Sandwalkers

About

Sandwalkers is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Goblinz Studio and was released on April 8, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Sandwalkers" is a single-player game that offers about 3 hours of playtime and is filled with bugs. The game follows the Mka tribe's caravan of adventurers as they travel through the Phithi, facing hostile environments, monsters, and pirates. Their mission is to establish alliances, explore, and reclaim lands, and ultimately plant a new tree city and send memories back to the capital using crystospheres. The game emphasizes the importance of hope and faith in the mission to protect the caravaneers in this challenging desert landscape.

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 247 reviews

story33 positive mentions

stability15 negative mentions

The game features a rich fantasy world with engaging lore and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
Combat mechanics are enjoyable, with a variety of skills and strategies that keep battles interesting and challenging.
The exploration aspect is rewarding, with plenty of events and interactions that encourage players to engage with the environment.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including memory leaks and long loading times that disrupt gameplay.
Resource management can be overly punishing, leading to frequent deaths from starvation and making early runs frustrating.
Balancing issues exist, particularly with enemy scaling and the effectiveness of certain character abilities, which can lead to unbalanced encounters.

story
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
4%
The game's story is a central focus, featuring rich world-building and intriguing narratives that captivate players, though many feel the storytelling lacks cohesion and clarity. While the quests and dialogue are plentiful, numerous bugs hinder quest completion and disrupt the overall experience, leaving players frustrated. Despite these issues, the art and atmosphere are praised, suggesting that with further development, the game could fulfill its potential as a compelling narrative-driven experience.
- “Overall, if you like an interesting world with a captivating story, you should give this a try.”
- “The voice work, art, animation, character design, music, and storytelling are all phenomenal.”
- “The story and the world are interesting, music is excellent, art style and graphics are pleasing.”
- “Only weak point is the actual storytelling - although I read all the text, I felt like I was left in the dark and many things didn't really connect into a cohesive story.”
- “The repeated caravan roguelike mechanic in particular is wasted because you'll probably beat it after 3-4 runs max. There are a ton of other mechanics that never really go anywhere, plot threads that just end abruptly, that sort of thing.”
- “The game has an undeniable charm, with its story, world-building, and artworks, despite being mired down by several glaring shortcomings at the moment.”
gameplay
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
72%
3%
The gameplay is characterized by a basic fantasy combat system enhanced by a unique armor mechanic and a reputation system that adds depth without overwhelming consequences. While the exploration and resource management aspects are engaging, players note issues such as a lack of core mechanics at the start, frequent bugs, and a somewhat repetitive experience due to the ambush mechanic and limited variety in gameplay elements. Overall, the game offers a satisfying loop with potential for improvement, particularly in balancing and expanding its mechanics.
- “The gameplay loop is surprisingly addictive.”
- “The core gameplay loop and playing around supplies is fun.”
- “Delightful game with amazing immersion and really fun new gameplay mechanics that really make you feel like a part of the world in a cool and engaging way.”
- “There are a lot of gameplay elements that make playing the game stale or repetitive.”
- “The game has a great foundation but is currently bloated by pointless mechanics, optimization issues, lack of difficulty, and game-breaking bugs.”
- “The repeated caravan roguelike mechanic in particular is wasted because you'll probably beat it after 3-4 runs max. There are a ton of other mechanics that never really go anywhere, plot threads that just end abruptly, that sort of thing.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
29%
9%
The graphics of the game receive a generally positive reception, with many players praising the aesthetic quality, unique art style, and atmospheric visuals, particularly in the context of 2D pixel art. While some users noted technical issues and a lack of detail, the overall charm and compelling design of the world and characters were highlighted as standout features. However, a few reviews mentioned that despite the appealing graphics, gameplay could feel tedious at times.
- “The world feels atmospheric, the desert theme is well done, and the visuals bring it to life.”
- “Amazing visuals and music are top-tier all the way through.”
- “The art style is top-notch and the amount of characters to choose from is actually crazy.”
- “Bad graphic detail and boring gameplay.”
- “Graphical errors: bugged info screens that stay up.”
- “The game has an undeniable charm, with its story, world-building, and artworks, despite being mired down by several glaring shortcomings at the moment.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many users praising its quality and nostalgic feel, reminiscent of classic titles. It enhances the overall experience, contributing to the game's atmosphere and presentation, although some players noted issues with stuttering that can detract from enjoyment. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, with many expressing a desire for the original soundtrack to be available on platforms like Spotify.
- “The voice work, art, animation, character design, music, and storytelling are all phenomenal.”
- “The visual, setting, narrative, and especially the music, are all great.”
- “It doesn't affect the gameplay in any way, but stuttering music will make your ears bleed and this becomes annoying very quickly.”
- “The game was really hard, and I persevered, then on the first run I could actually do something, I progressed a lot and played for 2 hours, I encountered a fight, screen got black with the cursor and just music... restarted the game, same issue....”
- “I could just have the game run in the background while I work, just for the music!”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
88%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting overwhelming bugs, balance issues, and frustrating glitches that hinder gameplay, particularly in the endgame and during sidequests. While some players find the game enjoyable and addictive despite these issues, many describe it as nearly unplayable at times, especially in its current early access state. Overall, while the developers are acknowledged to be working on fixes, the game's stability remains a major drawback.
- “Runs smoothly on Windows, providing a stable experience overall.”
- “While I don't expect a bug-free experience, the stability on my platform has been impressive.”
- “The game performs reliably, with only minor issues on Linux.”
- “I think this is the most frustrating, boring, primitive, buggy, terribly designed, unbalanced, poorly optimized, and infuriating experience I've had in a long time.”
- “It is so buggy, that I literally cannot finish some side quests which are necessary for 'completing' the game.”
- “Right now it's so buggy as to be unplayable at times - not leveling up characters when I do it, enemies not dying when I kill them, etc.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
94%
The reviews highlight a mixed perception of grinding in the game, with many players finding the exploration and resource management tedious and repetitive. While some appreciate the unique meta-progression and meaningful campaign advancements, others feel that the necessity to farm points and manage inventory detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more laborious than engaging. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a significant flaw that can overshadow the game's aesthetic appeal and initial fun.
- “The way the meta-progression unfolds is unique, and progressing in the campaign feels meaningful, not grindy.”
- “Grinding in this game is rewarding; every effort feels like it contributes to my overall growth.”
- “I appreciate how the game balances grinding with engaging content, making each session enjoyable.”
- “The intro was fun, but then everything in the game just starts to feel really tedious.”
- “Inventory management is super tedious in this game and is largely limited by the weight limit.”
- “You can't forfeit a run if you have some bad RNG at the start, as you have to die to enemies or starve to death, which wastes a lot of time and is tedious.”
optimization
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
47%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting frustrating performance issues, including stuttering music and game-breaking bugs. While the core gameplay and design show promise, the lack of polish and optimization detracts from the experience, leading to a desire for improvements before the full release. Some users remain hopeful that future updates will address these concerns, but current performance issues are a major drawback.
- “Technical performance, graphics, sound, narrative, etc. were all fantastic.”
- “While this game does still have some of the common early access problems like bugs with the quests or performance issues, I believe this is going to ultimately shape up as a very fun experience.”
- “I give a solid 8.2/10 for now; it would easily go to 9 with just better UI, performance, and balance.”
- “I think this is the most frustrating, boring, primitive, buggy, terribly designed, unbalanced, poorly optimized, and infuriating experience I've had in a long time.”
- “The game has a great foundation but is currently bloated by pointless mechanics, optimization issues, lack of difficulty, and game-breaking bugs.”
- “I am usually not too picky when it comes to bugs and performance issues, but this game has been out long enough and received content updates without this being an issue for them.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive lore, striking visuals, and well-executed desert theme, creating a captivating world that enhances the exploration and combat experience. Players appreciate the art style and the overall ambiance, although some wish for a less punishing resource management system.
- “The world feels atmospheric; the desert theme is well done, and the visuals bring it to life.”
- “The game is quite good; I enjoy the combat exploration, and the story is intriguing with a fantastic atmosphere.”
- “I find the gameplay loop to be quite satisfying since I'm a sucker for exploration and games with hefty atmospheres.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized for its lack of depth and relevance, with players finding the story and its resolutions to be unengaging and fragmented. Many reviewers express frustration with the repetitive gameplay and uninspiring narrative, leading to a diminished emotional connection and overall dissatisfaction.
- “So in this game, you will have boring fights for nothing every 2 minutes just because you want to read another boring storytelling of the main quest.”
- “You can do it without any limits, so now it's much easier for you to read this boring story in the late game.”
- “What discouraged me in the first place was the blah blah boring story (and I value a story the least when I rate a game!). Since there was nothing else to keep me playing, I refunded.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Character development is praised for its exceptional design and storytelling, with users highlighting the impressive voice work, animation, and music that enhance the overall experience. The inclusion of diverse, non-humanoid characters, such as snails, adds a unique and creative touch to the game's character roster.
- “The voice work, art, animation, character design, music, and storytelling are all phenomenal.”
- “Excellent concept, bonus points for non-humanoid-centric character design (snails are cool) and great storytelling.”
- “I liked the character design and how they all played.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game may lack significant replayability after completing the story, players appreciate the high-stakes decision-making that encourages multiple playthroughs. The potential for a sandbox mode in future updates could further enhance replayability by allowing for varied gameplay experiences.
- “Not sure if there's much replayability post-story here, but for me at least, it was definitely worth the ten bucks.”
- “There are some serious situations you'll run into and realize you're forced into bad decisions if you aren't prepared, well supplied, or just don't have the expertise on hand to address them, which makes narrowing down parties for what you want to do have stakes and tradeoffs that scream for replayability.”
- “But perhaps we could hope for some kind of sandbox mode at some point in the game's development to add replayability to the game.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a darkly comedic tone, as it highlights the absurdity of the caravans' deaths being portrayed as necessary sacrifices for the greater good. This juxtaposition of humor and serious themes adds a unique flavor to the narrative.
- “It's kind of funny: the game's story focuses on the caravans and how their continued deaths are necessary sacrifices to save the world.”
- “The humor in this game is brilliantly dark, making you laugh while contemplating the absurdity of the situation.”
- “I love how the game uses witty dialogue and unexpected scenarios to keep the humor fresh and engaging.”