Sand Land, the upcoming action-RPG based on Akira Toriyama’s manga, has a demo out now

If you’re keen to try out Sand Land, an upcoming action RPG from the developers of One Piece Odyssey and the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, then I have some great news. There’s a demo out right now that lets you explore a portion of the sandy map, try out a handful of the characters, and ride some rusty vehicles ahead of its release next month on April 25th.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sand Land, here’s the very brief gist: it was originally serialised as a manga in 2000, is set in a desert planet where a king hogs the water supply, and the main character Beezlebub – alongside friends – ride tanks and do some fighting to stop the king’s evil antics.

Having given the demo a quick whirl, I can confirm that you’re indeed able to whizz about the desert and toy about with some vehicles. It seems like a slightly more fleshed out version of my Summer Geoff Fest experience from last year, as you now have a bike, tank, and mech to pilot, as well as some little outposts defended by enemies.

I know it’s only a demo, but I wouldn’t say it left a significant impression on me. So far I think the desert seems a bit barren, with points of interest that only really seem to exist as small resource gathering spots. Although, I did find bashing robots and shooting pterodactyls enjoyable enough, and the mech in particular has some lovely heft to its swings. Maybe there’s a chance the full release will put my exploration worries to bed.

This demo also gives us a closer look at its menus, where there are skill trees to peruse and plenty of customisable parts for your vehicles. There was one chest on top of a cliff I couldn’t reach, so I’m hopeful that in the final game, I’ll be able to outfit my mech with a special jump, or perhaps get an entirely new vehicle, to reach it.

If you end up playing the demo, you’ll unlock some bonuses in the full game. These include 30 B-Grade Steel and 30 B-Grade Bolt, which can be used to enhance vehicles in Spino – which is a city where you’ll be building up your basecamp.

You can download Sand Land’s demo over on its Steam page, which clocks in at 6GB.