Gameplay
Players control the goddess Princess Sakuna, who is tasked with exploring the Isle of Demons and clearing it of monsters while also looking after a small group of human characters. The game is split between two separate gameplay styles: side scrolling hack and slash platforming levels that are gradually revealed on a map of the island as players complete objectives, and a farming simulator where the player must grow rice in a small paddy in the hamlet where Sakuna and the humans live. The side scrolling levels employ a 2.5D perspective, while exploring the hamlet and most rice farming tasks are done using a third person perspective from behind the player.
In the side scrolling levels, players explore and gather resources and use Sakuna's farming tools to fight demonic animals. Players can also grapple onto surfaces and zip about using a "divine raiment", a magical sash Sakuna wears that can extend to great lengths. The game features a day/night cycle, with enemies becoming more powerful and dangerous once night falls. At the end of the day, Sakuna can return to the hamlet and sit down to have dinner with the humans, eating a meal made using ingredients that the player has gathered. The meal restores Sakuna's health and stamina. Depending on the dishes served, the meal also activates certain abilities and provides various temporary buffs to Sakuna's stats for the next day. Sakuna can also ask the humans to help her gather resources, preserve ingredients for future consumption, and craft upgraded farming tools and clothing items.
Players cultivate rice through a process that takes place over several in-game seasons, with one season consisting of 3 in-game days. Growing rice requires multiple steps that take the form of several minigames which include tilling the field, planting the rice and adding fertilizer, and managing water levels and weeds before harvesting the rice and hulling it. Each rice harvest permanently increases Sakuna's stats, which players can further boost by improving the harvest's quality via careful management of their crop. Sakuna can save time by asking one of the humans to complete each rice farming task for her, though they will do so with less skill. By performing the tasks themselves, players will eventually unlock new abilities to make the process faster and more efficient.
Story
The game takes place in a world where two realms exist: the Lowly Realm, where humans reside; and the Lofty Realm, where gods reside. Connecting the two realms is the Tree of Creation, which also produces amber that gives life to gods.
A band of humans, consisting of Tauemon, a samurai; Myrthe, a missionary; Kinta, a blacksmith apprentice; Yui, a young girl who is skilled at weaving, and a young boy named Kaimaru, come across a bridge that connects the two realms, suffering from hunger while ignoring a voice that tells them to turn back as humans aren't allowed in the Lofty Realm. They encounter a bandit named Ishimaru, who has been hunting them, but are interrupted by Princess Sakuna, a spoiled warrior and harvest goddess. After Ishimaru insults her, she knocks him off the bridge and into the sea of clouds below. She then warns the humans to leave as the bridge will soon disappear, but they ignore her and go into the Lofty Realm anyway to search for food. In the Mitashira Capital, while having a feast with her weapon familiar Tama (the voice from earlier) and her friend Kokorowa, an inventor goddess, Sakuna discovers that the humans have entered the capital and tries to stop them, but accidentally destroys the capital's rice garner. As punishment for her actions, head goddess Lady Kamuhitsuki tasks Sakuna with looking after the humans and banishes them to an island of demonic beasts (which would later be given the name Hinoe Island), where Sakuna's parents and the evil god Omizuchi once resided, requesting Sakuna to clear the place of demons so she can gain control over it before the time comes when she can send the humans back to their own world, as the bridge connecting the realms has disappeared.
Arriving on the island by boat, they meet Ashigumo, a weasel-like samurai and the last of his kind, who is friends with Sakuna's parents, also revealing that Tama once belonged to Sakuna's father. He brings the group to a mountain pass, where a farm that was once owned by Sakuna's parents is located, entrusting it to them. Sakuna journeys through the island fighting hordes of demons while helping the humans with farm work, as growing crops will strengthen her fighting skills. She also helps construct a forge, a weaving hut, animal pens, and additional fields on the mountain base while also taking in animals to help out with their work, such as dogs, cats, ducks, and a cow. At one point, Sakuna rescues some small creatures called kappas from one of the demons, who then decide to work in the farm as a sign of thanks. One winter night, Sakuna grows inpatient with her task and decides to return to the capital alone, but a rough storm prevents her from leaving, and is left no choice but to remain on the island. She later learns of dangerous creatures called specters, possessed corpses of Ashigumo's tribe who serves as a threat to both Sakuno's group and the demons. When the southern volcano begins intoxicating the island's rivers and demons are heading towards that area, Sakuno goes to investigate and discovers that the intoxication is caused by a powerful specter called the Homusubi Specter, and that the demons were trying to take it down. She manages to defeat the beast, who then falls into the lava. Afterwards, they learn that the demons are led by Ishimaru, who landed on the island before them as the sea of clouds that he fell through has no connection to space and time.
During dinner events, Tama reveals that Sakuna's mother used to be a human, who entered the Lofty Realm the same way as Tauemon's group, where she ended up on Hinoe Island and became an ally of Ashigumo's clan. She eventually became a goddess and met Sakuna's father, who was banished from the capital. When Omizuchi attacked, Ashigumo's clan was wiped out, but Sakuna's parents sacrificed themselves to defeat Omizuchi. Tama also believes that the demons' main base is a fortress that was once owned by Sakuna's father on the island's western side. The humans also share their own backstories. At one point, Tauemon reveals that he and Ishimaru came from the same group of bandits, who only attack the guilty. Ishimaru murdered the leader, who is revealed to be Kaimaru's father, as he was dissatisfied with his methods and believes that they should survive by whatever necessary means. Tauemon rescued Kaimaru, along with Myrthe, Kinta, and Yui (who were slaves at that time), and fled from Ishimaru, eventually arriving at the bridge to the Lofty Realm. He also requests for Sakuna to spare Ishimaru in hopes that he can be saved from his corruption. In one of the side quests, Sakuna discovers that Yui was originally a crane, who was given a human form by two otherworldly goddesses called the Visitors (who also created Sakuna's raiment, which was originally worn by her mother), but with a price. Because Sakuna accidentally made Yui break her vow, she has turned back into a crane, but Sakuna gets Kinta to help convince the Visitors to turn Yui back into a human using his relationship with her, but with a new price.
After developing a new type of rice to deliver to the capital, she discovers that Kokorowa has sabotaged her products and returns to the capital to investigate. She learns that the reason why is because Kokorowa was jealous of Sakuna gaining more attention from Kamuhitsuki and is tired of being overlooked, having been tempted into doing this by Ishimaru; however, her actions end up destroying the rice garner. Upon learning of this, Kamuhitsuki decides not to punish Kokorowa as her talents are needed in the capital, and allows Sakuna to visit the capital whenever she wishes, but reminds her of completing her task. Sakuna then decides to return to Hinoe Island, but not before reconciling with Kokorowa, who promises to visit her. The humans take in an injured demon rabbit despite the concerns of Kinta, Sakuna, and Tama. After confronting and defeating Ishimaru at his hideout, a volcano erupts. Ishimaru is revealed to be working for Omizuchi, who survived his defeat and went into hiding. Ishimaru made a deal with Omizuchi to prepare for his awakening in exchange for the power to control the demons. After Ishmaru leaves, Tama reveals that defeating Omizuchi would require sacrificing him, but Sakuna does not want to. She returns to the farm, only to find it destroyed by demons, discovering that the demon rabbit (later revealed to have been exiled by the other demons) that the humans took in unintentionally lured them to the farm's location, although the humans and Ashigumo have survived and taken refuge in a cave. Kokorowa arrives on the island and helps rebuild the farm, also adding a waterwheel. The now-powerless Ishimaru arrives to chat with Tauemon, but soon resorts to violence and tries to escape with Kaimaru as a hostage, but a strange influence attacks him, forcing him to flee without Kaimaru while Ashigumo pursues him. It turns out the humans have become gods as a result of their long stay in the Lofty Realm. Sakuna later obtains the Orb of Transformation from the capital to improve her products. Ishimaru is later killed by the specters. Upon learning of the Homusubi Specter's return, Sakuna fights off demons that she defeated previously along with Ishimaru's corrupted soul, who are under the Homusubi Specter's control. This finally convinces her to sacrifice Tama to defeat Omizuchi. After defeating the Homusubi Specter for good, they find that its core is actually the missing part of Tama's blade, which was corrupted by the island's negative energy, causing it to create the specters. After helping Kinta find the sword that he finished making, which is revealed to be created out of amber from the Tree of Creation but also giving the sword a will of its own, they have him convert Tama's missing blade into a weapon that they can use to defeat Omizuchi without sacrificing Tama.
During a festival on the island with the gods, Omizuchi's revival finishes, so Sakuna prepares to face him. After defeating Omizuchi, he humbly admits defeat just before Sakuna and Tama vanish. It turns out using her raiment's powers comes with a price that will result in them ending up in the Lowly Realm, but her parents (now free of their torment) and Kaimaru's spirits save her. Sakuna's parents sacrifice themselves to ensure that their daughter remains in the Lofty Realm, and she and Kaimaru are returned to Hinoe Island. In the aftermath, Myrthe, Kinta, and Kaimaru return to the Lowly Realm while the others stay behind.
