There are sometimes games you run into that can be a bit perplexing, that take a chance to combine genres or elements into a new experience that has merit but at the same time you can’t help but question who it’s really for. Sakuna is one of those titles for me, and while there’s no doubt that its characters and story are amusingly quirky and weird, and that in general all of the gameplay works and is reasonably satisfying, it still just doesn’t quite leap out as being cohesive to me. The disconnect is between the major cultivation element to the game which is contrasted by segments where you’ll be doing some side-scrolling ass-kicking. The stronger of the two is the farming component, where you’ll need to collect different elements that can be composted together to make great fertilizer, which you’ll then use to grow a healthy crop of rice. This turns out to be surprisingly deep (and pretty interesting) as you work out the techniques and tricks of effective crop management that goes well beyond the normal plant seeds, water, and cultivate model. In between tending to your crops and interacting with the other characters you’ll then also need to go out and give out some beatdowns, with that gameplay being a bit more generic in the end, though there are some fun flourishes of action at least. The result is definitely an interesting and weird combination, but one I’m not sure everyone would enjoy since time needs to be spent in both parts to have success, and their respective genres (and often fans) are so far away from each other on the spectrum.