I'm a big fan of driving in games, from delivering packages in the Pacific Northwest in Lake to blasting the radio as I speed through city traffic in every GTA game. But what I've always pined for is a driving game in a sci-fi setting. And before folks sound off in the comments, it also needs to be breezy. As much as I enjoyed this year's Pacific Drive, I want less chaos and more the feeling of just me, a car, and the open road. Chuck in some cool scenic sights and pit stops along the way too. Basically, I want Forza on Dune's Arrakis.
If more sci-fi games did this kind of exploration, we would have so many better games in the genre (in my opinion!). Give me a weird planet and a busted-up vehicle on its last legs and I will throw my money at that game - and Caravan SandWitch is the closest I've played to something like that. I am in love with my beat-up tin can on wheels, and speeding through the desert searching for old tech, and ferrying characters around has been a highlight of my adventure.
Fearless freewheeling
I can't drive in real life, but driving in games has always helped me relax
Rushing through the dunes in your van is an absolute joy. The suspension is top-tier. It's so satisfying to see your van breeze over rough terrain, effortlessly bouncing over protruding rocks and craggy pathways. The van also feels very pokey to control, letting you brake, reverse, and make sharp turns super quickly. If you need to maneuver through an off-road twisty pathway or back out of a tight spot you're easily able to do that. If you're a speed demon you can really punch your pedal to the metal as you race through the dunes.
The van feels great to drive, but another big contributor is that every annoying little thing about driving in other games is made seamless here. There's no slow animation you have to sit through to get in and out of your car, your character just quickly pops inside and outside when you want. There are no finicky controls, like gears, windscreen wipers, or indicators - you just hold down the trigger on the controller and go. If your car gets stuck in a ditch or crammed between a tight gap in a canyon (speaking from experience here) there's a reset button that will zip you back to the van's garage. This option is available in the menu, but it will automatically pop up when the game senses you're stuck - which is so handy. Everything feels so convenient and effortless. It very much captures the feeling of just hopping in your car and setting off.
However, the absolute best thing is that there's no damage meter. You could be the worst driver in the entire galaxy and your trusty van will take it all in its stride. Want to see how much air you can get launching off a ramp? Go for it. How about accidentally hitting a tree going full speed? Not a problem. The van is indestructible, which makes driving more fun as you can be completely reckless. I have pushed my van to the limit in this regard. I've yeeted it off the top of cliffs (being too lazy to drive the long way round), slammed into a concrete wall at full throttle when I've forgotten to brake, and lost count of how many times I've tipped the car over only for it to satisfyingly roll back onto its wheels.
Your van is also kitted out with some cool gadgets. Caravan SandWitch is heavy on resource gathering, so you can scan the surrounding area of your van and hidden objects will become highlighted in a techy overlay. You also have a grappling hook that can be used to rip doors off their hinges, but it doubles as a zipline. Speeding through the desert and scanning the landscape as you go searching for loot feels like an exciting treasure hunt. Lots of your tasks are focused on scavenging for tech parts which might get repetitive after the game's 10-hour story, but each mission always guarantees a scenic drive to a cool place.
The environment also compliments the driving. It's not just open desert, but plenty of planned pathways and scenic routes. You can traverse craggy beaches, lush pockets of forests, and there are even underground ruins big enough for the van to explore. The world is open, but it's not huge, so everything seems purposefully placed. The result of this is that everywhere feels like it's worth exploring and that you'll always find something cool if you take the effort to poke around. If you do want to explore on foot, there's a fast travel button that will zip you back to the van, so you can venture off without having to wrack your brain over where you parked (if only this was something we could do in real life).
I've finished Caravan SandWitch's main story but I already know that I'm going to be putting another handful of hours into the game. It just so effortlessly romanticizes the feeling of driving without getting caught up in the details. I have no idea what a crankshaft is, but I also don't care. I just want my car to go vroom vroom in a cool sci-fi environment that's worth exploring and Caravan SandWitch is exactly that.
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