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0 The Siege and the Sandfox is an Action, Adventure, Metroidvania coming from Cardboard Sword. With the help of PLAION from the publishing side. This game being Cardboard Sword‘s first entry into the gaming industry and is out now on Steam.
Sneak in the shadow, strike like a club, but remember to be the Sandfox
This game does look gorgeous with it’s 2-d pixel art style. Yet, within my complete playthrough, I felt as if something was either wrong or missing. I did come across some bugs that did break my immersion during my session. Basically, the entire adventure felt well executed, but like every gem, not every gem can be flawless. Let’s get into the full review.
Gameplay
The Siege and the Sandfox has you playing Kasha’i or better yet known as the Sandfox. An agent of the people, who protects his liege and the kingdom surrounded by the sands. You’re running back to the king, who is a close friend of Kasha’i. The reason for returning is because we have news about the enemy army that’s going to attack the kingdom. The game has us parkour our way to the top of the kingdom and reach the king’s private quarters. Only to catch the queen poisoning the king and framing us for his death.
Without a proper hearing, the queen takes our glass dagger, stabs us in the chest and has us dumped to the labyrinth below. Meanwhile, by some miracle Kasha’i survives the fall and starts his ascent back to the castle, to catch the traitors and to save the kingdom from being toppled. Consequently, we have to collect our tools of the trade along the way. From footwraps to lockpicks, we collect these unique items to help us progress further in the game. Just like any good old metroidvania, we have items to collect and a map to help us along the way.
Though, I would say that, if the map didn’t stop working 2 hours into my playthrough. I thought it was an issue with my controller, so I swapped over to keyboard and mouse. Yet that didn’t solve the issue. I moved the game to my steam deck and the issue still persisted. I honestly used the map about 10 times before I could never open the option ever again.
Lastly, the parkour in this game is very particular on how to pole vault, how to jump and how high you’ll jump. Especially when you’re trying to get to a slightly high wall, you can reach it if you stand still and hold the jump button. But, if you’re sprinting and holding the jump button, it sends you flying across the room.
Graphics and Audio
I know I’ll be stating the obvious, but the pixel art done for the whole game is immaculate. From the fine details of the ruins, to the very background itself, I felt like I was playing a work of art. Everything moved smoothly and the change from night to day felt fluid and natural. Though the transition from night to day only takes place depending on where you’re currently at. I’m amazed the amount of work and patience the team at Cardboard Sword must have had when working on this game.
Though the variety of enemies are pretty small, I’m glad that we acquire or learn different things as we play along. Thanks to our narrator voicing everyone and giving us tips is actually a nice change of pace. Even though they’re the only person whose voice we hear, they have this calming voice that I’d listen to for hours. Meanwhile, I do like the fact that we detect audio cues from a distance, although I wish there was a proper distance for the sound to the NPC. The lack of which honestly threw me off a lot.
Longevity
Looking at Steam I have seen that some people were able to beat the game within 18 to 22 hours. I would have been in the same wheel house, if not faster, if I had the map working for me. Honestly, I’ve only gotten to see the map whenever I spoke to the bandaged girl to guide me to another spot. Yet, because of this and a few other issues, I had to take my time. I can see myself revisiting this game in a few updates from now to hope the map bug gets fixed.
Final Thoughts
The Siege and the Sandfox is a great parkour metroidvania to add to the small library of games with the same idea. With no way to kill anyone and having to be the best agent of stealth, is a fun time in my books. Although the bugs I encountered may out some people off, I persevered. The characters in the dungeon and their little stories always kept me going. Curious on what kept them ticking or what life down here is like. So, if you like a metriodvania that is all parkour all the time, pick up the Siege and the Sandfox today.
I give The Siege and the Sandfox the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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