These days, nearly every game is filled to the brim with bells and whistles that half the time don’t work as intended or drag down the gameplay loop. Sometimes, you just want a good game to enjoy after a long day. It’s one that doesn’t require you to grind through a skill tree or spend hours fighting the same 3 enemy types. One that also doesn’t sacrifice atmosphere and storytelling to achieve that goal. Caravan SandWitch is one such title.
Caravan SandWitch is an exploration game by French developer Plane Toast. It’s an experience that focuses on telling its story and exploration over combat. At its core, it has relaxing gameplay with an intriguing world that players can easily fall into. It’s a game you can complete at your pace, and at times, it even encourages you to take a moment to stop and take in the world around you.
The Story of Caravan SandWitch
In Caravan SandWitch, you play as Sauge, a young woman who moved away from her home planet of Cigalo to live a life in space. That life is disrupted when her sister goes missing and years later sends a distress beacon from their home planet. Determined to find her, Sauge returns to Cigalo.
In the beginning, what has happened to the planet is a complete mystery. It’s clear that the society that exists here is not the same one that once was. It’s what is left after something referred to as “the incident” destroyed much of the planet and left its inhabitants struggling.
The same organization that created the space city Sauge was living in has something to do with it, but it’s not quite clear how. As you progress through the story and explore the land of Cigalo, what has happened becomes much more apparent.
Explore The World
The gameplay of Caravan SandWitch puts heavy emphasis on exploration. There’s no combat in the game, so you’re free to do everything at your own pace. All you have to worry about is climbing, driving, and doing away with the signal jammers. And finding your sister, of course.
Venturing Out
As you drive through the beautiful planet of Cigalo destroying jammers, you’ll find all kinds of interesting characters that need your help. From trying to catch several fungal toad tadpoles to finding a bunch of old food for a friend’s feast, the quests, while similar at their core, have a ton of character and uniqueness.
The way the quests are organized is really nice, as well. More often than not, they seem to weave together. This will frequently cause you to find yourself completing a couple of quests simultaneously, and sometimes by accident.
Tools of the Trade, and How To Acquire Them
Your van is a huge component in completing your object as well. You’ll find yourself using it to open and destroy things with a grappling hook, scan for jammers and other important things, and obviously traverse Cigalo. The other half of your exploration is accomplished through climbing and using tools to reach certain necessary places.
Most of these tools aren’t available from the start, though. With the help of Nèfle, you can build these necessary items. To do so, you must gather electrical components. A lot of them. And to get those components you have to venture into the ruins of the old world, and do some favors for the citizens of Cigalo. And this is another way the game effortlessly weaves everything into one another. It makes the world feel more alive and it makes sure all locations are important, with no area serving a single purpose.
Graphics and Sound
The sound and visuals in this game are some of the most amazing I’ve experienced in my life. The game design, along with Antynomy’s score, is so atmospheric and beautiful that I often found myself exploring aimlessly while vibing to the music.
Music to My Ears
The main song, Pensée Dérobée, has to be one of my favorite video game tracks in recent memory. It captures the feeling of being lost yet hopeful, a perfect fit for Sauge’s journey. The lyrics themselves echo the state of mind she is probably in at the beginning of her story. The sound effects fit the cozy aesthetic, with much of it being perfectly mixed and never overpowering the music. Nothing feels out of place.
A Work of Art
Caravan SandWitch doesn’t only excel in its audio, but its visuals too. The cel-shaded style and color choices are both just as vibrant as they are easy on the eyes. The look is perfect for games like these, and it really helps give the game an otherworldly feel.
The world looks simultaneously futuristic and fantastical, and I absolutely love it. The best way I can describe it is like exploring a painting. The beautiful landscape of Cigalo is juxtaposed with a giant, dangerous-looking dark storm on the horizon. It’s a sight to behold, and you can properly appreciate it through little resting spots scattered throughout the world.
With that being said, it’s games like these that really help push the idea that games are a form of art.
Replayability
Caravan SandWitch is such a good game for relaxation, it’s hard not to come back to it. Beyond replaying the game for the story or gameplay itself, the world itself is worth returning for.
If you’re a trophy hunter, you shouldn’t have trouble earning the platinum trophy. With 27 you should get most, if not all, of the trophies in a couple of playthroughs. It’s worth returning to regardless, as trophies may be temporary, but vibes are forever.
Conclusion
As many have grown a little tired of the bloated, fast paced gaming landscape, Caravan SandWitch is like a breath of fresh air. Going into the game, I was expecting a Death Stranding-esque experience with a happier backdrop. But what I got instead was a game that didn’t feel like an imitation and stayed true to itself.
And although the backdrop itself appears happier, the story behind the world itself isn’t exactly all sunshine. The juxtaposition really helps make the story relatable to the human experience.
I may be reading into it too much, but Caravan SandWitch is a tale of the strength of community and family, and how far hope and determination can take you. Every little thing you do helps the world around you in ways that are bigger than Sauge and her hometown. In her journey to find her sister, she brings hope and a helping hand to her home of Cigalo.
The amount of care that went into this title is apparent from the minute the opening credits roll. If you’re looking for a game to ease your mind without sacrificing a story with depth, Caravan SandWitch may be just what you’re looking for.
Joys
- Comforting, unique atmosphere
- Simple, yet engaging gameplay and exploration
- The music and sound design
Cons
- No photo mode
