It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. Today, we're checking out Caravan SandWitch on the Nintendo Switch.
I'll start out by saying that I tried to play Caravan SandWitch on Steam months before the Switch version as it caught mu eye during a Steam Next Fest but I wasn't able to change the resolution on my PC and that made it nearly impossible to play. That being said for this video, we're playing the Switch version so lets begin.
The game starts out with you playing as Sauge, the young redheaded star of Caravan SandWitch. I apologize in advance if I butchered a ton of the names during the video as I was trying my best. That being said, you receive a message from your sister, Garance's, spaceship. It was a distress signal but the only issue is that she vanished six years ago. You thought she was dead but that might not be the case afterall.
Along the way you will have to go on many quests and find all kinds of things to help out in your mission to locate or discover what happened to your sister. I love the way quests are shown in the way of "Toaster" interactions being the Twitter/X of this universe. Along the way you will return to Cigalo, a town that you left and didn't think you'd be returning to. However, you have to head there as it's the only lead you have of your sister. I really like the interaction Sauge has with the people of Cigalo. These were and still are her friends but it has been a long time since she's seen them.
You return to Cigalo and run into an older woman named Rose. Rose wants to hear all about your adventures and bonus, she has a van that we can drive and get around in. Without spoiling too much, Rose gives you the van to use while you're on Cigalo and thus you have your mode of transportation around! The map isn't the greatest as I found it hard to use at times and when I put a marker on said map, it would have been nice to have it indicate I arrived at my destination. I also found it a little difficult to control the van but that was more because of the lag/frame drops during the gameplay rather than control issues. You're tasked with finding where to install signal jammers into towers strewn about Cigalo but you will need scrap to have Nefle build the materials needed. You will have to perform quests for people you run into or your friends. For example, you had to find food for your own welcome back party. Another example is find food for someone you discover on the road. You will be rewarded with scrap and other items needed. You will also be able to find scrap in various locations you discover along the way.
There were things that I really liked while I played Caravan SandWitch like the characters and how they acted/behaved like real people. In games like this, the character comes back home after years and the townsfolk act like nothing happened. It was refreshing to see not every character was happy to see Sauge after she left town for years. I also like getting to have some fun with voices during these videos and Rose was one of my favorites. A better map system and a less tank-like van would have made the playthrough so much better in my opinion.
Caravan SandWitch is an interesting story with a fun cast of characters. Part exploration, part mystery adds up to a fun time! Make sure you check out the hands-on/impressions video below.