Caravan SandWitch by developer Studio Plane Toast and publisher Dear Villagers—PC (Steam) review written by Valerie with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Caravan SandWitch is a game I was looking forward to and it did not disappoint! This open world adventure puzzle game had me gathering parts, driving a van, jumping, exploring, building gadgets, all in a relaxed atmosphere. No timer on getting to your end destination, but certainly there were some small timed aspects in completing some of the tasks.
You start out receiving a distress call from your long lost sister and having to return to the planet you were born on, Cigalo. You start out at the Space City terminal where you progress through a small tutorial of keys used to move around, pick up things, talk to people and so on.
Next you go to board the space bus where you meet up with your friend, who is also the mechanic in this game, and off you go to Cigalo! This was definitely an emotional game for me with the wonderful community, the people you meet along the way and the various objectives that progress the story along as well as side quests! Two things that stood out at the start are: climbing and completing those main objectives.
For the first point, I loved the climbing as it brought me back to another series that I am fond of: Tomb Raider. The way you climb in Caravan SandWitch is the same. The second point, the completion of quests I was fearful of because you are told you can't go back after finishing building the equipment you need to continue on. I am glad to report that you can still complete them later or you can start a new save.
The visuals in this game don't take anything away in the world or the story, but do intrigue you as you move onto the next quest. The graphics are distinctly French and gorgeous! The colors are vibrant and stunning, so much so that sometimes I felt like I was in an aquarium, instead of travelling through a cave. I found a few places where rocks and pebbles were midair, but that didn't detract from the story at all. The puzzle aspect in Caravan SandWitch doesn't take too much time to solve, nor do they tax your brain with convoluted solutions or lengthy time to find all the switches or buttons to open a door.
The bad guys in this game is a corporation called The Consortium. They have hidden their dastardly plot behind signal jamming devices that you have to deactivate in order to continue. The bonus is opening up sections of the map that are under this 'fog of jamming'. So nice to actually see the roads I have to travel to get to points of interest and follow the story line.
You are Sauge, and you are surprised when you come across old friends and checking up on your father. A lovely old woman named Rose gives you the keys to her van so you can go about the towns and settlements to deactivate those jammers. Your friend you met at the Space City terminal helps you to upgrade the van with gadgets so you can solve those puzzle areas that are neatly wrapped up in a box ready to be opened and discovered.
The community who help you along on your journey to discover the fate of your sister is heartwarming and delightful. Many a time I would go back to one person or another just to see if there were more clues. I was also distracted from my end goal with all the wonderful scenery and places to discover. There is no combat nor fall damage, so you are free to explore to your heart's content.
Yes, I am a completionist, so one segment of some of the puzzles I had to wait until I had all the parts to build the gadget used to discover either the puzzle solution or to get over a part of the building to finish a task. The friendly robots help you out and you are given things that you can salvage for more parts. Even the quests involving the citizens of Cigalo gave you things in return for more parts. It took a while to get some of the rarer pieces, but well worth it!
So, if you need a relaxing game with a bit of fun and a lot of exploring then Caravan SandWitch is for you. I am definitely going to play through the game again as I know I missed a few side quests that piqued my interest.
Score: 10 / 10
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