The extra I noticed of Caravan SandWitch’s trailer in at the moment’s Healthful Direct showcase, the extra I dug it. The “narrative-driven exploration journey” has this uniquely desolate sci-fi look that jogs my memory of a few of my current favorites, whereas it additionally has a demo obtainable to attempt proper now on Steam.
I significantly admire how Caravan SandWitch’s imaginative and prescient of a desert world is not lifeless—it is paying homage to the American Southwest with pink scrub grass, occasional groves of hearty bushes, and lovely oases tucked between the dusty mesas. The planet’s additionally affected by ruins that appear historic, but in addition appear to be they had been produced by a society of our personal technological degree: half-buried SETI-style satellite tv for pc dishes and rusted communications towers that make me need to know extra about this planet and its historical past.
It jogs my memory plenty of 2021’s wonderful Sable, or the TV collection Scavengers Reign from 2023—I believe there is a throughline of French comedian ebook affect in all three that goes a protracted option to explaining why they simply look so good.
And Caravan SandWitch has intriguing-looking gameplay, break up between driving round its world in a beat up van and on-foot exploration that appears to be of the clambering round, practical 3D platformer selection. I’m all in on the latter particularly—there simply aren’t sufficient individuals making expansive, exploration-focused 3D platformers by my reckoning.
You possibly can try Caravan SandWitch’s demo and wishlist the sport over on Steam proper now, although it doesn’t but have a launch window.