Sands of Salzaar

Sands of Salzaar is a strategy-action RPG set in an open world sprawling desert. And a sprawling desert it definitely is, as you’ll find yourself exploring the expansive map by moving from objective to objective through a mass of sandy environments.

Building and managing an increasingly powerful military force is the main aim of the game, starting from your first recruit and building up to an impressive army. What you choose to do with that army is entirely up to you – within the confines of the game’s mechanics of course. That said, a wide variety of quest choices, choices with regards to factions and choices about war strategies make for a fairly engaging strategy RPG.

Gameplay

Sands of Salzaar offers a range of character classes or archetypes all of which have varying difficulty levels, and different abilities. Some classes additionally have character specific plot quests which become available as you play through the game.

You can customize your character’s skill set and equipment at the start of the game and as you level up, you can unlock more combat skills for your character as well as talents, which are perks that affect both the status of your troops and non-combat skills such as charisma.

The easiest way to maintain success in the game is to gather and keep a close eye on the five resources available: currency, wood, ironstone, jade and food. You can gather resources through a combination of exploration, brawls, and trading, all of which further expand the game’s story. On a base level, resources allow you to upgrade your troops and keep them alive, but they are also intrinsic to your ability to construct essential buildings in settlements and expand your influence, much like Age of Empires.

When it comes to troops, you can recruit them from outposts, keeps, or through random events. Similar to games such as Mount & Blade, troops are made up of faceless soldiers (and sometimes creatures) of varying ranks which you can upgrade and promote as you progress. Besides troops however, you can also recruit heroes through special quests. Heroes act more like in-game companions, complete with character portraits and an affinity meter.

Combat is diverse and fast paced with no tutorial at the beginning of the game or tips throughout. Sands of Salzaar has a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be playing like a pro.

Visuals

The character artwork is lovingly designed with a significant attention to detail. Many of the NPCs and party members you encounter have distinct designs that are generally inspired by eastern culture. The digital artwork also makes scrolling through the various ability and character management menus a far easier and more enjoyable than with what you may find in other games of this ilk.

The isometric gameplay is also greatly assisted by fluid animation that really puts the “action” in “strategy action RPG”.

Evolving Story

Unsurprisingly, the story is one of the main selling points of Sands of Salzaar. With a wide variety of social choices available you can choose exactly how you want to play. Focus on what you want and create an army that reflects that.

Pros

• Player choices have a tangible impact on the story
• Character customization is extensive

Cons

• No guide or tutorial at the start of the game
• Not all of the mechanics are intuitive