Able to traverse the Sands of Aura?
Sands of Aura makes its console debut, touchdown on Xbox Collection X|S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Change, bringing its sand-swept, Soulslike journey to a brand new viewers.
Printed by indie.io and developed by Chashu Leisure, this open-world motion RPG drops gamers right into a world buried beneath countless dunes, the place survival relies upon as a lot on preparation because it does precision.
Set within the damaged realm of Talamhel, Sands of Aura blends deliberate fight, freeform exploration and deep crafting techniques right into a journey that asks gamers to carve their very own path throughout a sea of shifting sand.
At A Look
Recreation: Sands of Aura
Developer: Chashu Leisure
Writer: indie.io
Platforms: Xbox Collection X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Change
Style: Motion RPG / Soulslike
A World Swallowed By Sand
Talamhel was not at all times a wasteland. Way back, a catastrophic occasion shattered time itself, flooding the world with sand and plunging it into perpetual evening. What stays are scattered mountaintops rising like islands from an countless desert; fragile pockets of humanity surrounded by corruption.
You step into this world as a newly inducted member of the Order of the Remnant Knights, the final defenders of mankind. A mutated pressure of the Night time Plague now threatens what little stability stays, and it falls to you to uncover its supply.
Traversal is dealt with aboard a nimble vessel generally known as a grainwake. Relatively than following inflexible quest markers, gamers chart their very own course throughout the sandseas. The panorama shifts, secrets and techniques floor and hazard waits past the horizon. Exploration feels intentional – generally isolating – and really a lot pushed by participant selection.
Fight That Calls for Dedication
Sands of Aura leans into its Soulslike inspirations with an unforgiving fight system constructed round timing, stamina administration and positional consciousness.
Seven distinct preventing kinds enable for various approaches. Some favour pace and finesse, others reward heavier, deliberate strikes. The enemies you face, the corrupted people, fallen kings, cultists, the metallic Ferrum and the hive-minded Hashara, are relentless and barely forgiving.
Weapon crafting is central to development. Lots of of elements may be recovered from the ruins of civilisation, combining into hundreds of potential weapon variations. Discovering a hilt that fits your most well-liked rhythm or forging a blade tailor-made to your construct turns into a part of the journey.
Armour units present distinctive defensive traits, whereas magical augments additional personalise fight effectiveness. Success isn’t unintended – it comes from preparation and adaptation.
Exploration, Management And Survival
Whereas fight sits on the coronary heart of the expertise, Sands of Aura additionally offers area for quieter development.
Every island rising from the sand affords its personal encounters, lore fragments and non-compulsory challenges. Issue tiers encourage gamers to return to beforehand visited places as soon as stronger, uncovering new paths and rewards.
The journey is anchored by the Starspire, a sanctuary the place gamers can rebuild and strengthen a neighborhood. Management decisions unlock perks, providers and deeper understanding of Talamhel’s fractured historical past.
Console gamers profit from tailor-made enhancements over the beforehand launched Steam version, together with a purpose-built concentrating on help system, interface refinements for island exploration and balancing tweaks to fight and the in-game economic system. This launch represents essentially the most refined model of the sport so far.
A Journey With out A Guiding Hand
Sands of Aura doesn’t overwhelm with hand-holding. There isn’t a fixed arrow pointing the way in which ahead. As an alternative, it trusts gamers to discover, experiment and study via failure.
On Xbox Collection X|S (via the Xbox Retailer, £20.99), PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Change, that have now feels extra accessible than ever. Whether or not you’re drawn by its bleak world-building, demanding fight or deep crafting techniques, Sands of Aura affords a methodical, player-driven journey throughout a dying world.
For these able to take the oath and courageous the sandseas, Talamhel awaits.
