Introduction
Embark on a journey with Caravan SandWitch, an exploration
adventure from Studio Plane Toast with their debut game.
After receiving a mysterious signal six years after your
sister’s disappearance, you return to your home planet and travelling in van,
you begin your search for her.
Epic road trip or tragic roadkill?
One of the standout features of Caravan SandWitch is its visual
and musical harmony during the experience.
The art style, crisp and reminiscent of RIME, beautifully
captures the desolate landscape and the NPCs residing in the world. However, our
protagonist, Sauge has an issue with her facial features which occasionally look
out of synch with the otherwise cohesive art style.
The music is tremendous, perfectly enhancing the cutscenes and providing relaxing music on the journey.
Narrative & Characters
Unfortunately, Caravan SandWitch falls short on weaving an emotional
tale akin to Journey or Abzu, nor delve into character depth like the game
Tacoma.
This is disheartening, given the rich narrative potential of
the protagonist searching for her sister on a planet abandoned by a resource-exploiting
mega-corporation. While the game attempts humour, it often misses, save for the
lactose-intolerant baby with an insatiable craving for cheese. Typically, game
endings ramp up the tempo as players are primed for its climax. Oddly, Caravan
SandWitch momentarily slows its pace during the revelation of the SandWitch’s
identity, providing additional details which at that point feel irrelevant.
Caravan SandWitch merely skims the surface when it comes to
character development, offering generic NPCs that fail to leave a lasting
impression. They lack the qualities to make them endearing or relatable.
Gameplay Loop & Mechanics
Gameplay loop and mechanics is where Caravan SandWitch
struggles and truly unravels.
The lack of variety quickly turns it into a monotonous
grind. The van, equipped with only two tools, that are only upgraded once,
offers minimal excitement. Whilst the scanner being functional, it is
uninspiring even after the hacking upgrade. The grappling hook, while more
enjoyable, only becomes more fun once the zipline ability is unlocked, sadly it
isn’t until around the halfway point of the game when this happens.
Side quests are mostly mundane fetch quests, lacking any
meaningful impact on the world. Collecting cuddly toys was a rare highlight,
though thankfully limited to just six, as I feel if there were more it would
have become a chore to find them. Hacking the terminals provided brief glimpses
into past conversations of the residents but added little to the unfolding
story. More could have been done with vehicle customisation, allowing players
to pimp their ride to how they wanted it to look rather than the vehicle
appearance changing through story progression.
Curiously, Sauge is invincible, I tested this by making her fall from great heights, only to be able continue unscathed. This immortality feels out of place, as early on a character nearly dies from dehydration and exposure to the harsh conditions on the planet.
Bugs/Glitches
Every game has its share of bugs and glitches, and Caravan
SandWitch is not an exception. While most issues are minor and not
game-breaking, they are still annoying at times.
The camera, for instance, often shakes as if colliding with
an object in the environment but in most cases can be remedied by moving the
camera. Floating rocks/pebbles were a common sight during my exploration. Also,
some missions require the player to follow a highlighted route, and the mission
would restart occasionally even though I never left the designated path. Musical
and sound glitches occurred, with the game falling eerily silent before the
music abruptly kicked in. During the replay for an alternative ending, the
sound and music were almost non-existent detracting from the experience.
On the bright side, if you find yourself stuck in the landscape, you can quickly teleport back to the van. Similarly, if the van gets stuck, you can quickly return to the garage. This is a handy failsafe.
My Thoughts
Did I enjoy the game? Not really. Did I hate the game? Not
at all. It just didn’t quite hit the mark and left me feeling indifferent
towards it. Caravan SandWitch fails to provide a strong narrative,
well-developed characters and engaging gameplay, which leads to a flat
experience that is neither good nor bad.
I find the price tag for Caravan SandWitch a bit too high.
While the game length isn’t an issue, the quality leaves much to be desired,
making it not worth the cost to purchase.
Pros
- Visually stunning
- Music that captures the essence of the world
- Helpful failsafe on potential game breaking glitch
Cons
- Generic Characters
- Unremarkable Narrative
- Boring & Repetitive
