Sand Land

Whether you dig Sand Land’s vibes and want to go full Mad Max with its combat or experience one of Akira Toriyama’s classic stories told in a fresh package, Bandai Namco and ILCA sold me on this world and its characters, and if you give it a try, you might just get sucked in like quicksand.

Sand Land proves once again that Akira Toriyama and video games are a perfect match.

Sand Land for Xbox Series X|S not only does a great job bringing one of Akira Toriyama’s arguably lesser-known works to life, but is also a lovely way to say goodbye to a man who has had an incredibly huge impact on Japan’s manga and anime industry as well as the world of video games. Although it’s not necessarily an evolutionary experience on the action RPG front, it should still be a fun ride from start to finish for fans of the genre and source material.

Sand Land is a charming ARPG romp thanks to its madcap cast of vehicles that manages not only to faithfully adapt Akira Toriyama’s vision, but to expand on it in his trademark style to create something that will delight newcomers and old-school manga-heads alike.

SAND LAND is a fun JRPG with an emphasis on fun vehicular combat and an enjoyable story, and it is very playable on the Steam Deck.

Much like the vast desert making up nearly everything in it, Sand Land can be rough and coarse at times, yet also provides a lot of beauty in various ways. The story is great, the characters are an enjoyable lot, and the vehicular combat and traversal are superb, marred only by annoying travel dialogue and bland levels at times. Whether you're a fan of the great Toriyama's work or not, there's still something special here to check out if you're willing to put in the effort.

Sand Land's another disappointing case of Licensed Anime: The Game.

Sand Land's vehicular combat is entertaining from start to finish, but bizarre progression pacing and the repetitive nature of the side content makes this a hard sell for those approaching the series for the first time.

“Sand Land is a definitive adaption of a great Akira Toriyama manga, but just fine as a game.”

Simplicity is the name of the game here, but you'll still come away happy.

The sweet heart of Toriyama beats here, but it alone can’t help to make Sand Land compelling for most.

You're better off just watching the anime.