Sand Land immediately caught my attention when I saw the game's booth at last year's New York City Comic Con, complete with giant recreations of British Army tanks. I didn't think I was familiar with much, if any, of Akira Toriyama's work other than a brief exposure to Dragon Ball when I was younger, but the game's setting, character design, and of course the tanks stuck with me. Ta. And even though I'm from the East Coast, there was always something about the desert that drew me to it. I never get tired of playing this action RPG video game based on Toriyama's one-volume manga.
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With a story that deals with complex topics, great use of open world environments, really fun vehicle designs and combat mechanics, and a great soundtrack, Sand Land is great.
Although I haven't reached the credits yet, Sand Land has proven to be a great action RPG that gets even better the more time you spend with it. Just last night, I had to leave the house around 2:30am to reluctantly get some sleep.
A touching youth story
In Sand Land, you play as Prince Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Young and obsessed with staying up late, playing video games, and not brushing his teeth, he learned that the stories revolved around themes such as war, genocide, self-harm, the privatization of natural resources, and the nuclear threat. When things start to get involved, things take a surprising turn. weapons. This is a game that includes third-person melee combat, explosive vehicular combat, an effort to rebuild a devastated town, and a search for a fabled spring to find water for the residents of Sandland. All the while, the little punk was threatening his enemies with knuckle sandwiches and lamenting that he was given extra chores for going a minute over his allotted time on a video game. I love this little fuss starter.
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After receiving permission from his father, Lucifer, Beelzebub sets out on a journey across Sandland with his fellow demons, Thief, and the human sheriff, Rao. Thief and Rao take on the role of Beelzebub's father as Beelzebub learns about the world and the dangerous nature of the country, which has been without water since the river dried up many years ago. And Beelzebub helps Rao understand that he should not fear or distrust the devil.
There is a lot of suffering in Sandland, but what inspires me is Rao, the thief, and Beelzebub, who reach out to those in need in the town of Spino and provide shelter to even more. It's the power relationship between. Even though he uses military equipment to commit violence, it's clear that Beelzebub doesn't actually kill people (in fact, animations of defeated enemies show them running away rather than dying). ). There's a restorative spirit to Sand Land's direct, interconnected narratives that I find truly nourishing in a genre that can sometimes be a little too miserable and quickly perpetuate suffering. think.
Beautiful open world that fits the theme perfectly
Sand Land is a 2020s video game that is almost guaranteed to be open-world. And yes, there are some open world tropes that many of us are familiar with: towers, caves with loot, bases for raiding troops, etc. But after playing this game for a solid 15 hours, Sand Land managed to make it his own. A world where the theme has a certain degree of credibility.
Sand Land, named after a fictional country, has more than just characters. That position is practically the character itself. The open world structure makes the literal Sandlands a vast place to explore as Beelzebub. And while the main narrative is certainly compelling, doing other things along the way doesn't feel as dissonant or disconnected from what you're doing as the story does. You'll encounter side quests with some great story content, many of which add to the rebuilding of your home town.
The scenery of Sandland is also amazing. A fair amount of aesthetic changes thwart what could have been a homogeneous environment, and there's a real sense of travel and exploration that I dig in the games so far. The skybox also makes great use of clouds and color gradients to add dimension to the environment.
Car customization is deep, but not too difficult
I'm using an early game tank (but currently purple), a jumpbot, and a bike. You can build your own vehicle using different parts such as different weapons, engines, and suspension systems. It's a fun system, but I feel like we've only scratched the surface of what it can do. I'll be sharing more about my vehicle build in a future review.
Characters who sometimes talk too much
I said I love the cast, but I wish they didn't talk too much about it. Seriously, this game desperately needs a patch to reduce the amount of ambient dialogue you hear while exploring.
As you travel, you'll often hear one of your characters talk out loud about the world or remind you of video game basics like always checking what's in your inventory. there is. Some of the dialogue is actually quite interesting, providing bite-sized world-building that helps you immerse yourself in the setting. Others serve as reminders of the game's systems, such as the ability to check out caves and jump onto high platforms via jump bots to find loot. But it's too much.
The characters seem to start speaking every 30 seconds, and soon you're hearing the same lines over and over again, sometimes incoherently. Yes, Rao, you told me about the campsite. Yes, thief, I understand that you are tired of seeing so much sand. And lo and behold, Beelzebub, you have literally asked Rao 17 times already what he would do if he found a formidable enemy.
It may be tiring. At times, Sandland makes it seem as if the Forspoken of yesteryear have taken a vow of silence. Fortunately, the rest of the game is nice enough that I'm willing to cover my ears and dig in.
Oh yeah, this soundtrack!
Sand Land's soundtrack strikes the perfect balance between being great video game background music, but also having different textures and little melodic snippets that catch your ear and grab your attention. It's surprisingly well blended (although it can feel a little too quiet at times) and wonderfully varied. While in the town of Spino, you'll hear soothing guitar chords and ambient soundscapes. As you explore outside, super cool subtractive synth textures play against the sky.
And for some campfire music, check out this awesome guitar and Fender Rhodes duet.
Also, that slap bass line from the boss fight I played last night? I don't do chef's kisses, but if I did, I'd make money.
Do I need to read the Sandland manga to play Sandland?
Sand Land is a video game that recreates the story of the manga. There are some changes here and there, but it's mostly a retelling of this story. So if you're like me and have never read the manga (I started reading now after playing the game!), you can jump right in. The same goes for anime (I haven't watched it).
Sand Land will be released on April 24, 2024 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. If you're a fan of Akira Toriyama's work (rest in peace), have an interest in anime, or just love open-world action RPGs, I'm happy to say that it's well worth your time. Despite his overly talkative NPCs, this game is so much fun that I can't put my foot down, so I hope to share more details in a full-fledged review soon.
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