Sand Preview – A song can have value

Third-person survival horror games are experiencing a real renaissance. Horror Song, Tormented Souls, The Medium… they’re all trying to bring back the heyday of the old Resident Evil games and Silent Hill. The Sand Fits well into that list. During a preview at Gamescom 2022, I briefly caught a glimpse of the game’s third chapter.

Canadian developer Brass Token takes you to a spiritual retreat in The Sands of America’s Pacific Northwest. The camp is nestled among the beautiful pine forests and rugged mountains of a state like Oregon or Washington. In the midst of that natural beauty, various characters try to find peace or process old trauma. However, one of the rituals goes wrong, causing demons from another dimension to emerge.

In a series of episodes, you control various characters trying to navigate the chaos surrounding the retreat. As mentioned, the gameplay is a throwback to survival horror in the new millennium. You’ll explore eerie environments in third person. You collect items to solve puzzles, and you occasionally have to fight scary creatures. The pacing and some of the animations (especially during melee combat) are reminiscent of the underrated Silent Hill: Downwar. In other words, the game is firmly in the AA camp. This is certainly not meant as a criticism, after all, there is a severe lack of good AA games in this generation.

However, The Sand creates some unpleasant AA vibes at times. Graphically, the game leaves a mixed impression. Some elements, such as character models, are more detailed. Other things, including context, lack inspiration. Performance is also not entirely stable this time around, with sudden frame drops and screen tearing. Finally, the combat felt a lot more ‘floaty’ this time around. It was sometimes unclear when attacks were registered, and it was difficult to react quickly in battles. Apparently the brass token is in the budget. Hopefully the final game will cover this up successfully.

In terms of gameplay, The Sand stands out because you don’t have three different life bars: mind, body, and spirit. The mind descends when you are in the dark and experience terrible things. The body goes back down when you are physically attacked. The soul can finally be reduced by psychic attacks. Each of them has its own implications, because if you lose your mind, for example, you’ll have a panic attack, which makes you vulnerable during combat. All three should be supplemented in other ways. This is how you get your mind back by smelling lavender or standing in a pool of light.

Mantra has many possibilities. While the game feels a bit clumsy at times – especially the fights that ‘float’ too much – the emphasis on a unique atmosphere and deep story is promising. It remains to be seen if The Chant can get a true song of praise, but a diamond in the rough certainly seems possible. The game will be released on November 3, 2022.