If you follow video game news and Sand Land in particular, you have certainly noticed that a playable demo has been available since March 18, both on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. A very limited demo that didn’t allow much other than traveling through a restricted area of the desert and testing three machines and that’s it. Quite a few people were disappointed with this demo and that’s normal, apart from traveling through this limited area and fighting quickly, it was a bit poor. I had the opportunity to spend a good part of the day on the game during a press event organized by Bandai Namco, in order to let us test several different levels for more than 3 hours and above all to show us the film animation released in Japan last summer. There you go, that was for context.
THE SEA OF SAND
Otherwise, for novices or the youngest, what is Sand Land? It is the story of a trio of characters. Beelzebub to begin with, which is a variation of Beelzebub, you understand. So he’s the prince of demons, he’s the main character, the main character in good French. He is accompanied by Thief, his chaperone, and Rao, a somewhat intrepid sheriff. This team goes completely off the beaten track and quite conventional codes of classic shonen, because as you can see, there is a pink creature and two old men. I might as well tell you that this is atypical enough to be underlined, since generally, the old people and the slightly weird creatures are often a sidekick, a mentor or even a daredevil character. There, Akira Toriyama was coming out of 10 years of Dragon Ball and clearly, he wanted to move on with Sand Land. And what’s good about the video game is that we will also be able to play this trio. So not with a real-time switch, but rather in dedicated missions where we will move from one to the other when the story requires it.
Together, they must find the legendary source capable of putting an end to this absence of water and thus providing for the needs of Humans, but also of other creatures. There is also this notion of cohabitation between the two species which is treated implicitly which is rather pleasant. In short, while waiting to find the location of this magic fountain, it is in a desert world that we will learn to get to know these characters, but also its gameplay mechanics. And there, you ask yourself this question: if the game scrupulously follows the manga, are we going to hit the open world desert throughout the adventure? A legitimate question since for many players, desert = empty setting, without life, without anything, which risks giving way to a certain weariness. But this reaction, certainly understandable, also proves that these people have never played Mad Max from Warner and Avalanche Studio released in 2015 on PS4 and Xbox One and which had proven that a desert universe could completely renew itself .
TORIYAMA PURE STYLE
Okay, the comparison is a bit vague, because even if I haven’t yet received the final version of Sand Land, I’m not sure that the latter’s open world manages to do as well as that of Mad Max . No, where the Bandai Namco title will stand out is in the use of the vehicles that we will be able to pilot. Via a drop-down menu, Beelzebub can choose to take control of 5 different machines, which he can summon in the same way as the capsules made by Bulma and her father in Dragon Ball. There are also a lot of similarities between the two series, and for those who don’t know, Sand Land is located in the same universe as Dragon Ball and Dr Slump that Toriyama imagined. A universe called The World. But let’s move on and get back to our vehicles. So 5 in total that we can carry between each mission, but there are many more in the game. It will be up to the player to choose which vehicle they want to transport, knowing that it will also be possible to personalize them and make them evolve as you progress. It is also in peace hubs such as bases or villages that we will be able to customize all of this. New weapons to add to your machines, paintings or emblems to give them your style, we can do anything.
Tank, robot, biped, motorcycle, hovercraft, the choice is nice and suitable for all types of situations. Each vehicle is adapted to a specific terrain or type of combat. For example, the motorcycle is the vehicle of choice for quickly moving around the open world, while jumping robots allow you to reach otherwise unattainable heights. To be the most effective and the most resistant against enemies and very hostile fauna, it is strongly recommended to summon the tank. The hovercraft is the perfect machine for riding on water, which is generally found in dungeons. The cool thing is that Beelzebub can summon his vehicles almost instantly, making mobility easier, whether exploring or platforming. Obviously, these machines are not invincible and you also have to be careful with ammunition reserves. Otherwise, for the purposes of the extended story, the ILCA studio developed the Sand Land lore a little more. There will indeed be entire sections that are completely new and never told in the manga, all with the help of Akira Toriyama who worked on it several years before his death. We know, for example, that we are going to get to know Forest Land, a place created especially for video games, and which will allow us to escape from arid and desert environments. This will therefore be an opportunity to discover something other than dunes in a burning desert, but also a nation where nature has reclaimed its rights and where men have settled there.
OPEN WORLD, EXTENDED UNIVERSE
Moreover, the place is governed by an army led by a certain Muniel, a fierce dictator despite his childish features. He is determined to save his country by getting his hands on a supply of Aquanium, a powerful but dangerous resource. Beelzebub and his friends will have to thwart his plans and fight his army and his generals. To be fit for combat, Beelzebub can fight hand-to-hand with his bare hands and his demo condition allows him to be superior to human beings. He also has the ability to use dark magic, but the version of the game we had didn’t allow us to use them yet. The idea was above all to get to know the three characters, who we will therefore be able to embody in specific situations, such as going undercover at the controls of Thief, disguised as Santa Claus. Well, let’s be honest, it was quite basic in terms of stealth mechanics, but at least the AI is more alert than that of the samurai in Rise of the Ronin, that’s a given.
Concerning the construction of the open world, it’s quite difficult for me to comment after 3/4 hours of play, but know that it will resume what is currently being done, with of course the main missions, the side quests and everything a bunch of additional activities, in order to vary the situations and extend the lifespan. This is where the game has an important interest, it is that it will go further than the short manga and exploit the lore as much as possible. It is from this point of view that it is highly anticipated, because in terms of fidelity, from what I was able to test, it is really successful. We really feel like we’re in the manga, and now the anime, since the film and series have been released. Bandai Namco and the ILCA studio have done a very nice job on the graphics, which gives the impression of seeing the manga come to life. The game has kept this artistic touch specific to the manga, with shimmering colors, pencil effects on the edges of the drawings and the contours. The vehicles are particularly well rendered and I really like the atmosphere of the desert. We have this heat effect, with this image distorting in the distance, it works really well. In any case, as the film, the series and the video game were all developed at the same time, there is a real artistic coherence which gives this feeling of extension between several mediums.