Caravan SandWitch Review (PS5) – Less Is Sometimes More

AAA games burnt me out on open-world games. The emphasis on size over density, the general emptiness that comes with said size, on top of some meaningless busy work to pad out the playtime. I’ve not got 80-100 hours to do the same revolving three things over and over, but do you know what I do have? A good 10-15 hours of sifting through every nook and cranny to find secrets, collectibles and experience a narrative along the way. The indie space is well on its way to taking back what open-world exploration games should feel like, and Caravan SandWitch is the latest in line to do it.

Caravan SandWitch is the debut from Plane Toast, a small remote studio based in South East France, and is a narrative-driven exploration game set in a sci-fi apocalyptic world. I immediately couldn’t help but compare it to Sable, as both have such similar gameplay whilst boasting a familiar but distinct art style. However, during my opening moments with the game, more influences became apparent. Games like Death Stranding, Life is Strange and Outer Wilds have varying degrees of influence here – and as someone who enjoys all of those comparisons, it felt like I was about to embark on something special.

The game is equal parts exploration on foot and with your titular caravan from the third-person perspective. My initial impressions were high, as I just immediately clicked with the vibe of it all. The world grabbed me right away, the soundtrack set an easy-going tone and the gameplay was simple yet effective. But is it enchanting like a Sand Witch? Or closer to getting sand in my shoes by the time I rolled credits? Let’s get into it.

Bewitched

You play as Sauge, a young worker who left her planet to live on a space station, due to the conditions at home. After receiving a distress signal from her older sister, presumed missing for 6 years, Sauge returns to Cigaro (her hometown) to find the source of that signal. Upon returning to Cigaro, the townspeople are left disconnected from each other with ominous signal jammers scattered throughout the open-world sandbox.

It’s a quaint set-up that shows glimmers of something much larger in scale, but it never quite gets there. Instead, the focus is on the game’s characters. You’ll reconnect with a plethora of people, from your old friends before you left, a species of toad-like aliens adjusting to your civilisation and nomads that live on the outskirts. However, I don’t think you spend enough time with any of them for it to be truly impactful on how you feel.

Because there are so many NPCs to meet on your journey, with a side objective to complete and fill out your time exploring, I never felt like I connected with anyone beyond the surface level. It’s cool to take a dip into people’s lives and fill in different aspects of the world-building but I ended up clicking through conversations more so than stopping to read them.

To spur you on to discover all that Cigaro has to offer, your journey through the 8-10 hours of Caravan SandWitch is to destroy the signal jammers, connect everyone together and find the distress call from your sister. There are a couple of twists and multiple endings you choose but again, I just wish there was more to feel involved in.

The Road Ahead

The gameplay, however, scratches that specific open-world checklist whilst not staying around too long. The signal jammers act as your Assassin’s Creed-type sync points that reveal parts of the in-game map and leave points of interest for you to go to. There are only a couple of types of things to find like a viewpoint or radio to add to your soundtrack but along your travels, you’ll come across quest items or components too.

Components more specifically differ in their rarity and collecting them helps you progress through the story of the game. Your Caravan starts off by being an all-terrain vehicle to get you from A to B, but by the end, you’ll have a few tools to help your journey. It all feels cohesive like the exploration isn’t just a side attraction but crucial for the story, all of it working in tandem and it’s incredibly satisfying to go through that cycle of finding components, points of interest or furthering a quest organically.

Different areas across the map require your Caravan to have its upgrades, but you’re never quite told where those places are or when you can go to them. I did stumble into places only being able to half-explore them and taking a mental note to come back, but because the playtime is reasonable and the map isn’t huge, it doesn’t feel like a complete waste of time.

The upgrades themselves are hacking tools to open doors, a hook to zip wire across or pull open doors, which later becomes electric to start up equipment found in the wild and an antenna that helps you scan for items and important features like doors, signal jammers etc. all of which have a fulfilling sense of progression that adds to the cohesion.

Caravan Kart

The driving itself is quite arcade feeling. Turns are sharp, the terrain just bounces your vehicle around with no real physics at play and it feels pretty smooth because of that. On foot has similar qualities as Sauge by default automatically climbs, unless you need to jump to a ledge, you can fall from whichever height and not take any damage and snap onto climbing ladders when there’s a button prompt.

It feels like those low-stakes Plane Toast promised on their Steam page. There are no fail states or any real danger to be afraid of, instead, Caravan SandWitch just lets you take in the sights, find all the collectibles and complete quests without anything getting in the way. It’s a perfect way to just zone out, go driving and just get lost in a very lush and colourful world and I love it for that.

With that being said though, given the game’s simplicity, there are a couple of glaring omissions in the moment-to-moment gameplay. Getting in and out of your caravan and starting a climb to a ladder just have no animations to them whatsoever. I also found a couple of times where Sauge exclaims there’s no room for her to get out and then I move an inch and she can? These are minor nitpicks but with a game so focused on its core of exploration, I can’t help but feel that these examples break some of that immersion.

There are also quest-tracking issues in the current build (before launch) that have prevented me from doing everything, as well as not being able to change my caravan’s looks, whilst knowing that there is a mechanic somewhere in the game for. However, these are easy fixes that I’m sure will get sorted out soon.

Head In The Sand

A couple of technical issues aside, the game is a gorgeous open-world sandbox to explore. Some nice draw distances to see the rocky mountains and abandoned laboratories, even some remnants of the past. A nice blend of dense forests and saharan wastelands that feel lived in, as well as a diverse cast that all bring a unique look whilst feeling consistent.

It’s visually stunning with a smooth frame rate and along with it’s easy to pick up gameplay it’s just a joy to lose yourself in. The soundtrack by Antynomy brings an eerie synth pop soundscape to the cut scenes and some of the open-world moments really drive home the laidback attitude Caravan SandWitch has.

The game is a simple yet effective open-world exploration game that focuses on quality over quantity. The story doesn’t quite land for me and the cast is so big they became forgettable, but there’s an undeniable amount of charm present in it all. Caravan SandWitch respects your time above all else whilst catering to your 100%ing needs and I wish more games would follow suit. If a low-stakes open-world game is what you’re after this year, then Caravan SandWitch is a pretty good one to check out.

Caravan SandWitch is available 12th September on PlayStation 5 (review platform), Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.

Developer: Plane Toast
Publisher: Dear Villagers

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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