I recently got a chance to play Sandwalkers on the PlayStation 5 Pro, thanks to a review copy provided by Red Art Games.
You can find my gameplay video, as well as first impressions, below:
Pros:
- Super deep lore and intriguing world.
- Intriguing mix of Rougelike and Oregon Trial.
- Unique turn-based combat.
Cons:
- Unintuitive user interface.
Overall:
Sandwalkers provides a unique mix of Roguelike RPG and Oregon Trail.
When traversing through the randomly generated world with your caravan, you have to make sure they have enough supplies or your team will starve to death. During your travels, you may also encounter various scenarios that will either boost or hinder your team.
When your journey ends, you will start over from the beginning with a brand new team to pick from. If you generate enough memories from the previous caravans, then you can use it to unlock permanent upgrades.
Battles in Sandwalkers are turn-based. In order to damage enemies, you have to deplete their shields, which will also stun them for one turn as well. To be successful in the toughest fight, you need to keep enemies stunned as you whittle down their health.
Based on what I experienced so far, Sandwalkers have a rather interesting lore with its climate change theme. Not to mention that the game has several fractions that you can form relationships with on your journey.
The only real issue I have with the game is the unintuitive user interface. For example, you can’t rearrange your party outside of combat; even if you can change your team’s positioning during fights, it is rather clunky.
Not to mention that there is no way to cancel your actions during combat, which means that you have to use the ability you selected.
Outside of the user interface, Sandwalkers is one of the more unique and compelling Roguelike games. If you are a fan of the genre and/or Oregon Trail, then make sure to check this game out.