Is there anyone who doesn't know the popular Dragon Ball series, created by the outstanding Japanese manga artist, Akira Toriyama? This same genius is also the author of another popular manga - Sand Land. And now, a surprise for all those who love Akira's work and know all his creations well… Sand Land has received a gaming adaptation! Interestingly, it was the last project the artist was involved in before he passed away.
Sand Land is an action-adventure RPG created by Keishu Minami and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game premiered on April 26th, 2024, and simultaneously launched on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The game features interesting, comic book-style graphics typical of other works based on the aforementioned artist's creations (such as Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball: Xenoverse), or games from Telltale Games (like Wolf Among Us or Walking Dead), running on the Unreal Engine 5.
Story
The game's story transports us to a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world resembling a vast desert. All inhabitants of this world struggle with drought and suffer from severe shortages of drinkable water.
In the game, we embody the demon prince, Beelzebub, who, along with his companions: Sheriff Rao, Ann, and a demon named Thief, sets out on a journey across the endless desert searching for the mythical Legendary Spring. However, before they reach their destination, they must face a multitude of different hostile characters.
Gameplay
Sand Land offers TPP gameplay, and although we form a multi-person team, we can only embody one character - Beelzebub, with the others controlled by AI acting as our companions. Interestingly, during gameplay, we can unlock new skills for both the main and the side characters, which provide significant support in combat.
Fights mainly consists of melee combat, which is divided into two types of attacks: fast but weak light attacks and slow, strong heavy attacks. Furthermore, during our journey, we have the opportunity to find various parts with which we can build vehicles. Some of them will help us traverse the deserts, while others will also prove useful on the battlefield ( tank battles). Although the game does not feature extensive character customization, we can customize the appearance of the built vehicles. Another important element is the ability to establish a base, which we expand, and NPC encountered during the journey can join (some even have supernatural abilities). Here, too, customization and decoration of living quarters according to our preferences are possible.
Gameplay, typical of an RPG, is based on exploration, as well as completing various major quests and minor objectives (including races, bounty hunting, etc.), for which we receive experience and various items and consumables. Importantly, water is crucial because it restores HP to our character.
Key Features:
- Another interesting game inspired by the work of the outstanding Akira Toriyama.
- Superb graphics on Unreal Engine 5, maintaining a cartoonish, manga-style.
- Extensive gameplay based on exploration, combat, crafting, and building.
- Only a single-player campaign is available.
