Indie Gaming Gems: 11th November to 17th November 2024

Everholm – PC – RPG – 11^th November

While searching for your sister, you find yourself transported to the enigmatic island of Everholm. This open-ended RPG places a strong emphasis on forging interpersonal relationships rather than battling creatures. Engage with the intriguing residents, uncover their secrets, and unravel the mysteries that shroud this captivating isle.

Familiar Friends: What’s Your Familiar? – PC – Visual Novel – 11^th November

Step into an enchanting world in this delightful and cosy visual novel. Embark on a quest to find your perfect familiar by answering a series of thought-provoking questions designed to reveal the one destined for you. In The Conjuring Chamber, you will meet quirky companions and forge new friendships in this magical journey.

Little Big Adventure: Twinsen’s Adventure – PC, PlayStation & Switch – Action Adventure - 11^th November

Immerse yourself in a remake of an iconic 90s classic, now with a stylish makeover and modernized gameplay. Step into the shoes of Twinsen, a former model citizen turned fugitive, as he battles against the clone occupation triggered by an evil scientist's invention of cloning and teleportation. Dive into a compelling narrative rich with deep themes, while exploring a planetoid inhabited by four species that once coexisted in harmony.

Debut Project: Cooking Café – PC & Switch – Simulation – 13^th November

As a new employee in a café, where you will not only take orders but also tackle exciting challenges to create recipes that will set social media abuzz. As the café's popularity skyrockets, you will attract big-name influencers and even gain your own devoted fans. Delight in crafting delicious pancakes, crepes, Hamburg steaks, cakes, omelettes, and more through 13 engaging cooking minigames.

Is This Game Trying to Kill Me? – PC – Horror – 13^th November

Dive into a chilling blend of horror and first-person puzzles as you find yourself trapped in a secluded cabin deep within the forest. The enigmatic owner proposes a sinister gam, play his computer game for a chance at freedom. However, as you delve deeper, it becomes clear that the cabin and the game are intertwined in ways you could never imagine. Soon, you realize that the true stake in this game is your very life.

Trainee Death Simulator – PC – Card Game – 13^th November

You are a Trainee Death, tasked with harvesting Souls to repay your insurmountable debt. As you navigate through random choice events, you will face intriguing options, do you slack off in bed since the debt seems never-ending, or follow your senior Reaper to earn extra Souls. Along the way, you will collect stylish outfits to keep your look fresh and unique.

Mindcop – PC, PlayStation & Switch – Puzzle – 14^th November

Mindcop, a captivating non-linear detective game. Seamlessly blending a story-driven adventure with real-time puzzle challenges, you take on the role of the notorious Mindcop. With the unique ability to delve into your suspects' minds, you uncover hidden secrets and untangle webs of deceit in a thrilling quest for the truth.

NAIRI: Rising Tide – PC & Switch – Adventure – 14^th November

Embark on an enthralling adventure in the vibrant oasis city, brimming with endearing characters, ancient ruins, and shadowy conspiracies, in the second chapter of NAIRI. This narrative puzzle adventure follows Nairi on a perilous journey to rescue her family, weaving a tale that will captivate your imagination.

Petit Island – PC, PlayStation, Switch & Xbox – Exploration Narrative – 14^th November

Welcome to the enchanting Petit Island, a tropical paradise brimming with life! Embark on a heartfelt journey to relive your grandpaw's youthful escapades. Explore the island and meet its unique inhabitants in this captivating open-world narrative exploration game, preserving his cherished memories before they fade away.

Inspector Waffles Early Days – PC – Action Adventure – 15^th November

A top-down detective adventure, brimming with point-and-click mechanics and inspired by the charm of classic Game Boy games. Step into the shoes of Waffles, a determined rookie inspector eager to prove his mettle. But tread carefully, your future arch-nemesis lurks in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Caravan SandWitch: Oasis or Sandstorm?

 

Developer: Studio Plane Toast

Publisher: Dear Villagers

Available Platforms: Epic, PS5, Steam & Switch

Review Platform: PS5

Genre: Exploration Adventure

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?

Graphics & Sound

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

Score: 5/10 – Stuck in the grey zone of mediocrity, neither here nor there.