Caravan SandWitchis a spacey new release from developer Plane Toast, available on PC, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. It’s a hodgepodge of genres, pulling elements from narrative adventures, puzzlers, simulations and science-fiction. The main character, Sauge, isn’t your mother’s Lara Croft. Sure, she’s bold and stubborn with a penchant for both climbing and ziplines, but she perfectly balances lightheartedness and love with determination and wit. Do you like space, adventure, driving and puzzles? If so, this one’s for you. If not? Well, you should still give it a chance – it might surprise you!
September Release Window Set For Cozy Adventure Game Caravan SandWitch
Get ready for an epic, chill, sci-fi road trip, as Studio Plane Toast’s exploration adventure game Caravan SandWitch is set to come out soon.
Finding Your Sister Isn’t Easy, It Turns Out
You play as Sauge, a red-head with a penchant for climbing on structurally unsound buildings. Sauge is looking for her sister, Garance, after receiving a distress signal from her ship. The kicker? It’s been almost a decade since Garance went missing. Sauge, who’s currently participating in space pilot training with the Consortium, comes back home to rural Cigalo to investigate. There, she’s met with a diverse cast of friends, famil, and mentors, but no Garance. Sauge teams up with Garance’s close friend, Nefle, to venture out into the desert to find her sister once and for all. Oh yeah, and there’s a mysterious witch who may or may not appear at the edges of your vision as you traverse the planet. No biggie.
The characters are the heart ofCaravan SandWitch. The story ultimately highlights themes of empathy, forgiveness and community, all of which are present in every interaction between characters. Everyone helps everyone else out in Cigalo; there isn’t much space for selfishness when everyone pitches in. The two biggest characters (aside from Sauge and Garance) are Nefle and Rose. Nefle is a gearhead, through and through. They love tinkering, building and prototyping, which is almost always what you’ll find them doing when you meet in their garage. The elderly Rose acts more as a mentor to Sauge, often dropping subtle suggestions or kind encouragement (although she doesn’t always approve of your adventures).
Living Out a Geocacher’s Dream
The gameplay inCaravan SandWitchis straightforward, for the most part. You get in a big yellow van, drive around, get out and climb some things to find an item or part. There are moments where I wished it was more polished, though. There are areas that you can’t truly access until the final tool is added to the van, which I wish I had known prior to spending over an hour of gameplay in an attempt to access these areas. Speaking of the van, it took me about four of the six chapters in the game to feel confident in my driving abilities. Think about the Mako fromMass Effect; now picture a cute version of it with an inability to climb mountains. That’s your van. The driving can be wonky, but it isn’t enough to put me off from enjoying the overall experience.
All the issues I’ve faced in-game have been immediately solved by the wealth of options offered via UI. There’s one section of the map where you fall through the floor if you attempt to climb the walls in the frog cave. It ports you below the map, but the option to teleport back to the van is a lifesaver. Similarly, I used one of the teleportation machines during the end of the game, and it wouldn’t let me out. Due to the narrative at that point in time, you’re not given the option to return to the van. I went back to the main menu, clicked on my save and hit the restore button. Lo and behold, there are options to reset your save by increments of time; hitting the four-minute button returns you to your van and allows you to continue playing without any issues. There are so many more features offered in the settings, butCaravan SandWitchhas obviously been designed to be as relaxed and accessible as possible in terms of gameplay.
Embrace the Adorable Blobs
One of my only complaints about this game is the fuzziness of it all. The art style is already simplistic, but most of the game seems unfocused or incomplete if you look at your environment. I get motion sick easily, and I was only able to play around three hours a day because of the odd textures and choppy gameplay. This probably won’t be an issue for most people, but it has detracted from my own experience. As mentioned above, this game has a simple shaded polygonal art style. It works for the game and the vibrancy of the colors used makes the style pop. The characters are charming and unique-looking, but the animals/creatures in the game are adorable. Whether you’re trying to catch an axolotl-lookalike or talk to a giant frog, you’re almost guaranteed to be overloaded by cuteness.
Musicality is a big deal inCaravan SandWitch. Throughout your travels, you’ll come across quite a few radios that play chill music when toggled on. It’s a lesson in mindfulness, allowing you to take a break from exploring to soak in the view with some calming tunes. The soundtrack is great; it feels like the perfect marriage of French lyrics with Arabic-inspired instrumentals (including lots of string and wind instruments). The characters speak out loud, but it’s unintelligible unless you read the speech bubbles.
UnlikeAnimal Crossing, however, each character’s speaking noises have their own tone and cadence. One character’s voice may sound light, almost like tinkling bells; another may sound heavy and reminiscent of a stone falling. It’s a hard concept to describe and an even harder one to execute. The fact that the game does this with more than ten characters is impressive, especially for such a new studio.
Vibing to Those Sweet Mountain Tunes
Closing Comments:
Caravan SandWitchexceeds expectations by building upon the success of similar games with a laid-back vibe. This game has depth, an interesting narrative and a fleshed out supporting cast, which are elements that most cozy games fail to achieve through gameplay. While the game may occasionally lag or include missed bugs, its all-around quality isn’t dampened at all.
Caravan SandWitch
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Caravan SandWitch is a low-key science fiction adventure game with lots of puzzles. Utilize your trusty van and diverse group of friends to uncover the mystery surrounding your sister’s disappearance on the planet of Cigalo.
