Mmm…Caravan SandWitch…
In Caravan SandWitch, embark on a journey across a Sci-Fi Provence-like world, driven by a mystery through your missing sister that unfolds with each step you take. Interact with the communities on Cigalo, help them with their tasks and meet new people along the way. Take your time to explore the world, whether in your van or on foot. Life is simple: no combat, no death, no timer, just you, your van, and the world.
I didn’t know what to expect with a game called Caravan SandWitch. But I soon discovered a world worth exploring, full of characters with amazing personalities and a great story to boot.
Shortly after arriving on Cigalo, you’ll be given a van to drive around. You are soon tasked with taking out signal jammers in the hope of finding your long-lost sister whose distress signal you picked up after 6 years. The people of Cigalo will have tasks for you and will reward you with scrap you can use to upgrade your van so it can hack terminals or even attach a cable to certain points to either power up objects or to zipline to specific areas.
You will also get a few side-quests that you can only do at specific times, so if you move on to a new chapter then you’ll forfeit the chance to do them. The good news is that you will be warned in advance if you move on that this will happen. I wish more games did this, so you don’t unintentionally miss out on completing the game fully. Even more good news, you cannot die or fail the game at all. There’s no combat either, so it’s really more of a chilled experience that you can do in your own time.
The game took me around 15 hours to complete and that was with all the side-quests, bar the final one that seemed to glitch on me. I was waiting for a notification from one character for the next stage, only for it to not pop until the final sequence where you can’t even get out of the van. I don’t know it’s an isolated incident or not, but I was still able to finish the main game regardless. In either case, it’ll hopefully be patched.
The visuals are vibrant and well animated. The game has a lovely art style to it, the character are nicely detailed and Cigalo itself looks impressive. The framerate is consistent throughout, although the camera does have a few jittering issues in tight quarters. There’s no voice-acting, but the soundtrack has some superb chilled songs throughout.
The Verdict
Caravan SandWitch is a great chilled adventure. It has a good story, handles well, looks lovely and has truly memorable characters. It may have a few technical issues here and there, but with a patch or two, it’ll be fine. Definitely one of 2024’s nicer surprises…