Indie games are often a labor of love, fueled by passion, creativity, and a desire to create something unique. Sands of Aura, an open-world action RPG developed by Chashu Entertainment, stands as a nice example of what indie developers can achieve with determination and vision. With its compelling story, immersive gameplay style, and replay value, this game showcases the results and inspiration that other indie creators can appreciate.
Chashu Entertainment, a small team of just twelve developers, demonstrates what’s possible with passion and dedication. Their ability to deliver a polished, lore-rich, and visually cool game is a testament to the power of indie creativity. Despite the challenges faced by small studios, Sands of Aura proves that an impactful game can be built with a clear vision and thoughtful execution.
One of the most striking aspects of Sands of Aura is its rich and somber narrative. Set in the dying world of Talamhel, now buried beneath an endless sea of sand, the story draws players into a realm devastated by a cataclysm. The idea of a shattered hourglass of time transforming the land into a barren wasteland is both poetic and haunting, a theme that resonates with players seeking a deeper, emotional connection to the game world.
For indie developers, the takeaway is clear: a powerful story can elevate a game, no matter the budget. By weaving elements of mythology, dark fantasy, and post-apocalyptic themes, Sands of Aura creates a unique world that feels alive despite its desolation. Indie developers can draw inspiration from this by embracing bold, imaginative storytelling that leaves a lasting impact on players.
Sands of Aura shines in its gameplay design, blending the intensity of souls-like combat with the freedom of open-world exploration. Players must carefully time attacks, parries, and dodges to survive relentless enemies, all while navigating vast sandseas and uncovering hidden secrets. This mix of challenging mechanics and open-ended exploration keeps players engaged, creating a rewarding experience.
For indie developers, the lesson is in balance. Striking the right mix of difficulty and freedom can create a deeply satisfying gameplay loop. Developers can also look to Sands of Aura for its innovative use of the environment, where sandseas replace traditional oceans, adding a fresh layer of world-building to the gameplay experience.
Replayability is another strong suit of Sands of Aura. The game encourages players to explore every corner of its world, discover hidden lore, and master its combat systems. Each session can feel unique, with choices and strategies shaping the journey. This depth of content ensures that players remain invested long after their first playthrough. There will be things that you're able to go back to in the initial area to discover as well. To get the pickaxe, you will have to do a quest for Danaya, the Forgestroke and return the forge hammer to her. Indie developers are usually the new kids on the block, but they can teach vets a thing or two if they're willing to learn. If there's nothing to learn, perhaps it could be a reminder of the joy that passion projects can bring.
Take your time to power up and prepare for the difficult enemies and bosses.
If Sands of Aura looks like an adventure you'd love to dive into, grab it free for a limited time and game on!
“Steelrising is a game that might have slipped under the radar for many, but we’re highlighting it as an alternative adventure within the same genre for Dark Souls fans.”
Feel free to explore this lesser-known gem and discover a fresh gaming experience!
The city burns and bleeds as it suffers the madness of King Louis XVI and his violent legions of automatons. Aegis, a mechanical masterpiece created by the engineer Vaucanson to be the queen's bodyguard, must save the French Revolution in this challenging action-RPG.
Challenging Combat Between Automatons
Up against the king's mechanical soldiers, deadly accuracy will be needed. String together dodges, parries, jumps and devastating attacks to fight your way through Paris. Every fight will test your nerve and requires excellent discipline, while the huge relentless machine bosses demand patience and skill.
Aegis: A Character With Extraordinary Skills
Define your own style and upgrade your abilities as you progress through the game. You can play as a ruthless warrior, a hard-hitting bodyguard, a deadly dancer or a virtuoso of the elemental arts. Take advantage of weapons and skills to approach each fight in your own unique way.
Revolutionary Paris Is Your Playground
Using carriages, grapples, secret passages, a detailed map, and other methods and tools you find along the way, explore a city experiencing its darkest days. Your grappling hook adds a new dimension to exploration and Paris' verticality. Combined with your dash ability, it will provide access to all the city's secrets across multiple levels you can explore over and over again.
Change The Course Of History
You are one of the main characters of an alternative history where Paris is being choked by a tyrant king. Allies and enemies with unclear motives will cross your path, such as Marie-Antoinette, Lafayette and Robespierre. It's up to you to cut a path through all the plotting and put an end to one man's madness so that the French Revolution succeeds.
This game... is... challenging, and that's a good thing to an extent.
Hmmm... this game was what I thought it was... and then some.
Death's Gambit is a 2D "Souls-like" Metroidvania game, and I enjoy it... despite having my butt being handed to me many times. There is no doubt that number will go up the next time I play because there is always a tough enemy tucked in a lair somewhere... just waiting to end you (but you can't die... which I'll explain later). You don't have to go that far to encounter one of these boss enemies either... so keep the pain relieving ointment handy, and prepare to get your butt kicked as you build your character. I've been on the grind to level up so I can start to redistribute some of that pain... and it's pretty addictive.
Literally, I've been grinding... going back to the same area where I've found the most success to grind, and have leveled up to a good degree so far... while looking forward to slaying the enemies who sent me back to the drawing board. I can easily say that I'm a lot better than when I started (my archery skills can be used in a wild west style shootout at this point)... and I wanted to present you with the gameplay of that, but I recorded nearly 2 hours of white screen on new software. Yeah... THAT happened. That didn't exactly make my night, but... the show must go on.
In Death's Gambit, you are Sorun, an... undead agent of Death itself. I won't give away the story, but Sorun became a soldier like his mother... and clearly things didn't work out all that great because he's raised from the dead. He isn't just raised from the dead to run around and fight random enemies, he's part of a war waged against the legendary immortals of Siradon. Siradon is the land you venture into to take on your enemies... and some of them aren't even legendary immortals, but they can send you back to the drawing board wondering what the heck happened.
Sorun and Death have an interesting relationship... some of its comical, that got my attention. I appreciate that being added in to break things up, but... even then there some very weird eerie experiences in between gameplay. I'll give you one example... and one only. After Sorun was taken out at one point, he ended up on an island... so I tested out the water. I was able to run in it, it was shallow... so I began running (to the left). After I got a distance from the island, the skies turn dark (dark) and the water turn... red. I assume it was representing blood, and... I turned right back around and tried to run back to the island... but I ended up back in Siradon. It was trippy.
Speaking of the world of Siradon, what agent class do you want to represent while taking on its immortals? You have seven classes to choose from... like Soldier, Assassin, Blood Knight, Wizard, Noble, Sentinel, and Acolyte of Death. Their attributes and items vary, like the Soldier is an all-around fighter, while the Assassin is quick, and the Wizard uses ranged magic.
The Wizard starts off with a spellbook, while the Soldier has a sword. So you have options to approach your adventure... and even still, your movements and the way you fight can seal the deal at level 6 ahead of a level 10 if you approach the battle the right way.
Death's Gambit is packed with replay value. This 2D Action RPG is already challenging enough, but I doubt you can beat it in one seating. If you think you can... record yourself doing so. The same enemies may have you coming back again and again for a rematch... and even then, if you beat them... you can go back and give them a rematch in Heroic Mode (or start a new adventure in New Game Plus mode).
Outside of that, you also have replay value in unlocking the various Talents to boost Sorun's abilities. Using Talent Points gained in your adventure allows you to unlock talents like "Blood of the Phoenix", which lets you use feathers to remove minor status ailments and restores stamina when health is over 90%. You have 3 paths to choose from. Personally, I don't see the value in most of the talents, but that's based on my playstyle.
Replay value goes even further with Journals of Immortals. You find these journals regarding the various immortals and outside of information about that immortal... you deal 5% more damage against the boss (per book). So if you have 2 journals, that's 10% more damage to bring the pain. Like other games with achievements, the life of this game is further extended by the 34 Achievements that are available if you choose to go after them.
Visually... this is a cool looking 2D game with pixel graphics that take it easy on hard drive space and other CPU resources (LOVE IT). From the way the blades are wielded... to the way, you dismount from your horse... I think they did a great job with the animations. What would be awesome is the option to switch between pixel graphics and hand-drawn art that resembles Dragon's Crown.
Audio even sounds good. The in-game music is fitting for the adventure, but you also have the sound of the blade cutting through the air and even clinking if it hits a hard surface. Another cool sound is the releasing of the bow, and these are just to name a few things that help boost the immersive experience of this 2D game. They took what they had and made it pretty sweet... which also includes the price tag.
Price wise... the game is on point at $19.99, which is in the perfect spot. No more... no less... it's right where it needs to be. It would be sweeter at $15, but its home at $19.99.
One potential con for gamers... that I can't dock the game for... is its difficulty. Not everyone will enjoy the difficulty of Death's Gambit at all because some people don't see the enjoyment of a major challenge. The con I will put on this is... the lack of cloud saving, I can't continue on a laptop where I left off on a desktop in the office. So in order to continue a game... I have to go back to that specific PC. That sucks, I wanted to continue with my grind with a collective build up... but until they allow the cloud save... stick with the PC you game on most. PS4 gamers shouldn't have this problem.
Overall, this is an interesting adventure with enough depth and challenges to keep me coming back, and I appreciate the fact that it doesn't require a lot of juice so I can log hours on a laptop.
