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Sands of Salzaar

Sands of Salzaar Game Cover
78%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, stability
78% User Score Based on 1,869 reviews

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Sands of Salzaar Game Cover

About

Sands of Salzaar is a single player role playing game. It was developed by 汉家松鼠Han-Squirrel Studio and was released on December 15, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Sands of Salzaar" is an action-packed game set in a desert kingdom filled with rival tribes and remnants of a fallen empire. Players can choose their path, forming alliances, conquering territories, and embarking on a fantastical adventure. However, be aware that there may be unexpected bugs in the DLC version, and the developers appreciate any feedback through the provided links.

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Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
Sands of Salzaar screenshot
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78%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,869 reviews
story112 positive mentions
grinding72 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique blend of genres, combining elements of Mount & Blade and ARPG combat, which provides a refreshing gameplay experience.
  • There is a lot of character customization and a variety of heroes and units to recruit, making each playthrough feel distinct.
  • The game has a charming art style and engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • The translation is often poor, with many parts still in Chinese, leading to confusion about quests and mechanics.
  • Combat can feel chaotic and unbalanced, with players often getting stunlocked or overwhelmed by enemy reinforcements.
  • The quest system lacks clear markers and guidance, making it frustrating to track down objectives and complete missions.
  • story
    700 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Sands of Salzaar" is a mixed bag, with many players finding it convoluted and poorly translated, leading to confusion and frustration during quests. While some appreciate the depth and variety of character storylines, others criticize the repetitive fetch quests and lack of clear direction, making it difficult to engage with the narrative. Overall, the game offers an interesting world with potential for storytelling, but suffers from execution issues that detract from the experience.

    • “The main story is decent enough, but the story for each character is where it really shines.”
    • “The story is immersive, there're lots of things to do, with different skills, troops, and equipment to grind.”
    • “The game has a nice flow and with some trial and error the lack of English language can be tackled, at least I manage to progress the story and have a ton of fun.”
    • “The main story was an almost incomprehensible, elaborate fetch quest with some interesting ideas, which even on story mode you can just ignore for in-game years while you do your own thing, and doing your own thing is what this game is all about.”
    • “I couldn't bring myself to complete the main story; I really tried to force myself to do it just to say I'd completed it, but I got to the stage where you have to find all the faction leaders and get them to sign something, and I nearly died of boredom.”
    • “The story is so bland that you don't even remember half of it.”
  • gameplay
    290 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique blend of mechanics reminiscent of titles like "Mount & Blade" and "Diablo," while others criticize it for being repetitive, poorly explained, and plagued by bugs. Many users noted that the game features an engaging combat system and strategic elements, but the lack of clear tutorials and translation issues hinder the overall experience, leading to frustration and a grindy feel. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects and potential for depth, the execution leaves much to be desired, making it a hit or miss for players.

    • “Great 2D army builder with an intricate skill system and talent tree, smooth combat gameplay, and great replayability.”
    • “An engaging gameplay loop, insanely broken builds, and awesome strategic battles, what doesn't this game have?”
    • “The gameplay is good, the storytelling and soundtrack is perfect for the scenario; my only problem is that the modding community always uploads Chinese mods, making it hard for me to play it again and again.”
    • “Tiny map, lame quests, overly sexualized female characters coupled with repetitive gameplay and just an all-around grindy feel make this game difficult to play.”
    • “The gameplay is deeply disappointing and I struggle to keep interest in the game.”
    • “The gameplay is horrible, with an overhead map made in RPG Maker and a battle map where you autobattle some bad guys.”
  • graphics
    108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are characterized by a unique and charming art style that many players find appealing, often likening it to anime or hand-drawn aesthetics. While some reviews note that the graphics can be simple or lack advanced detail, they are generally considered immersive and consistent with the game's setting. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, despite occasional performance issues and a desire for more complexity.

    • “The graphics of the world look nice and hand-drawn while the moving character animations are smooth and clean.”
    • “I love the Persian-Arabic setting mixed with Chinese aesthetic; it is lovely.”
    • “The artwork is fantastic, the abilities are interesting, and there are way more troop types than I expected.”
    • “Terrible graphics.”
    • “The game is not graphically advanced, but it can often stutter.”
    • “The graphics are pretty in their own way but far from spectacular.”
  • grinding
    72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a significant drawback, often describing it as tedious and repetitive, with many quests revolving around fetch tasks and combat that lacks depth. While some enjoy the challenge and the satisfaction of progression, the excessive grinding for resources, gear, and reputation can detract from the overall experience, leading to feelings of frustration and monotony, especially in the late game. Despite these criticisms, the game still appeals to those who appreciate a grind-heavy RPG experience.

    • “Tiny map, lame quests, overly sexualized female characters coupled with repetitive gameplay and just an all-around grindy feel make this game difficult to play.”
    • “Grindy - all the quests in the game are basically fetch-quests and such, and they repeat constantly.”
    • “The gameplay is somewhat simple; there are no wages, no crafting, dungeons and boss fights are just tedious.”
  • music
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its charm and fitting atmosphere, while others find it repetitive and mismatched with gameplay. Many appreciate the unique styles, such as jazz and funky tunes, but express frustration over the limited variety and looping tracks that can become tiresome over extended play. Overall, while the soundtrack has its highlights, it often fails to maintain engagement throughout the game.

    • “The music is excellent in this game.”
    • “The music fits the setting and I personally like it a lot.”
    • “The art and music are nice, and give a lot of charm.”
    • “The music in some parts is awful, to the point I had to turn it off for a while.”
    • “After 10 hours in, I am just really sick of the combat music and would rather just turn the sound off to get through the fights.”
    • “Most of the soundtrack doesn't match the gameplay or the theme at all.”
  • replayability
    54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts high replayability, with players praising its intricate skill systems, diverse character classes, and the ability to customize gameplay through various mechanics like a legacy system and mod support. Many reviewers highlight that each playthrough can feel unique due to different character builds and strategies, making it enjoyable to revisit. Overall, the combination of engaging gameplay and extensive options contributes to its nearly infinite replay value.

    • “There's a lot of replayability - one can build your party and army many different ways and there are various options when it comes to conquering various factions and tribes.”
    • “Playing a different class makes this game more replayable because it won't be the same as the last run since you will have a different playstyle and different skills.”
    • “Very high replayability with a wide array of skillsets to choose from during character creation to tweak your own unique build.”
    • “However, don't be put off by that; once you put a few hours into the game, you'll realize how deep this game potentially can be and how much replayability it has.”
    • “Quite a bit of replayability via multiple starts (classes), earning points in a sort of heritage system allowing you to tack on more starting perks, allowing your next run to go smoother, or more tailored to your play style.”
    • “Replayability is meh.”
  • stability
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting various bugs, glitches, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these problems, many express frustration over game-breaking bugs, unresponsive controls, and balance issues. Overall, the game is seen as promising but currently plagued by instability, leading to a recommendation to wait for further updates before fully engaging with it.

    • “As it stands, the released version is bug-free but lacking some features, so it feels polished!”
    • “The game runs smoothly without any crashes, providing a stable experience throughout.”
    • “I appreciate how the developers have prioritized stability, ensuring a seamless gameplay experience.”
    • “This game is promising in concept, but it's very buggy and an unbalanced, frustrated mess at its core.”
    • “At level 13, my progression is lost due to a bug that freezes the game without errors; I can't progress and have wasted time and effort just when things get interesting.”
    • “The released version is even more buggy than the beta; character quests cannot be completed.”
  • optimization
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting frequent stuttering, game-breaking bugs, and performance degradation over extended play sessions. While some users note that it runs smoothly on lower-end systems, many express frustration over poor stability, missing translations, and a lack of polish, making the experience feel unrefined and reminiscent of an early access title. Overall, significant improvements are needed to enhance the game's performance and user experience.

    • “Models for enemies are not exactly pretty, but I actually like them in their simplicity. They're good enough to distinguish what the unit is and its main traits, but vague enough that imagination can cover the details (and performance doesn't tank in massive battles with 300 models on screen at the same time).”
    • “The performance has been a constant 60 fps on max settings on my 7-year-old system with rather weak specs.”
    • “Performance-wise, it's a pretty low-demand game, so you won't really run into any lag. I never ran into any lag, and if you look at the specs required for this game, you can tell that you don't really need much to run it.”
    • “There are lots of issues with the optimization of the game.”
    • “The game itself is pretty good, but the stability and performance are both terrible.”
    • “It feels like an unpolished early access with all the missing translations, sound stuttering, frame drops, and skills getting randomly locked out and won't cast for 10+ seconds in combat (when they are off cooldown).”
  • humor
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as genuinely funny, with engaging dialogue and amusing graphics reminiscent of classic Super Nintendo titles. Players find humor in both the quirky pathfinding issues and the challenges faced during battles, which add a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience. Overall, the combination of witty writing and comedic gameplay elements contributes to a hilariously addictive adventure.

    • “So, saddle up, sharpen your sword, and dive into this hilariously addictive adventure.”
    • “Apparently I got it right after a bigger English translation update, so for the most part the dialogue was even funny (like haha funny, not like weird funny).”
    • “The graphics are hilarious and resemble Super Nintendo games I played when I was young.”
  • atmosphere
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive world-building, engaging story, and relaxing vibe, which collectively enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the art style and RPG mechanics, noting that these elements work harmoniously to create a satisfying environment. However, some find the kingdom management aspect confusing, which can detract from the enjoyment of exploration and conquest.

    • “The art style, the writing, the atmosphere, the battles, the story, the RPG mechanics are all amazing and work together like bread and butter!”
    • “This is a pity, because the game has a good atmosphere and was - it seems to me - made with a lot of love and attention.”
    • “The atmosphere is relaxing.”
    • “The atmosphere, open world exploration, combat, and unit progression are what keep me playing.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate a mixed emotional response to the game, with some players feeling a lack of investment in the randomly-generated story and characters, while others express a desire for customization and aesthetic appeal. The emotional engagement appears limited, with critiques highlighting a disconnect between the game's narrative and players' ability to form meaningful connections. Overall, the emotional depth is seen as lacking, overshadowed by superficial elements.

    • “The few units I collected early on made me feel like it'd be fun to customize different units to lead into battle later on, when more options became available.”
    • “I don't care if a random NPC had a heartwarming conversation with a widow.”
    • “Well, I'm just giving my emotional opinion about it, so you'll find better reviews with that type of info, probably above or below this very review.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with users criticizing it as a cash grab due to the high cost of expansions and a perceived lack of content in the base game. Some reviewers feel that the game resembles poorly executed mobile game ads, while others appreciate the value of the early access offering, highlighting a contrast between it and other games that rely on expensive DLC.

    • “Can already tell this is going to turn out to be a bad game. It wasn't that great when I got it, and now there's an expansion for $15 when the non-expansion felt incomplete. Crazy cash grab right there. 1 star for me and never playing it again.”
    • “Everything wrong with the game makes it feel like it was a rushed cash grab.”
    • “A lot of scenarios reminiscent of those YouTube ads for mobile games that don't exist.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is highlighted by impressive character designs and a diverse array of NPCs and companions, which are considered strong points of the game. However, players express a desire for more depth in the skill tree, suggesting that additional legacy skills and customizable effects could enhance the overall character progression experience.

    • “Her character design and skill tree options make her the perfect tank.”
    • “Surprisingly good variety in NPC and companion character design; one of the strongest points, in my opinion.”
    • “I would love to see at least double the number of legacy skills and perhaps a skill builder that allows you to add effects like 'dash' and set variables for range, then chain it into something like 'AOE', 'knockback', 'draw in', etc. This system would allow you to comprehensively fill gaps in character design.”
    • “I would love to see at least double the number of legacy skills and perhaps a skill builder that allows you to add effects like 'dash' and set variables for range, then chain it into something like 'aoe', 'knockback', 'draw in', etc., because the current skills just feel like they're (perhaps purposely) lacking some punch, and this system would allow you to comprehensively fill gaps in character design, but I can also understand why the systems might be the way they are.”
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16h Median play time
25h Average play time
10-34h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 26 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Sands of Salzaar is a role playing game.

Sands of Salzaar is available on PC, Windows, Cloud and NVIDIA GeForce NOW.

On average players spend around 25 hours playing Sands of Salzaar.

Sands of Salzaar was released on December 15, 2021.

Sands of Salzaar was developed by 汉家松鼠Han-Squirrel Studio.

Sands of Salzaar has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Sands of Salzaar is a single player game.

Similar games include Wartales, Disciples: Liberation, Alaloth: Champions of The Four Kingdoms, Deep Sky Derelicts, Eador. Masters of the Broken World and others.