Better check those desert dunes again Caravan SandWitch, someoneβs buried the lede. An open world you can explore in a few relaxed evenings? One that favours the joyous freeform sightseeing of an Elden Ring or Breath Of The Wild; where youβll scramble up vast industrial concrete ruins on scavenging missions for inquisitive frogs, instead of being nagged by bothersome checklists?
Ok, rain check on that last point. SandWitch canβt help but eventually funnel the freedom of ambling around in your chuffy yellow van into restrictive collect-a-thons. Still, for much of its breezy runtime, this oneβs a real panacea for gamingβs more bloated map-scourers. Plus, even when you are sent off to hamster-cheek scavenged components before making progress, thereβs very little in this world that doesnβt feel intentional. Sidequests and storytelling crumbs are deliberately scattered throughout, and each building is a thoughtful concrete puzzle box. It is, in brief, a nice time.
You play as Sauge, a spacefarer returned to her planet of Cigalo after receiving a distress signal from her missing sister. Cigaloβs a cheery place, though economically and environmentally devastated after being exploited by an evil spacecorp named The Consortium. Itβs populated by small settlements of people, some large talking frogs named the Reinetos, and the occasional friendly robot. Everythingβs friendly, as it goes - even gravity itself. Thereβs no danger, no death, no damage from flinging yourself off the tallest building you can find. Just helping out your desert buds, upgrading your van with more gadgets to solve puzzles, or working on finding exactly where Saugeβs sister has go to.
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