It’s mostly the structure.
Sands Of Salzaar drops you into a world of dynamically warring factions.
It’s no clone, though.
There’s one about a quarrelling father and son having a blacksmithing contest you must judge philosophically.
Recruited NPCs have personality traits, and occasionally interact and ask for your opinion.
Whatever you choose, battles arechaotic.
Not in a cruel sense, but more an innocent kind of delight.
Awe at spectacle rather than an expression of superiority.
It’s a distinction that will put off some players.
A lot of that is because character skills aren’t just about what weapons you’re good with.
Starting a game also asks you to spend ‘legacy points’ to add bonus skills.
All this gives Sands Of Salzaar a lot more depth than its straightforward battles initially suggest.
But over the long term you’ll realise the potential of all those spells and unit combinations.
Companions have their specialties too, varying wildly in their usefulness.
Chum up to them enough and they can even give your regular units bonus abilities.
It’s a game meant to be replayed, is the thing.
And therein lies its biggest problems.
The first is a lack of information.
What status effects actually do, or what’s a proportionate upgrade to a character attribute is entirely opaque.
I’d recommend considering your first character a draft.
The real issue is its pacing.
But most players will probably find things taking too long to get going.
It’s just a shame it takes a little too much time and guesswork to get there.
