A renaissance of unique indie experiences betting on you to take another side of gaming beyond combat and with a singular sense of exploration has been taking place for a while now. Caravan SandWitch, yes, with a pun included in its name, is an ode to that unique feeling of wondrous exploration with a mysterious world full of intriguing narratives waiting to be discovered. That is, at your own pace and time.
Created by Plane Toast and published by Dear Villagers, Caravan Sandwitch is a story-driven adventure through the wilds of a sci-fi universe full of secrets that you will unravel in your quest to find your missing sister.
Open Your Eyes and See What You Can With Them
Sprung into action by a distress signal from her long-lost sister, main character Sauge has to travel to a planet named Cigalo. A shady figure spies her arrival from atop a cliff and closely oversees everything she does in her path, alluding to the many mysteries that are going on behind the scenes on this desolate planet and what you may encounter in the future. Once introductions are done, Caravan SandWitch wastes no time getting you to the fun part, roaming free in this post-apocalyptic setting.
Once you’re given the keys to a trusty and well-equipped van, the adventure hits the ground running. With your main goals set to get rid of signal jammers, help people in need, and finally find your sister, it can feel riveting to explore with no idea what will await you at the end of the road.
The open world is quite large for an indie game of its type and dense enough to feel rewarding to look out for any hidden paths or objects you can find at any corner. Massive structures of a forgotten world, quarries with leftover machinery used to mine resources, and hidden caves brimming with loot abound in Caravan SandWitch.
Everything Happens for a Reason
The basis of the gameplay focuses on driving around in your van and disconnecting signal jammers that obscure large swaths of the map. You do this by equipping your scanner that tells you where you need to go by following its beeps. There are also components scattered, which are required to create new tools, that you can mark with your scanner.
Exploration is fundamental to Caravan SandWitch. Although the scanner tells you where to find and destroy every jammer that is interfering with your map, it doesn’t hurt to look around once the area is clear since people roam around in dire need of your help, or you might stumble upon cute collectibles that were left all across the wasteland for you to find.
As soon as you control Sauge, it is easy to see the attention to detail in the building blocks of the game. When you run, and even more so when you jump, you can feel the gravity pulling you down. It’s not in a way that feels limiting, but rather just right, being especially useful in those precise moments where platforming and reaching ledges is necessary.
That weighty feeling also translates when you finally take control of your van. Every little rock on the road and the uneven terrain can affect your balance. It is never as intense as a truck simulator game, but it is quite something to see the effort put into these little details to make you feel like a real explorer in the wilds.
The grapple hook opens up the possibility to yank stuck doors and offers new avenues for exploration. This also allows you to backtrack for any previously blocked paths full of goodies that will certainly come in handy, either for your trip or to the friendly folks that you find strolling by.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
Each side quest revolves around a specific item that you need to rescue from ancient ruins. When you deliver the goods and finish the request, you are rewarded with components and a small scene, in speech bubbles, in which Sauge can interact with others and let off steam, either by sitting down to calm down and drink tea or by tearing down posters of the evil company that used to run this world, the Consortium.
What I found most impressive is how easily the dialogues adapted if you had already found the object that was asked from the task giver. For a fantastic indie like this one to so cleverly adapt and stay a step ahead of the player’s choices is a welcome surprise.
While it can be described as cozy, wholesome, and relaxing, Caravan SandWitch, at its core, does not let itself be defined by any of these terms, as the struggles everyone is going through are noticeable. From Sauge dealing with the potential loss of her sister to the themes of defiance against a corporation that has left a whole community behind, it is bravely tackling topics not often seen in those genres. Although the moment-to-moment gameplay gives you breathing room between quests, it does not shy away from complex issues that the people on this faraway planet have.
Save the World at Your Own Speed
The game autosaves constantly, so there is no risk of losing progress, even if playing in short bursts. The amount of components needed for the tools required feels fair and spaced out, and, most importantly, the writing is thought-provoking, making what may seem like an insignificant conversation between friends leave you with much to ponder.
As you continue your adventure, you will notice a deliberate focus on food. All the characters’ names come from plants and food from the south of France, and local dishes like Tapenade & Gazpacho are deliberately mentioned as the developers’ lives give the game that human warmth that shapes up the game’s eclectic culture in turn.
Everything is structured in a way as to not have you miss any side quests or activities you were not aware of before progressing. How many times has it happened to you that you were just wandering around an area only to accidentally trigger a cutscene and be unable to go back and take care of unfinished business? Luckily, Caravan SandWitch seems to be fully aware of situations like these and adds a helpful warning of the chapter-sensitive missions you’ll miss out on if you decide to continue.
They Were Here Before Us
The planet where the game develops has been abandoned for greener pastures, and it shows in pretty much every area you explore. Mother Nature has taken over where the settlements used to be. Gardens, animals, and an overall abundance of life can be appreciated wherever you look. Empty buildings reflect the rush in which the people left, leaving Sauge to wonder what it was like in the past.
Caravan SandWitch‘s open world is rich with stories to tell. From Sauge’s escapades as a wild child to a robot locked up for decades in a cave only able to get out with your help, every single time you go off the beaten path will be worth your while. Small moments like these give a strong characterization and let you imagine what life was like in a different time.
At specific locations, Sauge can just take a break and breathe it all in as she looks towards the horizon. The huge tornado sitting in the backdrop of the landscape, in particular, looks quite impressive in the distance, and it’s something that feels quite like it’s calling to you.
Thanks to its inspired art style, the environments all feel lived in and real. With details like graffiti on the walls, children’s doodles with chalk around the city, and a myriad of vegetation types growing, it feels like at every moment, if you look around, you will find a pleasant surprise planted there especially for you to notice and fall in love with this colorful world.
Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses
The lighthearted mood of Caravan SandWitch is brought over to the Trophies and Achievements you can earn. From playing hopscotch and scoring a goal with a random soccer ball lying around to more completionist-inclined objectives like meeting all the townsfolk or visiting every location available, there is much to gain and see in the lands of Cigalo that can easily extend your 10 to 15 hour playtime.
The vibe in Caravan SandWitch is inherently relaxing. You cannot die, there is no fall damage or combat to speak of, and, while the primary focus is to find your sister’s distress signal, no dialogue explicitly states an urgent message to go directly to complete your main quest. Actually, the game actively encourages you to go to every corner of the world and talk to whomever crosses your path and help them if you can, which is a breeze due to the peaceful natural sounds and in-game music.
The soundtrack by indie composer Antynomy shines at every moment of the gameplay. True to her self-described genre of melancholic dancing, the intention of trying to spark an emotional response is palpable in each beat of the songs. At times gentle, at others exciting, it is always a delight to listen to it on your journey.
Into the Wild
Video games can be an artistic vehicle (no pun intended) to explore aspects of the human condition through a sci-fi story up close and personal unlike any other medium. A corporation abusing the ecosystem, people’s everyday struggle to feed their families, a woman fighting to find her missing sister, all of these stories on a foreign planet might be fictional, but they’re as real as you and me.
Ultimately, Caravan SandWitch is a game that has a lot to say about humanity’s footprint on nature, community, and finding yourself. Why do we make the decisions that we do? Sauge’s choices to help the people around her are optional because you don’t need to do them. You are there to find your sister, but the game includes those side activities for us to learn something along the way, should we choose to do them. And that’s where its brilliance lies. If you’re looking for a relaxed adventure with a mysterious backdrop and an unwavering sense of discovery, Caravan SandWitch is your game.
Thank you to Dear Villagers for providing a PlayStation 5 review code of Caravan SandWitch. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.