I would like to thank Dear Villagers for sending us Caravan SandWitch before its release, allowing us to create this content!

Art and Immersion: Expressiveness in Caravan SandWitch

Starting our journey, we embark on the game as Sauge, a girl who has just received a warning message sent from her sister's ship, who had disappeared a few years ago on her home planet. Shaken, surprised, and curious, Sauge decides to take the next ship leaving her space station towards Cigalo, the community where she was born. And so, our adventure in Caravan SandWitch begins.
 

Initially, I want to comment on the game's artistic aspect, which is incredibly beautiful. When we talk about art, we are talking about forms of expression in diverse and creative ways. In this sense, many games fail, either due to lack of investment or any other reason, in establishing a sense and being able to express it through the audiovisual aesthetics of the game. That's why we often see so many first-person shooter games with realistic graphics but lacking identity. This is not the case with Caravan SandWitch, where both the visual and sound art not only immerse you in the game's universe but also convey various messages.

Before we delve deeper into the artistic aspect, I believe it would be important to describe a bit more about the game's lore. A green planet, rich in life, like our Earth, is led to desertification due to human activities and overexploitation, leaving only a few remaining humans (most migrated to another planet), some robots left useless after the planet's exploitation, and an ancient species of aborigines, the Reinetos. In this scenario, the survivors and residents of the planet try to coexist in harmony and peace in Cigalo amidst such a hostile environment.

With the game's setting better explained, it is possible to clearly perceive the path the game chooses for its artistic aesthetics and the message they want to convey: harmony among peoples, care for the planet, and love among beings are the sense that enables a sustainable and balanced world. The art of Caravan SandWitch expresses this very well, whether in the design of super diverse and inclusive characters or in the construction of a beautiful world that, through human action, has become ruins. The game forces you to look at the universe with a sparkle in your eyes and minimally rethink whether it is something worthy of ruin.
 

Now, talking about the graphics and audio of the game, but regarding the more technical part, Caravan SandWitch also excels in everything. After all, it's no use being creative and having a conceptualization of what you will do without mastering technology and technique. In this case, they combine both very well, and the result is beautiful scenarios, highly identifiable characters, very beautiful and pleasant soundtracks, and sound effects that fit perfectly in the game as well.

Exploring a Combat-Free World at Your Own Pace

Alright, but what about the gameplay, what can we expect from Caravan SandWitch? Well, the game takes place in a world where the social structure is primitive, and you are trying to help everyone stay in harmony because you want to. So, you dictate the pace of the game. Life on this planet is peaceful, except for its climatic issues: there is no combat - there are barely any people on the planet to fight - and there is no rush. Only you have a vehicle within the community, so you are the only one who can roam the vast world. In short, it's you, your van, and the vast world full of ruins and wreckage left by humanity waiting to be explored by you.
 

Let's not forget why Sauge returned to Cigalo: the mystery of her missing sister. It is in this context that you take your van and venture into the world to collect some resources and technological scraps that will allow you to build new equipment for your van and that will be useful in the search for the missing girl. So you invade ruins, abandoned establishments, do some parkour, all in a beautiful and peaceful setting.

Overall, it is a very tranquil and enjoyable experience. If you are looking for gameplay with a bit more action, Caravan SandWitch is not for you. On the contrary, if you enjoy an open world and exploration, with a map full of loot waiting for you - I myself am a loot lover and cannot help exploring everything if I know I might be leaving items behind - this game will surely be a pleasant and uplifting experience for you. Every time I played the game, it was fun and relaxing. It's not a game that I can get lost in for hours on end, but if played calmly, appreciating each landscape and exploring little by little, it becomes a great experience.

During my tranquil playthrough of Caravan SandWitch, there were only a few things that sometimes bothered me a little. The first one was the command to automatically return to the van (useful for when you are far away and do not want to have to walk back), which by default comes as 'hold the R button,' which is the same key you press to enter the van if you are near it. First, pressing R to enter a car was very strange because I am used to the vast majority of games using 'E' for this command, or at most the 'F' key - but this didn't really bother me, it was just confusing at times. Second, there were times when I accidentally hit 'R' and it would activate the loading to return to the van, which annoyed me because it happened several times. 

Another thing that happened was that the parkour often didn't fit well and became difficult due to the hitbox of world objects. It was also nothing that hindered me at any point in the game or bothered me too much in reaching my goals, but it was a recurring issue that at some point made me focus on movement, when it clearly was supposed to be very simple movements.
 

Overall, the control and hitbox issues mentioned will probably be fixed either before the official release or during the first post-launch updates, as they are common problems in games that always arise and are always corrected.

Finally, Caravan SandWitch invites us on a contemplative and exciting journey through a planet that has been devastated by human action and now requires a new balance. Sauge's story, in search of her missing sister, serves as a guiding thread for a narrative rich in symbolism and reflections on nature, community, and the importance of preserving the environment. 

The game's visual aesthetics are simply stunning, with lush landscapes and charismatic characters that transport us to a unique and memorable universe. The soundtrack, in turn, complements the game's atmosphere, creating an even deeper immersion. 

The gameplay, although more focused on exploration and interaction with the environment, offers a relaxing and rewarding experience. Despite some small flaws in the mechanics, such as controls and parkour - things that will probably be fixed in the official release -, Caravan SandWitch stands out as a title that invites us to slow down, appreciate the beauty of the virtual world, and reflect on our own role on the planet. It is a game that celebrates diversity, inclusion, and the importance of taking care of each other and our home.

It is important to mention that for the production of this review, Caravan SandWitch was played on the Windows platform (PC), through Steam, during early access!