but, as Sakuna is part-harvest god, her stats will improve based on the quality and yield of the rice.

In the evenings you can spend time with your new human family to chat and eat a meal using the food that you’ve gathered and grown yourself. Watching Sakuna slowly mature and start to care about more than just herself is a truly heart-warming journey. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is an absolutely wonderful blend of farming simulator and action RPG. Whether you’re fighting off hordes of demons or trying to find the best way to manage your crop, there is constantly something new to learn and discover in this charmingly unique adventure.