SAND: Raiders of Sophie

For everyone else kindly lauding the core mechanics, the strong bones of the game, i needn't mention how much creativity and passion went into this project, or the joy when things truly go right. The trouble is finding it. While there's plenty consequence for that fun being found in who you are fortunate play with and against, it is entirely more often that Sand gets in its own way. The issues in my and others playtime are countless and well documented; some of these have remained for over a year being recurrent from previous playtests, or as recent as the game's recent updates, which have been so poorly received as to necessitate rollbacks. Despite the devs being overwhelmed, I'd appreciate the cruel race against time to stem the bleeding before apathy sets in. The only thing worse than someone loudly mentioning what's wrong about the game is nothing being said at all. Immediate and sustained progress will keep most from terminally black pilling on the game, even as messy as it's been to meeting its potential so far. Some people's first impressions will be enough to sour them on it though, and even if it can't win back everyone, it deserves to, and to the extent Sand can, I hope it does. Still, i got that big red thumbs down in here. There's misfortune surrounding so much of the game's launch, but there's still plenty of negligence. Many will point to anti-cheat as the big red line, but it's the small things that were supposed to have been, or even were fixed during playtests that've remained compromised at launch, that kindly worded, should not have been there. Countless bugs that had been clearly identified before release will jeopardize fixing the emergent issues and clog priorities. The 40mm cheese is what comes to mind first. It's not carelessness either, the devs know what they're working on better than anyone else ever would probably, and the playtests have had great feedback. Still, they still decided to launch, and here we are. Loss of features like trampler takeovers due to client authority, or duplication exploits prompting the necessity of loot rollbacks are very visible failures, and should have been prioritized before launch. With the big issues out of the way before a release, maybe the Sand could've launched into early access still deeply imperfect, but It's still clear the game needed more time in the oven to avoid the wildfire of issues people have. I'm frustrated it's in this state after aforementioned delays. What's worse is the game's successive delays have made waiting any longer for the game's most enthusiastic supporters untenable. Rock and a hard place. If the game can't be delayed, and can't be improved, your last line of defense is expectation management. Expectations around this game have not been well managed. The price is fair, $20-$25, but it'll be some of the most blood curdling time spent playing until you feel like your money, but more importantly your time, was well spent. It's not walking into a hostage situation, but more needed to be disclosed about what's going wrong, and how long it'll take to fix. Most communications to this topic are, usurpingly, vague. Playtest footage is also a poor substitute for accountability and disclosure. Some of the blowback to these issues would've been best cushoned in wake of the last delay, but it goes further than that of course. Like others, I'll agree that the game is fun right up until you hit the grind. It doesn't actually ask too much of the player (looking at you Crossout) as it's almost entirely all little things you'd usually just find wandering around. I'd say finding what you need isn't too stressful, and nearly any voyage could end up being fun. But for how many things that nearly a month out from release can go wrong though, server issues, client issues, and besides being outright stomped by cheats or exploits, it's truly punishing until you get there. Miraculously though, the fun's there, it's elusive, and it's ephemeral but it's there, taunting at you to keep getting hurt by it. Hopefully finding it can get easier, and easier soon. Until it does, there's better things to spend your time on. Probably not spend your money on though. I don't believe that as consumers we are able to reinforce negative incentives for poor decisions without first harming the developers making the product in the first place, the industries a complete mess right now, but as this is an indie project, choosing to purchase the game will go almost directly to those worthy of your dollarydoos. Products are not charity, and can't be treated as such, but if your faith hasen't been burnt yet, there's far worse people you can give it to than Hologryph. They're allergic to commitment it would seem, and i'm cranky how it's gone so far, but they got something special here, and personally get a pass from me for the most part. I don't regret my purchase, only my time. If you can afford to and want to take the chance, buy it and wait. If you can't, set a reminder and check in how it's doing down the road. For the time being, it's still in rough shape, and you've got better things to do with your life.