Echoes of the Past.
It’s not often that a game comes literally out of nowhere to become something incredibly special. 2018’s Gris was such a game for me, as was 2022’s Chained Echoes, each of which took their respective year's Game of the Year for me. And now, Caravan Sandwitch joins those two titles as being an absolute must play, a game so good I’ll be thinking about it for years. As Sauge receives a distress call from her long-missing sister, she’ll come back home to discover just what happened to her, even if she is not ready for the answer.
Caravan Sandwitch revolves around a young girl named Sauge returning home to find out what happened to her sister. After 6 years of being away, living in the corporate-driven ‘Space City’, her return brings her into contact with friends and family who have struggled to continue to make life work on Cigalo, a planet that is host to a massive electrical storm that has driven a once-thriving corporation back to the stars. While many are excited to see Sauge back, some are concerned about her reason for returning; and if digging up a past trauma is even worth it at this point.
What I adore about Caravan Sandwitch is Sauge’s connections with her past and the people who continue to make Cigalo their home. There is no combat or a central antagonist, at least in the traditional sense, but there is conflict here that does ultimately satisfy across one of multiple endings. Still, the bulk of the game is how Sauge not only interacts with her friends, her dad, or those important to her, but that she starts to sew the seeds of friendship to others that make Cigalo home.
Being away for six years, Sauge has missed out on a lot. A pair of her old friends welcomed a child into the world, and her father has had to deal with not only the loss of his daughter six years ago but in failing to have any sort of communication with Sauge during that time; effectively losing both of his children on that tragic day. While you do have your main objective, Caravan Sandwitch features plenty of side quests that allow you to have meaningful conversations and moments with much of the cast, allowing past friendships that may have faded over the years to once again thrive. Sure, these quests are nothing more than driving them somewhere, but you'll come to learn that the point of these quests was never about the driving.
These moments really work and it comes down to some extremely believable and well-written dialogue. Whether it’s a moment between Sauge and her father, or a newly made friend who is part of a nomad race living out in the middle of nowhere, or a deeply personal conversation about a relationship her sister had with a close friend of hers, I adored these moments. In fact, these moments feel genuine, they all equally tap into different aspects of Sauge’s life when she lived there as well her life away. It also speaks to the quality of what is here that made me push through every single side quest, even the ones that had me tracking down sandwiches and candy bars, or a half dozen tadpole-like creatures that required me to then track down mushrooms first in order to lure them back home. Everything here is simply a delight to engage with.
As you start to investigate the distress signal, Sauge will be made aware of a series of signal jammers that are placed all over Cigalo. You’ll work with an old friend, Nefle, to upgrade your van and seek out to disrupt the jammers to track down the signal supposedly sent by your sister. While this task is seemingly innocent, especially as the reduction of the jammers allows mobile connections to flourish around Cigalo, allowing people to get in contact with one another again, Sauge and Nefle are being watched by a Sand Witch, a mysterious figure that is seemingly everywhere.
While I was concerned about how they would handle the identity of the Sandwitch, that the game may have gone the predictable route, I was ultimately satisfied with where the story ended up and how it affects both Sauge and Nefle, given their deep connection with Sauge’s sister. While I would have personally loved to return back to the main settlements after one of the endings, mainly to have some sort of closure, I still found the entire narrative to feel extremely well-handled and incredibly engaging.
The general gameplay loop presented across the game is remarkably simple and yet extremely satisfying. A lot of that comes down to the feel of the game as well as driving your van across Cigalo, a moderately sized environment that you’ll start to remember like the back of your hand. As you collect circuit boards of varying tiers, you’ll use those materials to craft a scanner for your van, and then a grappling hook, as well as tweaking those to perform other jobs like hacking platforms or using your van to power up a series of nodes. Add a zipline-system in the back half of the game and you’ll have a basic idea of what is awaiting you here.
The van, which is given to you by your friend, Rose, becomes a major component of the adventure. While the feel and control of the van could have been an issue, it handles extremely well with being the right amount of weight. If I did have one issue, it is that the tool icons for what your van is capable of don't disappear from the UI unless you first cycle through them. It's a weird issue that I have to believe is some sort of technical glitch. Still, driving around feels satisfying, as does lining up the grappling hook and putting it in reverse, pulling doors off their hinges, or half-buried treasure being pulled free.
Your van has a scanner that is used to track down the jammers and eventually to hack platforms to open, allowing you deeper access into various abandoned facilities. Eventually, with the use of the zipline, you'll be able to access previously out of reach areas to in turn find more electrical parts, more sandwiches, and more. Each tool has a fun tutorial that takes place in a virtual reality realm, as well as a fun and endearing slideshow of Sauge and Nefle installing the new upgrade. Personally, I laughed out loud as the implementation of the zipline showed a incredible moment of trial and error.
Cigalo is a joy to explore and much of that is due to the limited items you're seeking out. You'll find trinkets to add to certain quests, but this thankfully isn't a collectathon by any stretch, often reserving the off the beaten path exploration with the green, red, purple, and yellow electrical parts used to craft the chapter ending upgrades. Given how big, or rather, how small Cigalo is, you'll easily learn every nook and cranny this world has to offer by the time the credits roll.
Keeping as a constant companion as you drive is the game's score. With 23 tracks composed by Antynomy, the music has a very calming and yet rhythmic melody to it that never overstays its welcome. It may not be something you'll hum as you go about your day, but its presence is certainly felt and allows big moments to feel huge.
Visually, Caravan Sandwitch is both superb and yet somewhat of an issue. I was able to play both the Nintendo Switch version as well as on PS5. My full playthrough was on the Switch, and while the low-resolution and aliased visuals are charming for the type of game this is, the experience on the PS5 is night and day better, especially the performance. The Switch, which will have an upcoming patch to fix some issues, has a lot of frame rate drops when transitioning to new scenes, and the rendering distance is extremely close, as plants and foliage will pop in view rather frequently. While it's very much playable, I would strongly suggest if you have the ability to play it on another platform, that you do explore those options.
Caravan Sandwitch may offer a lot of gameplay systems we’ve seen before, but its cast and story feel part of the gameplay in ways that really make this game stand out. I would often just pick a direction and explore and take the van for a joy ride. While I would have loved a radio to swap to one of the game’s incredible songs, I would encounter small radios here and there and just take in the music and view. Caravan Sandwitch is special. Its joyful writing and charm are everywhere you look, with a crisp and gorgeous presentation on the PS5 that showcases one stunning experience to enjoy, and savor, and now all I can think about is sandwiches..
Developer - Plane Toast.
Publisher - Dear Villagers. Released - September 12th, 2024. Available On - Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC. Rated - (T) - Language, Violent References. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch/PS5. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.