Sandwalkers is a roguelike turn-based exploration game that was first released on Steam on the 8th of April 2025. After more than a year, on the 24th of September 2026, it became available on the current PlayStation consoles, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, where it was published by the French gaming company Red Art Games. The game is an atmospheric expedition-based RPG where survival, tactical combat, and learning from your mistakes go hand in hand. Developed by Goblinz Studio, the premise of the title is that survival itself is the greatest challenge of all, as it sends you into dangerous Phithi – a place plagued by unpredictable weather and many environmental hazards. There, you lead a caravan of explorers on a mission to discover new locations and gather resources to help secure a future for your cohabitants.

The setting of Sandwalkers establishes a strong identity, as weather is more than just a visual effect; it influences your exploration and combat to the point where you need to plan your next move carefully – adaptability matters just as much as courage on your way of travelling across procedurally generated environments. Each decision will carry consequences, as exploring an unknown location might reveal valuable discoveries, but can, on the other hand, render your caravan low on supplies. Going with a safer route might preserve your resources, but can hinder your future expeditions, so the balance between risks and rewards creates the most interesting situations in Sandwalkers. Your supplies and equipment all influence your chances of success, and your poor preparation can lead to a desperate struggle for survival.

At the point where careful planning is no longer enough, Sandwalkers presents turn-based battles that will, again, reward your strategic thinking. The combat involves character abilities, enemy defences, positioning and before mentioned environmental effects. Choosing the right characters and abilities will be essential to overcoming dangerous encounters, so your caravan’s composition will matter a lot, even beyond combat. Different specialisations offer advantages during exploration as well; that is why team selection plays an important part when preparing for an expedition. This will encourage you to think beyond dealing as much damage as possible, as managing abilities and exploiting opportunities will mean the difference between victory and defeat.

One of Sandwalkers’ most appealing features is its roguelike progression – an expedition ending unsuccessfully does not mean that all of your progress has been lost. Everything you learned along the way will benefit your future caravans, which creates a compelling gameplay loop – prepare, explore, learn, and try again. In that way, Sandwalkers makes failure feel like part of a longer journey, instead of being simply a punishment. This progression does, however, require more patience from the players, as they will need to be willing to repeat expeditions, learn from their mistakes, and subsequently improve their strategies. Players who expect immediate rewards and a tightly directed story must stay away from the game, as they will probably not appreciate Sandwalkers’ slower pace.

The game’s pixel-art presentation gives its hostile world a distinctive personality. Its environments, creatures, and settlements complement the desolate setting, and the atmospheric music helps establish the isolation and uncertainty of traversing dangerous territory. I must mention some awkwardness with playing with a controller when it comes to navigation and combat interactions, but on the other hand, nothing beats the comfort of your sofa. Playing Sandwalkers on PlayStation 5 consoles offers great performance and short loading times, while navigating inventories and menus with a controller definitely has its downsides. The game is still playable on console, but I wish they would further refine the navigation with more intuitive controls, so managing your caravan would feel more comfortable.

To sum it up, Sandwalkers combines exploration, survival, tactical combat, and roguelike progression into an adventure that definitely has its own identity. These systems work well together, as you will need to adjust your decisions, successfully manage resources, and be ready and willing to prepare for your future expeditions. The repetition and slow pacing might prevent some players from enjoying its gameplay, but I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of tactical RPGs who enjoy survival management and thinking before engaging in combat, as well as when exploring the lands.