Sand Land Review

Sand Land, not to be confused with Sand Land (the manga), is the latest anime game to launch this year. It’s quite unfortunate that Akira Toriyama, who sadly passed away in March 2024, won’t get to see this game reach his adoring fans, but his influence is greatly felt throughout the adventure.

Anime games, in general, have a somewhat odd reputation, often released simply to take advantage of the IP and not pay too much mind to the overall quality. While there are some outliers, it’s also expected that these titles are mostly arena battlers similar to countless other titles like Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, Jujutsu Kaisen Cursed Clash, and much more.

Sand Land is a departure from the common formula, taking the iconic manga and placing an action RPG framework to it, which turned out to be a favorable decision. Developed by ILCA of Pokemon fame, the story sees players control Prince Beelzebub on a journey to find the legendary hidden spring, which holds the most important currency in the land – Water.

Everything for water!

Sand Land starts off introducing Sheriff Rao as he visits the Demon Prince Beelzebub to propose an interesting arrangement – team up to search for the legendary spring and restore a sense of normalcy to the denizens of the land, both humans and demons. The unlikely duo then set off on a grand adventure filled with twists and turns, as they are accompanied by Thief, Beelzebub’s old friend, and Ann, a mysterious character who joins the party later in the game.

I have zero familiarity with the manga, but in the first few sequences of the game, the world and its premise turned out to be interesting and fun, and the characters are cute and goofy with great Japanese voice performances and great visuals that reflect Toriyama’s unique style. The overall story is quite serviceable, and since fans of the manga will already be familiar with how things turn out, it may be a repetitive trek despite the game adding a new Forest Land territory.

A good part of the early game will see players take control of Beelzebub, and while on foot, gameplay is exactly what you’d expect from a third-person action RPG. Beelzebub can throw light and heavy attacks against foes, dodge attacks, and run around the map in search of treasures and new locales. Side quests are littered across the map, and you’ll be able to visit many towns that will be chock-full of more quests, items to purchase, and much more.

Throughout his adventures in Sand Land, Beelzebub will level up by beating up the various wild life strewn across the place. Combat is pretty straightforward, and in fact, it may be too straightforward for anyone looking for a more challenging and frenetic game. Beelzebub’s abilities are quite simple, often just allowing him a couple of more attacks under his belt, so don’t expect too much in the form of hand to hand combat because it quickly devolves into a button-mashing affair sprinkled with evasive maneuvers in between.

Sand Land’s combat also extends to Beelzebub’s companions, all of which can offer a different type of gameplay. Rao is more offensive minded, offering skills that puts a premium on an aggressive style of play. Ann’s skills are predominantly support-based, allowing HP recovery and the like, while Thief offers skills that increase loot and resource drops. While you don’t really control them, they’ll participate in battles often.

Similar to the story, combat is also serviceable, and while it doesn’t really excel, players will get by with some repetition. I found that most, if not all of the parts and aspects of Sand Land is just that – serviceable. The game doesn’t really bring anything new in terms of innovation or style, but it does so with just the right amount of polish to get by.

That said, the main draw of the game is found in its vehicular combat, which is fun and engaging, more than I expected it to be.

Blast through everyone

Vehicular combat in Sand Land is where the game shines, and thankfully, majority of your combat encounters will be done behind the drivers seat of the various contraptions you’ll be able to control. Throughout the game, players will gain access to a tank, a car, a jump-bot, a motorbike, and even a raptor, and it really feels like the game was built around this aspect.

Each of these vehicles control differently, with tanks being heavy and well armored but not too nimble, and motorbikes being fast and more suited for getting from point to point. These vehicles really provide personality to the game, and adds a whole new dimension not just in combat but in exploration as well.

One other enticing feature Sand Land has on offer is that these vehicles are not stock contrapions, but they can be fully customized as well. From various parts and weapons that offer various properties, to paint colors and even craftable weapon upgrades thanks to Ann, vehicles are where the game really shines, offering a huge number of combinations and setups that greatly affect playstyle and how these vehicles perform on the battlefield.

Vehicular combat in Sand Land is a stark difference compared to its normal hand-to-hand counterpart and it’s great that it is such a big part of the game that you’ll be spending most of your time on a seat rather than outside of it. We took around 24 hours to beat the game with a sprinkle of side quests here and there to unlock the other vehicles, and while parts of the adventure were nothing out of the ordinary, the vehicles were really a bright spot for this title.

Verdict: Wait for it…

Sand Land is a serviceable anime title that breaks the mold in some way because it isn’t another arena battler. This action rpg, while basic and straightforward in most aspects, gets by as a serviceable title that fans of the manga can look forward to.

What stands out the most is its vehicular combat, and is clearly the star of the show. It’s many vehicle types, upgrades, and distinct playstyles are all fun and engaging, and it does feel that the game was really built around this main feature. There’s a lot to uncover here, with many parts to discover, and Sand Land does redeem itself in this aspect as it basically becomes anime Mad Max.

*Sand Land was reviewed on a PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.