Sand Land

Sand Land is an action RPG based on the manga by Akira Toriyama - the creator of Dragon Ball - under the same title. It was developed by a Japanese studio ILCA and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

Plot

Sand Land is set in a post-apocalyptic desert world, its inhabitants - humans and demons - suffering due to immense water shortages. The game's protagonist is the fiend prince Beelzebub. Alongside the Sheriff Rao and the demon Thief he sets out in search of the Legendary Spring hidden somewhere in the desert.

Mechanics

One of the most important mechanics of Sand Land is finding parts among the sands, then using them to build tanks and vehicles. Some can be used in combat, others only during travel.

The player has a base, which slowly grows into a bustling city as it's upgraded. Varied NPCs - many of whom already known from Toriyama's works - encountered by Beelzebub and his companions will move into the base as we progress.

Technical aspects

The game runs on the Unreal Engine 5, but its artstyle is heavily inspired by Toriyama's. Sand Land is an exclusively singleplayer experience.

Trivia

The manga Sand Land, which the game is based on, was serialized from May to August 2000. The series did not gain as much popularity as Akira Toriyama's other works - Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump. Twenty-three years later, however, it came back into the public spotlight thanks to the game and the first full-length movie based on the manga.