If you saw the SAND LAND trailer at Summer Game Fest this year, you know that there were cheers in the crowd the second we saw the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama’s name, pop up on the screen. I can guarantee these same cheers were heard from many couches as Bandai Namco chose to take on a niche manga and adapt it to a brand-new action RPG.
Akira Toriyama is staying incredibly relevant right now, as he is a direct consultant on the SAND LAND game and is known for both Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, the latter of which was just announced on yesterday’s Nintendo Direct. Built on Unreal Engine 5, SAND LAND is shaping up to be an exciting video game adaptation of the manga, and luckily I got to go hands-on with the game at Summer Game Fest Play Days.
I will wholly admit that anime is not my go-to. I am not well-versed, and I will never pretend to be. I can attest to the screams I heard at the YouTube Theatre when the game was announced and the rave reviews I heard at Play Days directly from manga fans. What I am extremely well-versed in, however, is action RPGs, and SAND LAND is one I am eager to get hands-on with again.
SAND LAND Art Style
Other anime-inspired RPGs like One Piece Odyssey stick with the distinct anime art style that is easily recognized. SAND LAND does it a little differently, adding cel-shading over the traditional style bringing something new to the table. As someone who doesn’t usually gravitate toward the anime style, this made SAND LAND feel far more accessible to someone like me. Anime, and even JRPGs, can feel heavily gate-kept, and this added touch made me feel like I wasn’t left out of the process.
With a style similar to Borderlands, SAND LAND lets you dive into its universe as Beelzebub with Sherrif Rao and Theif on your team. Beelzebub’s superhuman strength and his “super evil” personality make him an interesting character to helm, but I felt right at home with him—what does that say about me? I thought that both in cutscenes and while traversing, Beelzebub and his mates were exceptionally well thought out, with little details in the audio and visuals that helped flesh out their characters.
SAND LAND Combat & Traversal
The demo only allowed for a strict, timed session, so not many story beats were revealed. I did, however, traverse the world on foot and in a tank, both offering unique ways to take on the desert. There was also a scene where I had to escape the Geji Dragon, taking off in what I can only describe as a go-kart, needing to dodge the Geji’s strikes to make it to the next point in the story.
Clearly, SAND LAND will feature various ways to play, with different sections of the game requiring different types of combat and travel. Taking on critters in the desert as Beelzebub felt extremely satisfying, as there was a distinct movement while fighting that suited the character well.
Chaining attacks together allowed for great-feeling movement, which really allowed me to feel like I was accomplishing something, even if I may have only been mashing buttons. Switching over to the tank, I’ve never felt like vehicle combat was for me. It was a ton of fun trying to blow enemies up from afar, but both in-vehicle and out, I had a tendency to retreat, which left me pulling multiple creatures at once.
SAND LAND Looks Like an Excellent Entry Point to the Franchise and Anime-based Games in General.
Based on what we saw in the trailers compared to what I saw during gameplay, there may be opportunities to upgrade your skills and even your tank. I could single-fire at enemies from afar, but in the trailer, you can see multiple missiles launching simultaneously, targeting different enemies. I may have to try if this is an option later in the game!
Currently, SAND LAND is subtitled in English, but I believe voice-overs are coming in the future. If I’m honest, the Japanese voice-acting may be preferred by many. There is something in the expression in Beelzebub’s voice I would hate to lose in translation.
I am eager to see more of SAND LAND as it becomes available, especially in the ways of its environment and enemies. The online landscape allows for more exploring at night, which seems to change the game’s vibe completely. I also am looking forward to the enemy variation. Though I saw raptor and alligator-like enemies, I am sure there is plenty more to explore.
SAND LAND looks like an excellent entry point to the franchise and anime-based games in general. Though I can tell that fans of the manga are already excited, I believe Bandai Namco knows how to draw a crowd, and SAND LAND will be a hit for new and old fans.
