When is the Sand Land release date? Fans of Akira Toriyama’s work, such as Dragon Ball and the character designs for the Dragon Quest series, may be familiar with Sand Land. The manga originally ran in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in the year 2000 before seeing an English translation in 2003. It wasn’t until 2023 that it got an anime adaptation in Japan, as well as a game being announced.
So what is Sand Land? Well, it’s a post-apocalyptic RPG game developed by Ilca, best known for the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes, and published by Bandai Namco. In it, you drive vehicles such as tanks and mechs around the desert, blowing up those who would stand in your way from reaching the nearest free water source. There’s not much else to go on, so here is everything we know, including the Sand Land release date, trailers, and all the gameplay details we know about.
Sand Land release date
The Sand Land release date is Friday April 26, 2024, and will be available for the PC via Steam, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. This news came via a release date trailer on Bandai Namco’s YouTube channel.
Those who preorder the game can claim the Survivalist Camo pack. This adds three camouflage skins to the options to customize your vehicles. These become available after reaching the town of Spino, where there is a paint shop.
The Deluxe edition also adds six consumables and tank weapons in the Speed Demon pack, five tank sticker decals, and the “Housing DLC” which unlocks after you reach the furniture store in Spino. It includes both Army Base and Hideout sets.
Sand Land story
As a direct adaptation of the manga, Sand Land is set in a world torn apart by years of natural disasters and war ravaging the land, where water is an incredibly scarce resource. Feeling that the greedy king of the land’s personal supply is being sold at exorbitant prices for the populace to survive long-term, Sheriff Rao, a former general of the king’s army, sets out to find a new source by requesting the help of the demons of Sand Land.
Sand Land gameplay
There was a demo at San Diego Comic Con 2023 (as captured by IGN) where fans saw the game in action for the first time. In it, the heroes are chased by a Geji Dragon – a sandworm-like serpent hellbent on chomping their buddy to pieces. From then on, the world opens up as players control Beelzebub as he brawls with the patrolling guards in action-style RPG combat and can unleash a burst attack of sorts if surrounded by foes.
He can also steal their tanks to make traveling across the desert significantly safer. Enemies include raptors that breathe fire and charge at your vehicles, and you can gather materials such as iron from caves. The demo concluded with a fight against a gang of thieves, but nothing new here.
Elsewhere, we’ve seen a trailer featuring multiple vehicles, such as the Uniride, a one-wheeled motorbike with twin rocket pods and machine guns. We also see various enemies living in the desert, such as pterodactyls, giant crocodiles, and other vehicles piloted by the king’s guard and other people trying to survive. Other trailers show lands outside the desert, including lush forests with flowing rivers, abandoned cities overrun with nature, and mountains.
Finally, according to the Steam page, RPG mechanics are in play when upgrading vehicles – different parts increase values such as attack power, weight, and speed. Vehicle options include cars and tanks, but more elaborate options like bipedal mechs become available later.
And that’s everything you need to know about the Sand Land release date. If you’re a fan of Akira Toriyama, then you may get a kick out of at least one of the best fighting games on the list. Otherwise, you may wish to check out the best anime games for a wide variety of different experiences.