As some of Toriyama’s last work, playing this game hit different as his style and storytelling shines throughout like the desert sun. WhileSand Landis a little coarse and rough around the edges, like sand, it’s a fine adaptation that shows off the beauty, themes, and sense of adventure of one of Toriyama’s most-underrated works.
Check out the trailer forSand Landbelow.
So, what isSand Landabout? The story itself is pretty simple, as it’s one-to-one with the original manga and the recent anime adaptation on Disney+.
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However it’s not just the story of theSand Landmanga that plays out in the game, as once you’ve completed your quest and returned water to Sand Land, you’ll embark on a whole new adventure in the bordering country of Forest Land, to uncover the secrets of Ann and face a new threat altogether.
Bandai Namco
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While we could talk all day about the story, let’s dive into the real bread and butter ofSand Land: its gorgeous world and how you traverse it.
However, the most drastic change comes part way through the game, when you pack your bags and embark on a brand-new adventure to Forest Land. The game swaps the harsh, horizontal desert landscape in favour of verticality, with a sprawling woodland area filled with flora and fauna. It’s quite the juxtaposition, especially since Sand Land is devoid of water whereas in Forest Land there’s an abundance of it with lakes, streams, and waterfalls aplenty.
It all looks fantastic, and when the world looks as good as it does, it’s just begging to be explored which is where the vehicles come into play.
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Over the course of the story, Beelzebub and his friends will acquire a fleet of vehicles, each with their own weapons and abilities. They range from the tank you start off with to motorbikes, hovercrafts, and even a mech suit. While they all control in the same general way, they each have their individual uses. The tank is ol’ reliable. It’s big, sturdy, and packs a punch making it the ideal choice for any and all confrontations. The motorbike, on the other hand, is quick and nimble, but pretty hard to use in combat as aiming while zooming can be tricky.
Bandai Namco
Combat felt engaging and exciting, becoming an elaborate dance of dodging and firing off your own shots when you have the chance. Reloading also takes time meaning you have to be selective with your reloads and weapon switching so you’re not left defenceless. Combat was at its best when the odds were significantly stacked against you, though you could always turn the tide of battle with an ability, like having Rao hop into his own tank to provide you with support. More abilities can be unlocked as you level that change the effectiveness of your vehicles as well as Beelzebub’s own abilities.
Mastering these vehicles and learning their functionalities is a huge part of the game, which would add a lot of strategy and enjoyment to the game if it weren’t completely unnecessary.
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There’s a theory in gaming called the Nash equilibrium, and it’s the idea that the player will always favour the strategy that gets them the most results with as little resistance as possible. InSand Land, that strategy is the tank. While it’s not as speedy as the other vehicles in the selection, it’s the undisputed king of confrontation regardless of what you’re fighting, meaning I always picked it even when the game tried to encourage me not to. The best example I can give is a boss battle in a circular room, with an enemy on a powerful motorcycle. I was encouraged to switch to my own bike and chase them around the room as I whittled down their health bar, but why should I when it was easier to sit in the middle with the tank and fire potshots at them as they sped past?
While it was still good fun to blast people with a hovercraft or stomp on them with a robo-walker, it was the tank that carried me through the game, so it would have been nice to see some enemy types that directly hindered its usefulness to encourage me to switch up my playstyle.
Bandai Namco
This fed directly into the vehicle customisation too. At your home base of Spino, the player can customise their rides in a variety of different ways. You can stick new guns on them, give them special abilities like missile barrages, enhance their armour, speed, and more. Eventually you unlock the ability to paint them and slap on some stylish decals, but not until the end of the game where all you’ve got left to do is mop up the, unfortunately dull, side quests.
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Another good source of materials and cash are the side quests, though they’re definitely one of the weaker parts of the game. First are the standard side quests that usually see the player help out someone in need, which more often than not means fetching them an item, clearing out a horde of enemies, or speaking to someone on their behalf, sometimes all three. Then there are bounties which were actually quite fun as you’d need to track down your target and dispatch them to reap the rewards, though depending on your current level, that could be much easier said than done. Then you’ve got races, which were perfectly fine but don’t expect Mario Kart levels of polish.
Bandai Namco
Towards the end of the game, I felt satisfied withSand Land. As someone who enjoyed the manga and the Disney+ series, I found it to be an admirable adaptation of its fantastic story, and being put into the driving seat of the tank and all the other vehicles was still good fun, even towards the end of the game.
Pros: Stunning open world, compelling story, traversal and vehicle combat feels fun and engaging
Cons: Side content leaves much to be desired, doesn’t give you reason to switch-up your strategies/playstyle
For fans of: Dragon Ball, Anime games
8/10: Excellent
Sand Land is available on PlayStation 5 (version tested), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible’s review scores here.
Topics:Anime,Bandai Namco,Xbox,PC,PlayStation,Reviews
