Sand Land has an endearing set up for an RPG that's let down by middling combat and limited exploration

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Bandai Namco) Without Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, modern Japanese RPGs likely wouldn’t exist. From his iconic sprites that injected Dragon Quest 3’s rudimentary 8 bit graphics with a lease of life, to his timeless character designs that endlessly enrich Chrono Trigger, Toriyama’s playful artwork played a huge role in popularizing video games in Japan. Thanks to his box art and in-game designs that endeared anime and manga fans to this strange new medium,Square Enix’s early RPGs found huge success – and the late, great Toriyama continued to work on designs for Dragon Quest up untilhis untimely passing. In other words, Toriyama was just as pivotal to video games as he was to manga. Now, hot on the heels of thebrilliant Disney + adaptationof Toriyama’s 2000 manga, Sand Land,Bandai Namcois hoping to harness that beloved video game-esque source material into a quasi-open world RPG. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where water is scarce, Sand Land sees both demons and humans roaming their desert home in search of any last remaining traces of liquid. With the setting’s greedy monarch and his Royal Army hoarding h20 and selling it for extortionate profits, plucky demon prince Beelzebub and aging human sheriff Rao reluctantly team up in order to track down the last remaining natural spring. It’s an endearing set up, and one that Toriyama’s manga and anime leverages into a wonderfully whimsical, Dragon Ball-esque take on the post apocalypse. Yet where Avalanche Studio’s Mad Max transformed the vast desert into an atmospheric open world character of its own, sitting down to experience Namco’s arid landscape hands-on sadly proves it feels like a yellow-coloured backdrop for a world of limited exploration, middling combat and box ticking collectathons. Dangerous dunes (Image credit: Bandai Namco) Taking the term sandbox incredibly literally here, One Piece: Odyssey studio ILCA harks back to a simpler age of licensed tie-ins, side lining modern AAA game design in favor of something more rudimentary. Armed with a beaten up buggy, players take control of the acrobatic Beelzebub as he and his trio of mismatched misfits embark on their desert-spanning journey. As you tear up the dangerous dunes, you’ll discover various materials that can be used to upgrade your collection of dust-coated vehicles. Role-play(Image credit: Bandai Namco)The 25best RPGsyou can play right now Role-play (Image credit: Bandai Namco)The 25best RPGsyou can play right now (Image credit: Bandai Namco) The 25best RPGsyou can play right now Whether it’s chugging along ibn between those classic Toriyama tanks, zooming across dirt tracks on a motorbike, or destroying dinosaurs in a bipedal armed walker, the arcadey blend of driving and blasting offers up some nostalgic thrills - a throwback to PS2 era’s pulpy past. There’s an enjoyable level of part-led tinkering, too, as I swap out my walker’s machine gun and upgrade my tank’s main cannon in the garage in order to make those sweet, sweet damage stats rise. The problem, however, comes whenever Sand Land forces you to step outside your vehicle. Armed with just a basic and special attack – and some unremarkable partner abilities – Sand Land’s melee combat feels completely lacking in depth or nuance. Where in the anime and manga, beelzebub pummels bandits and Royal soldiers with Saiyan-worthy aplomb, here the mindless mashing lacks the heft you’d expect from a Namco game, with an tragically wonky camera ensuring that each dull overworld brawl feels like an afterthought. After the enjoyable focused fighting of 2020’s DBZ Kakarot, it’s a crying shame. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more (Image credit: Bandai Namco) Still, I found myself practically begging for some more flimsy fisticuffs after experiencing Sand Land’s utterly dire attempts at stealth missions. As Beezlbub, Thief and Rao continue their perilous thirst-quenching quest, they regularly find themselves needing to ‘liberate' supplies from the authoritarian Royal Army. Hopping into their heavily-guarded bases, there’s ample potential for sneaky shenanigans. Yet thanks to poor guard AI, empty environments and little attempt at either a narrative throughline or environmental storytelling,you’re instead forced to endure the kind of insta-fail stealth missions that would make even the most hardened ps2 era developer blush. Thankfully, a late game tank mission is a clear highlight. With your upgraded war machine allowing you to take on a troupe of Royal army tanks you duck and weave your way out of cannon fire across the dust-coated dunes in an enjoyable slice of tank on tank warfare. While my three hours with Sand Land offered a handful of enjoyable moments like these, considering the sense of adventure oozing from the source material, it’s hard not to feel like an open world RPG in this universe could have been genuinely exciting. Blending basic hand to hand combat with vehicular battles, Zelda-lite dungeons and base infiltration, on paper, Sand Land has the makings of a solid open world yarn. Yet in practice, Sand Land’s middling collision of disparate gameplay mechanics makes it a jack of all trades, demon prince of none. Through no fault of Bandai Namco’s, it’s difficult to separate Sand Land with the gut wrenching loss of the 68-year-old gaming and manga icon. Mere days after his death, with Toriyama’s loss weighing heavy on my heart, I went into this demo session wanting to love this game, to lose myself in a playable slice of Toriyama magic. Yet thanks to Sand Land’s alarmingly shallow disparate gameplay mechanics and cutscenes that completely fail to capture the anime’s charm, this demo left me feeling colder than the desert night. Where the full game may offer more in the way of gameplay surprises, what we’ve played thus far suggests a perfunctory ‘my first open world' adventure whose retro-inspired game design will appeal to younger players. Yet given Toriyama’s legendary history with the medium, older gamers will rightly wonder whether one of Toriyama’s last adaptations deserved better. Sand Land is set to come to PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PS5 on April 25, 2024. Look ahead to all of the exciting upcoming releases with our roundup ofnew games for 2024and beyond. 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heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel 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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1 Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”