Shooters, PvP – the world of online FPS PvP games is vast and wide, covering a wide range of styles, and in this market, almost every kind of studio has dipped its finger in the pie, and SAND: Raiders of Sophie is no different.

Developed by Hologrypg and TowerHaus and published by tinyBuild, this is their take on the extraction-style shooter category with their own little twist! What if you loaded up a round not just to run around a map and scavenge for loot, but you had an entire mech crawler to help you!

Imagine a vast desert, filled with broken, washed-up ships in what looks like a world turned to sand; this world is called Sophie, and you play as a scavenger in this hostile world, partnered with what is known as a Trampler. You set out on expeditions to gather resources and, dare I say, test your might against others, gathering materials, guns, and ammo to upgrade your Trampler by placing things like cannons to help in your journey.

Now, in many cases in extraction shooters, the beginning should be quiet and stealthy, which is a must to either extract or gain the advantage over another player. SAND: Raiders of Sophie introduces a big, loud, clunky Trampler that emits a massive column of black smoke visible for miles to those who look, making sneaking harder and giving players the opportunity to think more creatively about whether to engage or avoid conflict.

Let’s break down the Trampler; first of all, it’s an amazing idea, looking like the spider from Will Smith’s Wild Wild West movie. I’m finding myself calling the game Sand of Thieves. In the end, it gives off a similar vibe.

With default blueprints at first, you will eventually find yourself able to create your own custom Trampler, letting your inner creative demon loose. Now, the Trampler itself is quite difficult to control solo, given that you have to man all the controls plus the cannons and regulate power if you run low.

In the beginning, you have a 2-speed forward motion wheel to turn left and right, a full stop and a 1-speed reverse; also tagging along for the ride is a side step, so as you can see, sometimes it can feel like jumping on 1 leg while doing a circle on your stomach and patting your head while jumping a jump rope.

But given enough time, you can become accustomed to the mechanics and become more formidable.

Now, as for the expeditions themselves, given that, yes, you are on a semi-fast-moving machine with the ability to cross large parts of the desert, but far and few between, there is little going on besides looting ships or fighting NPC AI or reanimated crew called Upiórs on some ships; a vast majority of the time is just cruising in your ship.

Visually, for early access, it’s not too bad; the rendering of smokestacks from far away can be handled even on a PC that’s on the low end.

Explosions, long-range shots, and friendly green smoke flares are all easily visible, though keep in mind most of what you are seeing is sand.

Audibly SAND: Radiers of Sophie has an immersive sound, big, loud, clunky machine noises, and hearing the direction of PvP/PvE fights all leave the player feeling like they are immersed in the world.

Unfortunately, being in early access, the game does come with its own set of issues. Running around, it became quite clear where SAND: Raiders of Sophie falls short.

Simple issues that, in time, can be fixed. Stability, DeSync, and hit registration, to name a few.

SAND: Raiders of Sophie has the potential to become something many will love, a nice twist on the extraction shooter genre. The game is bad, but really addictive and fun; it’s fun enough that you overlook and push through the bugs and jank.

Not everything works perfectly in early access, but I enjoyed my time in SAND: Raiders of Sophie and look forward to what comes next.

Written by: Matiyus