Shortly after the untimely news of Akira Toriyama’s passing, Wccftech was invited to visit Bandai Namco’s California campus for one of the last hands-on opportunities before Sand Land’s launch next April. In a more in-depth experience than last year’s Summer Game Fest, we were invited out to freely explore the first couple of chapters of this open-world adventure.
As the Prince of Demons and son of Lucifer, players take up the mantle of Beelzebub, a spunky little pink devil that’s not too far removed from the aliens of the week that pop up throughout Toriyama’s most famous of works, Dragon Ball. Sand Land itself is a turn-of-the-millennium era manga that barely filled out a single volume (fourteen chapters in all) revolving around Beelzebub and a motley crew venturing out on foot and wheel in search of water. It’s a plot not too far gone from other post-apocalyptic adventures set within the Mad Max or Fallout universes. Despite being only a brief volume to tell, Sand Land already features a full-length animated film as well as a separate animation series on Disney+ and Hulu, depending on your locale.
After being dropped relatively early on in the story, our session began after Beelzebub meets up with and befriends two of his most trusted allies, Sheriff Rao and a thief simply named Thief. The opening moments of our session already have Beelzebub with a few different vehicles in his possession, each having a different role for the open world. The signature tank that appears on the cover is a standard addition to the arsenal but other vehicles like a motorcycle and hovercraft each have their uses for traversal or racing competitions. A waterlogged dungeon that serves as one of the main places to explore on foot is nigh impassable without using the hovercraft to cross the straits. After all, what are the odds a demon that’s searching for water in a barren desert would know how to swim?
Each vehicle behaves a bit differently in regards to getting around and comes with a variety of equippable gear and weapons. New gear is limited by the level of Beelzebub and the vehicle it’s attached to, so finding a shiny new shotgun in a treasure chest might take some grinding and upgrading before it can be equipped. With so much of the adventure in the open world, taking the time to properly maintain your tanks and level them up will make venturing out into the Sand Land a much more beneficial experience.
Outside of the tank, Sand Land has some issues standing up on its own two feet. Beelzebub has some melee prowess but the forced stealth segments rely on trial and error to sneak past omnipresent guards that can only be incapacitated by sneaking behind them and scaring them into unconsciousness. There are some combos to play around with in the serviceable ground combat but if you ask me, the vehicle segments are where Sand Land will truly shine.
Out in the open world, I caught wind of the usual trappings that most modern sandbox adventures have. Points of interest every twenty paces, random encounters with bosses (in this case, the giant Geji Dragons that harassed Beelzebub’s crew in the first episode of the newly released anime), and even giant towers that, while they can’t be traversed, do open up the map with new points of interest. Thankfully, a generous fast travel system makes getting around Sand Land a quicker trek if you don’t want to drive kilometers at a time across a barren and desolate landscape.
Sand Land is developed by ILCA, published by Bandai Namco, and will be available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC (Steam) starting April 26th, 2024. A free demo can now be downloaded on all platforms.
