Sands of Salzaar Review (PC)

I run ahead of wolves, crossbowmen, bears, and a militia unit, ready to unleash at least one fireball on my enemies before the lines make contact. After I use around a quarter of my mana, I settle back and let my troops finish the fight. I get a good chunk of money and some supplies, and I am already thinking about the next location I want to visit. Should I try to run a quest for another hero? Maybe escort some caravans? Find some extra resources and raid a few mines? There’s plenty of freedom here and many ways to become rich and powerful.

Sands of Salzaar was put together by Han-Squirrel Studios and published by XD. Gamers can pick it up on Steam on the PC or on the Nintendo-made Switch. The title mixes a wide variety of concepts and delivers a fresh take on the action role-playing game.

The story setup is pretty classic: a major empire has fallen after a cataclysmic battle and many smaller powers have risen to fight over its territory. Players can pick from a variety of classes, only some of which have narrative content attached. Once the character creation is done, the character is dropped in the middle of a big world, allowed to go where he wants to and do almost anything. There are story quests to engage with, but it is equally easy to set a goal and then work to achieve it by any means possible.

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The game was developed in Chinese during Early Access and only got an English translation when 1.0 appeared. It mostly works but there are times when it can introduce some confusion or when the dialogue simply feels unnatural or simply bad.

The first hint that Sands of Salzaar is a huge game is how hard to pick from the twelve offered classes. All of them have backgrounds and very specific styles (there are helpful hints about who to start with). Even more depth is introduced by the Legacy concept, which allows players to get points as they play that can then be invested to get more powerful starts with other characters.

To get there, players need to play Sands of Salzaar and decide how they want to engage with it. The game features classic action RPG exploration, with the main character dragging along a party. It’s important to recruit more troops and find extra-heroes to align with. The world features towns and outposts that offer their own tasks and side activities. Visitors can also trade there, or fight in the arena, or interact with quite a few other characters, finding out more about the world or making alliances.

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Sands of Salzaar features two types of combat: army-based or hero-driven (simulating engagements is also an option). When the entire player party is engaged the action is pretty hectic. Creatures and humans join forces while the player character can use his own powers to boost allies or sow destruction. The option to slow downtime is very important to make sense of the chaos and win even when the odds are against you. One-on-one it is even more important to make sure you don’t tale on opponents that are too powerful. Regenerating health and kitting tactics can help take down more capable opponents but defeat comes with penalties that are best avoided.

Han-Squirrel Studios has put a ton of content in their game, and it takes a little time to see how all the mechanics and ideas fit together. They also give players the freedom to focus on what makes sense for their own trajectory towards power.

Sands of Salzaar is a game that puts action above beauty. This is not to say that the world looks bad, but the emphasis is on delivering information and options. The various regions have a distinct identity, as do the characters, the troops, and the featured monsters. The combat phase is less visually attractive although it can cram a lot of action on screen. The sound design is a little average, with a soundtrack that works well with the atmosphere of the game but has too little variety (choose a favorite adventure movie soundtrack to supplement it).

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