I am leaving this review after putting 110 hours into the game, tracking it from the initial Open Beta playtests through its first two months of Early Access. The foundation here is beautiful—an atmospheric, post-apocalyptic steampunk concept that captures the exact same structural vibe as Sea of Thieves, but on land. I genuinely want this game to succeed. I’ve experienced glimpses of how incredible it can be, like pulling off a 37,000-crown solo extraction or calling a temporary truce with an enemy player in a ruined city just to have a friendly conversation.
Unfortunately, those rewarding moments are extremely rare. I am primarily a PvE-focused player who can tolerate a balanced PvPvE environment if executed well. However, SAND has fundamentally drifted from its advertised design, turning the daily loop into a frustrating nightmare for solos and groups alike.
The core structural flaws making the game unplayable include:
• The Abandoned PvPvE Vision: The game was showcased as a balanced PvPvE experience centered on exploration and scavenging. Instead, the PvE ecosystem has collapsed into a hyper-aggressive pure PvP meatgrinder. Coordinated veteran squads routinely camp extraction zones or chase smaller crews completely off the map boundaries. Tellingly, the Steam store page itself has quietly shifted its branding and is now labeled strictly as a PvP game. The original vision has been abandoned.
• Broken Matchmaking & The Ram Meta: There is currently zero gear-based or skill-based matchmaking. In Small Crew queues, our 3-person mid-tier crew is consistently thrown into lobbies against end-game squads wielding Rail Cannons and energy shields. When fights get close, the vehicle-ramming meta takes over. Attacking Tramplers use the ram as an extra layer of impenetrable armor that instantly shatters your critical compartments and disorients your screen, leaving mathematically zero chance for counterplay and deleting hours of real-life progress in seconds.
• Automated Anti-Cheat False Flags: This was the ultimate breaking point. While anti-cheat is necessary, the automated system is so poorly optimized that it hands out false flags to innocent players. After my character suffered three consecutive deaths due strictly to environmental map hazards, the system flagged my account for "suspicious activity." Penalizing players for standard environmental defeats completely destroys the incentive to progress or grind.
• Quantity vs. Quality Updates: The game has rushed out 7 rapid-fire updates in just two months, yet the foundational loops remain unpolished. For comparison, a game like Iron Nest has been out for the same duration under a tiny two-person team, and feels completely stable after only 3 updates. Pumping out patches means nothing if you aren't fixing the core economy. To address toxic end-game hoarding, the developers desperately need to implement monthly inventory wipes that flatten the gear gap while preserving hard-earned Tech Tree progression.
There are normal skill issues, and then there are unbreakable hard ceilings. Until the developers fix the automated system targeting innocent players, protect casual groups, and restore the promised PvPvE balance, I cannot recommend spending your time or money here. As this game stands right now, you're better off playing Sea of Thieves or something of the like.
Pros:
• Amazing modular vehicle building, deep customization, and mechanical design.
• Incredible post-apocalyptic, steampunk atmosphere.
• High ceiling for organic, rewarding player interactions and high-value loot runs.
Cons:
• Broken automated anti-cheat that falsely flags legitimate accounts after environmental deaths.
• Complete lack of gear-bracket matchmaking, leaving early/mid-tier builds helpless against end-game tech.
• A broken, low-skill vehicle-ramming meta that functions as impenetrable armor and instantly destroys critical systems.
• Severe gameplay drift from the showcased PvPvE design into a hostile, unmoderated pure PvP deathmatch.
• Over-accelerated patch cycles that focus on rapid-fire hotfixes rather than fixing foundational stability.
