Info about SAND LAND: Official game description: Deluxe Edition ============== The Deluxe Edition includes: • Full game • My Room Furniture Set: Army Base • My Room Furniture Set: Hideout • Speed Demon Pack • Beelzebub Decal Set About the Game ============== Dive into a desert world where both humans and demons suffer from an extreme water shortage - SAND LAND. Meet the Fiend Prince Beelzebub, his chaperone Thief, and the fearless Sheriff Rao, and follow the team on an extraordinary adventure in search of the Legendary Spring hidden in the desert, and much more. The end is only the beginning, as beyond this arid ground lies a mysterious new realm to explore - Forest Land. This action-RPG is a nostalgic and heartwarming world created by Akira Toriyama, where you will become the main character, Beelzebub. Learn how to control his powers and lead your company of heroic misfits, exploring the legendary world of SAND LAND and the brand-new Forest Land. But beware of the many dangers that populate them: between bandits, fierce wildlife, and ruthless Army Generals, reaching the spring and saving the world won’t be easy! Use your tact and imagination to develop tanks and other vehicles that will help you navigate these vast resourceful lands, using a wide array of part combinations. Build up your base of operations into a thriving city, with the help of the people you meet along the way in this desert. **RIDE VEHICLES FROM BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION** ---------------------------------------------- Unlock vehicles that can be leveled-up with various mechanic parts including weapons, engines, and suspensions. Design and operate a large variety of mechas including Battle Tanks with powerful cannons, Motorbikes that speed through deserts, and Jump-Bots that bounce over rivers to explore every corner of the continent. **UPGRADE AND CUSTOMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE** ----------------------------------------- Become Beelzebub, master his demonic powers and develop his fighting abilities to match your playstyle. Rao and Thief, your loyal acolytes, also have access to specific attacks, so that the team is never defeated, but always stronger. Your vehicles can be built and customized as well, to fit your taste, including paint options and decals! Save Sand Land and defy Forest Land Heaven your way and in style! **EXPLORE BEYOND THE DUNES** ---------------------------- Take off on a bumpy adventure and discover two marvelous worlds. Explore SAND LAND and its canyons, unveil its secret, overcome fierce foes, and pave the way to the Legendary Spring! In Forest Land, discover a brand-new world in which awaits lush trees, reddish sunsets, verdant lands...and long-awaited waters sources! **BECOME THE SAVIOR THE WORLD NEEDS** ------------------------------------- Develop a basecamp in the city of Spino as you build relationships with its inhabitants. Watch the town and its capabilities grow as you bring back exiled people of the desert to Spino. Listen to their requests and wishes, and unlock useful materials and city features that will help you make SAND LAND thrive again! Release date: 25 Apr, 2024 Categories: Action RPG, Vehicle Customization, Open-World Exploration, Single-player Story, Base Building, Crafting, Character Progression, Real-time Combat - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Fun, enjoyable, and engaging gameplay (weight 0.96): The game is consistently praised for being fun, enjoyable, and engaging. Many reviewers found the gameplay loop satisfying, the world immersive, and the overall experience to be a pleasant surprise. The game is easy to pick up and play, making it accessible to a wide range of players. - Extensive and impactful vehicle customization (weight 0.63): A key feature is the extensive vehicle customization, allowing players to modify weapons, engines, and aesthetics. This system adds depth and encourages experimentation, with many reviewers praising the variety and impact of these modifications. The designs are reminiscent of Toriyama's style. - Captures Toriyama's iconic art style (weight 0.54): The game's art style, world, and characters are heavily inspired by Akira Toriyama's iconic work, particularly Dragon Ball. This evokes a sense of nostalgia and charm for fans of his distinctive style. The game successfully captures the essence of Toriyama's manga, making it a must-play for enthusiasts. - Engaging story and likable characters (weight 0.44): The game features a well-written and engaging story with likable characters. The voice acting is frequently praised for bringing the characters to life and enhancing the overall narrative experience. The story is interesting and enjoyable, with some unexpected twists and turns. - Expands manga with new content (weight 0.38): The game expands upon the original manga with new content, characters, and storylines, providing a fresh experience for fans. Side quests are well-integrated, fleshing out the world and offering meaningful rewards. The game is faithful to the source material while adding depth and detail. - Faithful manga adaptation, beautiful graphics (weight 0.22): The game is a faithful adaptation of the original manga, with a beautiful art style that captures the essence of the source material in 3D. The world is beautifully rendered with impressive details, making exploration a captivating adventure. The game is a complete and comprehensive way to experience the Sand Land universe. - Visually striking, immersive world (weight 0.16): The game features a visually striking world with a beautiful soundtrack that complements the atmosphere. Exploration is rewarding, with diverse environments and hidden areas to discover. The game provides a relaxing and immersive experience, making it perfect for unwinding. - Polished, complete, exceeds expectations (weight 0.09): The full game is a polished and complete experience that exceeds expectations set by the demo. Reviewers describe the game as a masterpiece and a work of art, delivering on personal expectations and providing tons of replayability. The game is well-made and worth the price. Common complaints: - Repetitive gameplay and world (weight 0.78): The game suffers from repetitive gameplay, enemy types, and environments. This leads to a lack of challenge and makes exploration feel unrewarding. Many reviewers found the game became boring after a relatively short time. - Lacks difficulty and challenge (weight 0.6): The game is considered too easy, even on the hardest difficulty settings. The AI is basic, and enemies are not aggressive or threatening. Some reviewers found the lack of challenge made abilities and power-ups feel unnecessary. - Slow and padded progression (weight 0.57): The game's progression feels slow and padded, with a long grind required to unlock content. Vehicle upgrades are restricted until certain points in the story, which can be frustrating. Some reviewers felt the game was longer than it needed to be. - Repetitive and annoying dialogue (weight 0.57): Characters repeat dialogue frequently, especially during open-world exploration. This becomes annoying and detracts from the experience. Many reviewers wished for an option to reduce or disable the frequency of these remarks. - Poor optimization and performance (weight 0.47): The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to frequent stuttering and frame rate drops. Some reviewers experienced crashes and other technical issues. These problems detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. - Simple and uninspired story (weight 0.4): The story is considered simple, straightforward, and sometimes cliché. Some reviewers found the plot underwhelming and the characters bland. The game's tone and voice acting may appeal more to a younger audience. - Shallow vehicle combat (weight 0.32): Vehicle combat lacks depth and variety, with weapons behaving similarly and limited customization options. Some vehicles become useless as the player progresses. The tank is often the primary choice, making other vehicles feel redundant. - Poorly implemented stealth sections (weight 0.19): Stealth missions are poorly designed and implemented, with inconsistent enemy detection and repetitive elements. These sections are often considered tedious and disrupt the game's flow. Many reviewers found them to be an unwelcome addition. - Inconsistent controls and animations (weight 0.09): The game suffers from inconsistent controls and animations, leading to frustrating moments. Dialogue is presented in a disjointed manner, requiring frequent button presses. These issues disrupt the flow of gameplay and break immersion. - Tedious crafting and upgrading (weight 0.06): Crafting and upgrading items requires excessive grinding for materials. The UI for managing equipment is impractical and lacks key features. This makes it difficult to compare items and find the necessary materials. - Awkward vehicle controls (weight 0.05): Vehicle controls, especially for motorcycles, are awkward and problematic. Dismounted combat feels disappointing due to the protagonist's slow movement speed. Some reviewers found the driving mechanics to be outdated. - Underdeveloped Beelzebub combat (weight 0.05): Combat with Beelzebub is considered simple, boring, and underdeveloped. Customization options for the character are lacking. Some reviewers found the melee combat to be clunky and uninspired. - Slow and unrewarding progression (weight 0.05): Character progression feels very slow and unrewarding. The RPG system lacks depth, and the skill tree is not very useful. Some reviewers felt the story was dragged out at times. Gameplay feedback: - Vehicle-focused combat and customization (weight 0.36): The game heavily emphasizes vehicle combat and customization. Players can acquire, upgrade, and personalize a variety of vehicles, including tanks, cars, and motorcycles, each offering unique combat styles and traversal capabilities. This focus makes non-vehicle combat less relevant. - Standard open-world exploration (weight 0.19): The game features a blend of exploration, questing, and open-world elements. However, some reviewers found the open-world design to be standard and the side quests to be shallow. The game provides clear guidance with quest markers, making it accessible but potentially less engaging for some players. - Simple character combat (weight 0.12): Combat outside of vehicles, primarily using the main character Beelzebub, is considered simple and less engaging than vehicle combat. The combat system involves light and heavy attacks, special abilities, and a dodge roll. Some reviewers found the skill tree for Beelzebub and companions to be not very impactful. - Town-building mechanic (weight 0.06): The game features a town-building mechanic where players rebuild and upgrade Spino Town by completing side quests and recruiting NPCs. This mechanic provides a visual representation of progress and unlocks new shops and game modes. The side quests are simple fetch or kill tasks. - Unnecessary stealth mechanics (weight 0.06): The game incorporates stealth mechanics, but some reviewers found them unnecessary and shallow. These sections typically involve navigating from point A to point B while avoiding detection. Camera issues can make these sections tedious. - Leveling unlocks abilities (weight 0.04): The game features a leveling system that unlocks new abilities, models, and customization options. Some reviewers noted that the enemy level scales with the player's level, creating more engaging challenges in the post-game. However, some felt that the new abilities don't significantly change the gameplay. - Varied quest design (weight 0.03): Main and side quests often feature side-scrolling jump'n'run areas, environmental puzzles, narration, and unique locations. Many side quests involve monster slaying and item collection. The game includes fighting, stealth, and side quests that do not involve vehicles. - Adjustable difficulty (weight 0.03): The reviewer is playing on normal difficulty and finds it a bit easy, considering moving up to hard. Guns and upgrades feel good, and finding a preferred playstyle is easy and rewarding. Normal difficulty provides a challenge when fighting monsters above your level. Performance notes: - Stuttering issues, especially during loading (weight 0.09): Some players experience stuttering issues, often related to shader compilation or initial loading of assets, particularly when using Unreal Engine 5. The severity varies, with some finding it minimal while others describe it as "very bad." Forcing DX11 can sometimes alleviate these stutters. - Acceptable Steam Deck performance (weight 0.03): The game's performance on Steam Deck is generally acceptable, with frame rates typically between 40-60 FPS at 720p on medium to high settings. Battery life is around 1.4 hours, and the text is readable when set to "large." - Missing graphical features/options (weight 0.02): The game lacks support for DLSS and HDR. Some players have reported issues with anti-aliasing settings not working and resolution limitations, including pillar boxing on super ultrawide resolutions when uncapped frame rates are enabled. - Repetitive, cut-off verbal cues (weight 0.01): Verbal cues during open-world exploration can become repetitive and are often cut off by other actions, which can be distracting or immersion-breaking for some players. - Inconsistent music quality (weight 0.01): The music quality is inconsistent; while some tracks are good, others are atmospheric and dull, leading to a mixed audio experience for players. - Unfluid bot controls (weight 0.01): Bot controls do not feel as fluid as in other games, which may impact the player experience, especially for those who rely on or frequently use bot assistance. - Performance degrades in 'dam' section (weight 0.01): The game's performance notably degrades in the 'dam' section, suggesting a specific area or event that causes performance issues. - Attack registration in borderless mode (weight 0.01): Attack registration issues occur specifically in borderless windowed mode, but using this mode makes the screen full, presenting a trade-off for players. - Consistent 'dxgi error device hung' crashes (weight 0.01): The game consistently crashes with the same error code (dxgi error device hung), indicating a specific, recurring technical issue. - Healing menu glitch (weight 0.01): A glitch in the healing menu occurred right before the player died, suggesting a potentially critical bug that directly impacts gameplay and player survival. Recommendations: - Sale recommended; full price questionable (weight 0.49): The game's value is heavily debated, with many reviewers suggesting it's only worth purchasing on sale. Some feel the full price isn't justified due to flaws or lack of content, while others find it worth it, especially if discounted. This suggests a price-to-value imbalance. - Great for Toriyama fans (weight 0.31): A significant number of reviews recommend the game specifically to fans of Akira Toriyama's work, including Sand Land, Dragon Ball, and Dr. Slump. These reviewers suggest that fans will appreciate the art style, world, and characters, while others may not find it as appealing. - Enjoyable open-world, vehicle combat, story (weight 0.27): Reviewers highlight the game's open-world RPG elements, vehicle combat, and story as key aspects. Some recommend focusing on the main story and city reconstruction to avoid repetitive side quests. The game is considered a good fit for those who enjoy exploration, customization, and a narrative-driven experience. - Similar to Metal Max, others (weight 0.19): Several reviewers draw comparisons to other vehicle-focused games like Metal Max, Bumpy Trot, Armored Core, and Custom Robo. They suggest that fans of these games, particularly those who enjoy vehicle customization and combat, may find Sand Land appealing. - Play with Japanese audio (weight 0.05): Some reviewers suggest playing the game with Japanese audio due to the awkwardness of the English voice acting. This is a minor point, but it could improve the overall experience for some players. - Good for kids/older players (weight 0.04): Some reviewers suggest the game may be more suitable for younger or older players due to its simplicity and lack of challenge. This is a subjective point, but it could be helpful for parents or players with specific preferences. - Add New Game Plus mode (weight 0.03): A few reviewers suggest the addition of a New Game Plus mode with increased difficulty and the ability to restart with all vehicles and gear. This would add replayability and cater to players seeking a greater challenge. - Game is disappointing/lazy (weight 0.02): Some reviewers express disappointment with the game, feeling that it doesn't live up to expectations and may be a cash grab targeting Toriyama's fans. One reviewer even states they will avoid all major titles from Bandai Namco in the future. This point has a low importance score due to the emotional language and lack of specific details. - Full game better than demo? (weight 0.02): Some reviewers noted that the full game is better than the demo, while others were surprised that performance issues from the demo were not fixed in the retail version. This suggests that the demo may not be representative of the final product. Other player notes: - Tribute to Akira Toriyama (weight 0.21): The game is heavily influenced by Akira Toriyama's iconic art style and designs, with many reviewers noting it as a tribute to his work. Some even purchased the game specifically to honor him, especially given that it was one of his final projects. The game expands upon the original manga, introducing new elements while staying true to Toriyama's style. - Good cel-shaded graphics (weight 0.03): The game features cel-shaded graphics, with many reviewers praising the art style and animation quality. Some reviewers compare the graphics to Borderlands, while others note the combination of Metal Max and Dragon Quest elements. - Controller support is mixed (weight 0.03): The game generally handles well with a controller, although some reviewers found melee combat less suited to a gamepad. Some reviewers reported issues with attacks not registering, regardless of whether they were using a gamepad or keyboard. The game runs well on Steam Deck. - Geared towards younger audience (weight 0.02): Some reviewers felt the game was geared towards a younger audience due to its easy difficulty and one-dimensional villains. The game features a fast introduction of characters. - Poor marketing, niche appeal (weight 0.02): The game is relatively unknown, possibly due to poor marketing, niche subject matter, and unconventional settings. Some reviewers felt the game's marketing was restrained and purposeful, reminiscent of older game ads. - Story focuses on Beelzebub/Rao (weight 0.02): The story follows Beelzebub, a demon prince, and Rao, a human sheriff, as they search for a legendary spring. Other characters include Thief and Ann. - Post-apocalyptic desert setting (weight 0.01): The game is set in a post-apocalyptic desert world where humans have caused an environmental disaster, leading to water and supply shortages. Emotions: No emotions}