OK is this actually good??

[Ceph Seven]

I understand if everyone is review-blessing it for Holy Father Toriyama, bless his eternal soul in heaven 🙏, but is the game actually good objectively because I have very low expectations based on the demo. But I do wanna give it a fair shake still.

[Moon Rabbit]

The game is a lot better than the demo let on.

[Deadoon]

The demo was all about the gameplay of a few vehicles, the actual game has a lot more to it than that.
Story is quite nice thus far, the vehicle gameplay is actually MUCH more varied than the demo let on, active abilities for party are useful and a lot of side objectives to have fun with.

[Diernayr]

The game is really, really good. The demo does not reflect the full release at all. Im 16 hours in and loving it and stuck on two puzzles, probably because im 16 hours in already and should probably take a break. :P

Thats with skipping the cutscenes, which are like full episodes by themselves.

[null]

Gameplay feels better than in Demo. Demo gave you too many tools at once, so you had no context to understand their use/value. It's the same problem if you go into a RPG with maxed out save. In Full game you gradually build the arsenal so each individual item has a clearer purpose.

World is ubisoft stuff, but more lienear. Dungeons you find in open world are either just rooms or linear corridors with very short obvious branches. This side of exploration is bad, but reading other replies, I'm hoping it improves.

RPG stuff feels a bit better, because again I'm not overwhelmed with options, and because difficult leans onto stats which you gain through RPG stuff. I think it has dynamic leveling though, so I expected this to go sour.

The one story dungeon I explored was not linear and actually had exportable sections that actually rewarded me with equipment, WHICH due to RPG not being wattered down (yet. I have low hopes) felt rewarding.

Story flow is very nice. This is doubly true if you consider this is an anime game AND an open world game, which traditionally suck at it.

[frostiest]

Game is a lot fun. A little repetitive in the side quest department and the dialogue of your party is also really repetitive, but the game is a lot fun.

[J-Cool]

The demo was ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. The game is actually pretty good.

[St0rmwielder]

Originally posted by Ceph Seven:

I understand if everyone is review-blessing it for Holy Father Toriyama, bless his eternal soul in heaven 🙏, but is the game actually good objectively because I have very low expectations based on the demo. But I do wanna give it a fair shake still.

As someone who has no idea who Toriyama is and what Sandland is, i'm enjoying my time quite a bit. It's a very basic/dumb action shooter/brawler but it has quite some heart. I like the characters, voice acting and setting just as much as the dumb-fun vehicle combat. The desert is....a desert. A few ubisoft markers here and there but nothing like Elden Ring. The Fun-factor is high for me though, and that's what matters. Everything works, it runs great(even on a Steam Deck) and it's a nice throwback to Dragon Ball(has the same art style than the DB anime). Kakarot didn't even nearly catch that visual vibe as much as Sandland does. Plus the soundtrack is pretty cool and compliments the(to me) "weird" setting and world. Is it a great game that will earn top scores? Nah. Is it a FUN to play game? Absolutely.

[thewalkingdeadadventure]

Is the game worth playing.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally posted by thewalkingdeadadventure:

Is the game worth playing.

Yes but I would wait a bit to see what is required to 100% the game, because currently the achievements are weird/buggy/confusing/terribly-worded and it’s driving people nuts who bought it first week.

Other than that, the gameplay is 5 or 6/10 but the story & characters are like 8.5/10. Get it for the experience and the journey, which is prob like 50+ hours if you want to complete everything. Possibly shorter as more guides come out showing where everything is.

The side quests range from mediocre vanilla to some beautiful and touching sequences, such as a mission where a demon cures a little girl of blindness. I would take your time with the story and enjoy it, because it has a lot to offer in that regard- you may be pleasantly surprised.

My biggest complaints are the invisible walls everywhere & general buggy nature of a game that is supposed to be exploratory by design, and all the confusion with the achievements that I mentioned earlier.

So it’s absolutely worth the price imo as long as you know what you’re getting, and where its strengths and weaknesses are.

[null]

Originally posted by thewalkingdeadadventure:

Is the game worth playing.

I can only see 2 reason to play it

• Vehicle combat. In terms of gameplay it is the only thing in the entire game that is polished enough to be engaging. The open world, RPG side, exploration are really shallow.
  
• Story/Animation.

I suppose if you enjoy bloated open world games, where you just mindlessly go from point A to point B to check boxes, this has a lot of it too.